It’s time to apply our finishing touches to the team. The tough test against Villarreal CF is not the first encounter in our long history, but is our last game before the season begins. The match will be played this coming Saturday (14:30 CEST) at the Weser-Stadion in a very special atmosphere, as it is also the annual fan day.
Fan day: The duel against the La Liga team will be the highlight of the day. “It will be a great occasion for all of us,” said a happy Florian Kohfeldt and he hopes the same for all Werder fans. “For us, it´s the best feeling when the stadium is full,” continued the Werder head coach. It’s not only a friendly that will be awaiting the fans but also an exciting supporting programme. After the game, fans will be able to see Davy Klaassen, Claudio Pizarro and Co. around the stadium.
Florian Kohfeldt on the game: The game against Villarreal is the final rehearsal before the DFB-Pokal game against VfR Wormatia Worms on Saturday (18.08.2018, 15:30 CEST). “It will be the first time we will take an upcoming game into consideration in terms of our training workload this pre-season“, says Florian Kohfeldt. The head coach wants to send an energised and fresh team onto the field. “Their combination play is very strong, they are versatile and play an aggressive pressing game. This will be a true test of our ability.” The closer the first competitive game, the more effort and focus the boys have to put in, unlike the other friendlies. “Slowly but surely it’s the result that starts to take precedent. This is not an experiment anymore,” clarified the Werder head coach.
The Werder head coach on squad news: Stefanos Kapino will be out for a while with a thigh injury and will not be available. Yuya Osako, Sebastian Langkamp and Ludwig Augustinsson, who all ended the training sessions early, have been given the all clear for the game. Martin Harnik has a slight back problem, but there is a possibility that he could feature in the game on Saturday. However, Kevin Möhwald and Jaroslav Drobny, who both did not travel to the training camp, will not be available for selection on Saturday and are to return to full training next week. In regard to playing times on Saturday, Kohfeldt explains: “It will no longer be the case that every player gets the same amount of playing time. The style of play will be similar to what we want to play this coming season”.
Ambitious club without a title: Yellow kits, yellow shorts, yellow socks. This is where the nickname ‘Yellow Submarine’ originated. The Spanish side are coming to the Weser-Stadion for the first time since being founded in 1923, and they will be completing the Green-Whites’ preparation for the new season. Villarreal finished fifth in La Liga last season and qualified for the Europa League. The club comes from a city with a population of 50,000 people, and got to the semi-finals of the Europa League in the 2015/16 campaign. However, their best years came in the early 2000s, where they got to the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, finished third in La Liga a season later and reached the Champions League semi-finals the following year. However, their success was not rewarded with any trophies.
Villarreal’s pre-season: The Spaniards are also taking big strides towards the new season. Villarreal will play their first La-Liga game against Real Sociedad on Saturday (18.08.2018). “Now there is only one more friendly, so this is our opportunity to iron out the small details and then we can start the La Liga in a good run of form,” explained Villarreal defender Jaume Costa to the club’s website. Their pre-season has gone well so far, although VCF did suffer defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last friendly. The strength of the team? “We are a very versatile group, with players who can play in different positions and this offers many different possibilities for the team,” Costa continued.
