The Tuesday training session was held behind closed doors - and yet the FCB squad was audibly loud at work with calls of “Here!”, ”Great” and “Step it up” emanating from the training pitch where fitness coach Andreas Kornmayer was urging the players on vocally accompanied by rhythmic clapping while Sebastian Rode, Dante & Co. sprinted off. Tempo and pace were the order of the day for one group in today’s session, while a second worked on strength and coordination. A high-tempo practice match, including a committed performance from Pep Guardiola, rounded off the training session.
“The training sessions have been very, very intensive,” said Rode in describing the programme during the international break with Guardiola preparing his players for the rigours of a busy three weeks of fixtures coming up. “We’ve got a tricky few weeks ahead of us,” acknowledged Rode who is on the verge of his first start in the Champions League.
“It’s all new to me - and a tough task at home straight away,” continued the midfielder, looking forward to the match against Premier League champions Manchester City on Wednesday. FCB are at the Russian champions CSKA Moscow two weeks later in the first Champions League away game this season. Sandwiched between those two matches are three Bundesliga encounters with the North v South clash at Hamburg SV plus games against the plucky newcomers from Paderborn and Cologne.
Ribéry ready
“We’ve got to keep on working hard,” declared Robert Lewandowski with seven games in 21 days coming up. The Pole returns from international duty with four goals under his belt and is looking forward to the run of fixtures coming up: “As a player it’s always best to play a game every three days.”
Lots of games in a short space of time - that suits Franck Ribéry too, with the Frenchman looking forward to making his first appearance this season after recovering from a knee injury, hopefully against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday. “I feel good and I’m fit for Saturday,” he said on Tuesday. Franck used the international break to make up for lost time on the training ground. “Now I need to get into a rhythm.” A packed programme awaits as autumn draws in.
