Saturday is FC Bayern's third day at the Tegernsee training camp, and the stars were once again working flat out in the morning. The sun beat down and the air was burning hot for the first closed training session of the camp, in which coach Niko Kovac supervised his men through a series of skills-based and tactical drills. Frequent drinks breaks helped to compensate for the high loss of fluids and minerals.
"It’s really scorching. The German weather is currently more like you get in southern Europe. You have to be careful in these temperatures. You need sunscreen and a lot to drink," said Thomas Müller, who has now spent almost a week preparing for the new season together with the other World Cup participants. Pre-season is “primarily about getting into peak physical shape. The players are pushed to their limits a bit more than during the season," Müller explained.
After the first few days working out under the new boss, Müller voiced approval of the “all-round package I’ve seen in the first week.” Kovac has brought “a breath of fresh air” into training and has come across as “very committed, very communicative and also very structured. His instructions on the training ground are precise, sharp and leave very little room for interpretation, but it’s still very team-oriented," Müller explained, concluding on behalf of the squad: “We’re very satisfied.”
Allianz Arena debut for Kovac
On Sunday evening, the World Cup participants face their first serious test of pre-season in the clash between the Reds and Manchester United for the Telekom Sport Trophy. The match takes place at the Allianz Arena, fresh from a thorough makeover. Müller is fired up for the prestige game: “These are two big names in European football and I hope there’ll be a decent crowd. It's always nice to play teams with so much individual class in their ranks.”
Kovac is also excited about his first match as Bayern coach in front of his new home crowd. "I’m looking forward to it. I’ve heard the stadium is sold out, everyone’s on board, the World Cup players are back. I hope we play well tomorrow and get a good result. This is our dress rehearsal, because in a week we start for real [in the Supercup]," the 46-year-old said after training on Saturday.
"United are high-class opponents, they're even a week ahead of us because their league season gets going next week. We'll make the most of it, we're at home and we'll have a really good team. I hope the group can play the kind of attacking football we’ve already seen from them in America."
Topics of this article