Giovane Elber watches training

There was a prominent onlooker at the Säbener Strasse when the Bavarians trained under Niko Kovac' auspices on Wednesday morning. Giovane Elber was impressed by the way Kovac, who was his team-mate at Bayern from 2001 to 2003, pushed his players to their limits.

Besides athletic training and passing drills, the Bayern pros, who were joined by four youngsters, completed a practice match. Kingsley Coman was sidelined with injury, whereas Mats Hummels took a breather due to an ankle problem. Robert Lewandowski, Thiago and David Alaba were on national team duty on Tuesday.