Feldkirchen Day 6: The “fun” continues

But before this well deserved break it was time for the second part of the Team Challenge. Destination was the bathing lake roughly three kilometres away from players accommodations. Upon seeing the wheelbarrow's filled with all sorts of materials, it was clear to the team that something unusual was waiting for them. Once they transported their equipment to the lake each team had to ride a bicycle around the lake. The only problem was that every team only got one bike to do it. Creativity was key to solve the problem and thus Ryan Babel transported Denis Thomalla on the handlebars, while Chinedu Obasi and Tobias Weis tried to keep up on foot.

As the bike ride came to an end, it was almost clear to everyone what awaited them next. Caretaker Christian Seyfert and physiotherapist Christian Neitzert had deposited two buckets filled with stones on an island 100 meters into the lake. The task was to bring these buckets back to the mainland. Each team sent their best swimmer into the lake so he could attach a rope to the buckets, which his teammates would then drag back onto the bank. The fastest swimmer turned out to be Jukka Raitala, just ahead of Sejad Salihovic and Franco Zuculini. “It was very exhausting. The coach said that it would be fun, but it wasn't,” explained Chinedu Obasi with a grin on his face.

Shortly before noon the players and the coaching staff returned to the teams hotel for lunch. “Castle Mühldorf” was completely emptied one hour later. The team used their freedom in order to leave the training camp – destination unknown. Three training units would be waiting for them on Tuesday. At 07:30 in the morning they would commence their obligatory run and at 10 am and 4 pm two training sessions on the pitch were scheduled.