After days of rain, snow and fog, there was finally sunshine again at Säbener Straße on Wednesday. And two days ahead of the Bundesliga restart at Hoffenheim, this did no harm to the positive atmosphere within the Bayern camp. “When the sun shines you have different happiness hormones in your body,” said coach Niko Kovac after his team’s training session.
FCB want as much of this feeling as possible for their Friday visit to Sinsheim. “We want to build on our final five games of 2018 and try to take that positive experience with us so we can keep winning games and build up the necessary confidence,” Kovac announced as the key for the first match after the winter break. “We’re six points off the lead, and we want to and have to make that up,” the 47-year-old continued. “The game against Hoffenheim is very, very important and we’re looking forward to it.”
Trio missing at Hoffenheim
Once the snow had been cleared from the training pitch, the team set about working on different tactical approaches on Wednesday to ensure they start the year on the right foot. The head coach once again allowed his players shooting practice in full and smaller goals. He called the session to an end after around 100 minutes, but several FCB players remained out on the pitch for an extra shift, while others headed into the fitness room of the performance centre.
Kovac will definitely be without three players for the opening match of the year. Arjen Robben continued his comeback from a thigh problem with an individual programme on a neighbouring pitch, while Franck Ribery remained inside the performance centre after he tore a thigh muscle last week. The pair are “on the road to recovery but won't be involved on Friday,” according to Kovac. Bayern are also without Corentin Tolisso as he continues his return from a cruciate ligament injury.
Topics of this article