Eight days, thirteen workouts, two friendlies

Making no concessions to the desert sun of Qatar, Jupp Heynckes has spent the last eight days putting his men through 13 formal training sessions and two friendly matches, all aimed at Bayern successfully recovering the Bundesliga title this season. The stars completed a final workout at the ASPIRE Academy on Wednesday morning before heading for the airport and a mid-afternoon takeoff.

As they prepared for the flight home, the players were exhausted but satisfied. “It's been outstanding, in terms of the scope, our attitude, the quality and the intensity of our training," Heynckes commented. Tuesday evening’s impressive 5-0 friendly victory over Schalke confirmed that the men from Munich are on track as they gear up for the league restart ten days from now.