Shaqiri and company knuckle down to work

Claudio Pizarro and Tom Starke were the earliest arrivals. At around 1.30, the two seasoned newcomers emerged from the Säbener Strasse underground car park, smiling as they headed for the dressing room. A few minutes later, they were joined by youngsters Mitchell Weiser and Lukas Raeder, who were in turn followed by Dante. The sixth new boy from outside the club, Xherdan Shaqiri, was then accompanied into the performance centre by Daniel van Buyten.

Ahead of his first training session at the club, Dante told FCB.tv he had “a very positive feeling". Still a little shy, the defender made no secret of how much he was looking forward to the new challenge: “I want top fitness as quickly as possible, so I can help us hit our targets." The decision to leave Mönchengladbach for Bayern “wasn't difficult," he said, “Bayern is one of the five best clubs in the world." The player then made his way into the dressing room.