Sometimes he wears a cap against the desert sun, sometimes he opts for a tan. Most of the time, he watches intently from the touchlines, seated comfortably in a plastic chair. Occasionally, he mounts a small hill near the practice pitch, to gain an overview of all the busy activity. But one thing remains constant: Matthias Sammer is concentrating extremely hard at the training camp in Doha. On Tuesday, prior to the second friendly of the new year against Schalke, the Bayern board director for sport drew some early conclusions from the week in Qatar.
“That was an important chapter, an important segment – but nothing more. It’s just a small, initial step on the journey towards 19 January,” said Sammer. That particular Saturday is when the nation’s biggest club face Greuther Fürth in the first match of the second half of the season. “We can be satisfied with the training we’ve done here,” said Sammer, as the fitness basics for the rest of the season have duly been accomplished.
Topics of this article