Jupp Heynckes addressed his players for three minutes and then they were off. Two hours after landing in Doha, preparations for the second half of the season began for the Bayern players on Tuesday at 19:50 local time. Under floodlights, on a perfectly prepared pitch and in comfortable temperatures of 19 degrees.
After warming up with various running drills and stretches, the first ball of the New Year was kicked. “Clap your hands! Pass, pass pass – and shoot!” The Rhenish tones of assistant coach Peter Hermann guided the players through passing exercises and a game on a narrow pitch with no goals. After that, only the cries of the players could be heard as they ended the session with a committed game in one half of the pitch, during which Kingsley Coman scored the first training goal of 2018.
Five sit out first session
The opening training session in Doha lasted around 75 minutes, which demanded a lot from the players. “The first session was really fun. I think it’s good to get stuck in straight away. We don’t have that long to prepare,” new signing Sandro Wagner told FC Bayern TV. “It was a long and strenuous day, but I’m pleased I can be here.”
Five players were absent for the start of the camp. Mats Hummels (adductor) and Robert Lewandowski (patella) trained individually while South American trio Arturo Vidal, James Rodríguez and Rafinha were excused from the first session as they didn’t land in Doha until late evening. They will be working up a sweat for the rest of the week, though, with between one and three sessions every day as well as the friendly against Al-Ahli.
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