Winter is slowly but surely drawing in at the Säbener Strasse facility. With the clock ticking towards 11 am on Tuesday morning, the thermometer crept up to 1.7°C as a small group of senior players took to the training ground. It is now the season for long training pants and cold-weather gear. Manuel Neuer and Philipp Lahm, who returned from Germany international duty on Sunday and completed individual workouts yesterday, were no exception in their choice of kit when they rejoined their club colleagues.
When the Germans face England in a prestige friendly on Tuesday night, Neuer and Lahm will be watching on TV. “It was all arranged with the national coach,” Lahm informed FCB.tv on Tuesday. “Obviously it’s always good to play at Wembley because we have great memories of the stadium.” Nevertheless, the versatile defender said he was “glad to have a couple of days at home.” And, added Lahm, the regeneration training of the last couple of days has done “a great deal of good.”
Lahm praises intensity
Back out on the field on Tuesday, the club captain gave absolutely everything as always. Lahm was the first man out of the dressing room and was joined by Neuer, Jan Kirchhoff, Rafinha, Tom Starke, Thiago and Mitchell Weiser from the first-team squad. The group was augmented for the session with second-team players, with passing and shooting exercise at the centre of the 90-minute workout. “The intensity is there,” reported Lahm.
There is no compulsory training session on Wednesday as Pep Guardiola has given his men the day off, but the coach will gather his entire squad on Thursday to begin focused preparations for Saturday’s showdown in Dortmund. “We’ll be perfectly prepared,” declared Lahm.
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