Feldkirchen Day 8: Difficult conditions in Austria

The caretaker team around Heinz and Christian Seyfert as well as Matthias Bauer had once again set up large quantities of water bottles under the shade-giving tent. Unfortunately for the players, the weather did not provide a cool breeze or even rainfall, as the conditions continued to be quite difficult and straining. But there was a pleasant surprise, as Viktor Siegl, an important political figure in Upper Austria, paid a visit to “Castle Mühldorf”. Andreas Ibertsberger handed over a shirt signed by the entire team to the known football expert. Just as the players headed for the dining tables, the rainfall set in and to everyone's delight cooled down the temperatures.

Players happy to train with the ball

Plenty of fans had gathered around the training grounds in the morning to witness Day 8 of 1899 Hoffenheims pre-season preparation in Feldkirchen. The main emphasis on Wednesdays training session was again on diverse little games including the ball, rather than gruelling running sessions. “We want our players to internalise a variety of different systems and in order for them to do that, we have to school them,” explained assistant coach André Trulsen. Obviously the players enjoyed being able to train with the ball, rather than run laps all day. One main aspect of the exercises was the quick shift from offense to defence. “These exercises allow no time to take a break. Once the ball is lost, the players have to shift their focus to get it back immediately,” said “Truller”.

Injured players back in normal training

Fortunately, there are no more players in individual training, as Andreas Ibertsberger returned to the teams training on Wednesday. The same applies for Gylfi Sigurdsson, he has overcome his knee problems and is back in the normal training routine.