The Bayern stars are in Doha, Qatar from 4 to 10 January, toiling away at the traditional mid-season training camp. Read our daily diary direct from the Aspire Zone Foundation and find out more about the players' activities and impressions.
Following the long flight from Munich on Friday, the Bayern stars briefly retired to their hotel rooms for rest and refreshments before taking to the pitch for the first training session in Doha. Niko Kovac started by gathering the whole squad for a welcome talk, before the players who are recovering from injury such as Arjen Robben, Corentin Tolisso and Serge Gnabry pursued individual fitness programs. Mats Hummels remained at the hotel with a back problem. The rest of the squad got up to speed with passing drills and a practice match to conclude the opening workout.
It was a relatively gentle start to an intense and sweat-inducing week. Kovac has not identified any specific areas he wishes to work on: "You have to work on every aspect of the game in football. Technique, tactics, fitness. You have to work on the four phases in every game: You have the ball, your opponents have the ball, you win possession and you lose it. We'll work through all these moments, so our moves become automatic and we can react quickly to certain match situations," the 47-year-old observed. "We want to give the players options, so they find better solutions to each situation."
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