Day six of FC Bayern’s pre-season preparations. After the initial performance tests at the start of the week and four practical sessions, new coach Niko Kovac did not give his squad a day off on Saturday. To start the day, there was the annual medical examinations with the players undergoing cardiovascular, lung, ultrasound, blood, urine and stress tests at Dr. Roland Schmidt’s practice.
Then in the afternoon, Kovac put his troops through a gruelling session on the training field at Säbener Straße. 21 outfield players and three goalkeepers reported for duty at 15:00 CEST, including Franck Ribéry, whose workload had been reduced in recent days. Kingsley Coman continued his recovery from injury with an individual workout.
Vocal encouragement from Kovac
For the rest of the squad on the pitch, though, the session was no less intensive. After the warm-up, two groups of ten and 11 were formed who played two games with two spare players each. That was followed by passing and shooting relays. Niko Kovac was constantly barking out instructions to his players and praising good play.
The session concluded with a full-pitch 11 vs 11 game. The team containing Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry and Sandro Wagner tested the defensive trio of Juan Bernat, Javi Martínez and Rafinha. 14 youngsters completed the two teams, who showed great commitment and tempo despite the warm weather. After around 90 minutes, training was over and the Reds can enjoy their first day off on Sunday before the second week of training begins on Monday.