When the FC Bayern players left the dressing room at Säbener Straße for the Tuesday morning training session, the pitch was covered in frost and the air was ice cold. At this point, Franck Ribéry disappeared into the first team building before returning on the neighbouring pitch to continue working on making his comeback. His team-mates were also working hard, wrapped up warm in gloves, hats and scarves.
The mood of the group was not affected by the weather and that may have been down to Rafinha. The 100 fans who made their way to the Bayern training ground had to look twice to recognise the Brazilian as he made his way to the pitch with his hair dyed blonde. The 32-year-old was joined by Arjen Robben, Javí Martinez, Arturo Vidal, Tom Starke, Sven Ullreich and Juan Bernat – along with several players from the record champions second eleven – and they soon succeeded in raising their body temperature.
Full commitment from players and coaches
Given the conditions, the warm-up session was obviously slightly extended but when the ball was introduced the Bayern players were finally able to show the watching fans what they can do. Passing drills and working in restricted space were on the agenda first. It was as if the ball was on a string with the tempo kept up with a maximum of two touches of the ball allowed. Assistant coach Peter Hermann commented on every move as he led the session together with Hermann Gerland in the absence of Jupp Heynckes.
The intensity of the action was as high as the volume. Nobody wanted to lose the ball and the Bayern players spurred each other on. After the final shooting practice and the obligatory match it was back to the dressing room. There was little sign of frost on the pitch at this point after 90 minutes of fine work by the FC Bayern squad.
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