With the sun shining down from blue skies all around, Johannesburg gave the Werder squad the warmest of welcomes on Thursday. The long flight from Bremen via Frankfurt behind them at last, SV Werder set up camp amidst perfect training conditions in South Africa, which head coach Florian Kohfeldt reiterated following the team’s first training session.
"The training pitches are in very good condition, so much so that we were able to preserve the main pitch some more today. We have the perfect conditions here to work on our most important areas," the boss told WERDER.DE upon arrival in South Africa. The Green-Whites have access to three full training pitches.
Less than ten miles away from Johannesburg city centre, at the Randburg AFC training complex, Werder will complete several training sessions and play a friendly against the Kaizer Chiefs. With temperatures locally still in the thirties over Christmas, the region has experienced heavy rainfall over the last few days, unusually heavy for this time of year. "The representatives here have done an excellent job and have been very professional," praised Frank Baumann.
Werder’s sporting director had already convinced himself months ago about the quality of the facilities here, which had been used by fellow Bundesliga side Hoffenheim. The pitches are just a short drive away from the team hotel, for which Baumann was also full of praise: "The hotel is brilliant! Everyone is committed to helping us recuperate as best we can between training sessions," he said.
At 16:30 local time, the Green-Whites took to the training pitch for the first time in 2019, unfazed by the 14-hour journey to South Africa. "It was a night-time flight and we were all able to sleep," explained Kohfledt.
