An even friendlier friendly

Oliver Hüsing and Felix Kroos will line up against old teammates and friends when Werder meet Rostock in friendly (photo: nph).
First Team
Monday, 06.07.2015 / 16:19

SV Werder celebrated an emphatic 11-0 victory over MSV Neuruppin in their first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2015/16 season. The second test of the players' fitness...

SV Werder celebrated an emphatic 11-0 victory over MSV Neuruppin in their first pre-season friendly ahead of the 2015/16 season. The second test of the players' fitness will come as the Green-Whites meet 3. Bundesliga's Hansa Rostock this Tuesday (7th July) at the Ostseestadion in Rostock. For players on both sides, the encounter will mean the return of some familiar faces.

It has been more than three years since Werder's last meeting with the historic Ostsee side, and for the Green-Whites there is a sort of unfinished business to attend to, since the last encounter ended in defeat. Since then, both sides have changed personnel quite extensively, a thought echoed by the ex-Rostock player Felix Kroos: "I don't know many of the players anymore."

Frings: "Everyone will get some playing time"

Werder last travelled to Hansa Rostock at the end of the 2012/13 season (photo: nph).

Despite this, the game is still something special for Kroos. "Of course I still have a link to Hansa - my father is a youth coach there and the city is my home. Therefore I'm looking forward to the game!" But it's not only Kroos who is making a return to a former home. Fin Bartels helped Hansa to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2007/8 and youth-team defender Oliver Hüsing also earned some valuable game time on loan in Rostock during the second half of last season. "I'm really looking forward to the game. I had a great few months there and I've already spoken to a few of the players. And of course I'm looking forward to seeing the fans again," said Hüsing. There are also two former Werder players now in the Hansa squad - Aleksandar Stevanovic and José-Alex Ikeng are also in line to make a return to their former club.

For SVW the match marks the end of their first intensive training camp. "We know that the boys have stiff legs, but we want to see them give everything," said assistant coach Thorsten Frings. Werder will also ring the changes during this second pre-season friendly. "Every player will get some playing time and the chance to show what they can do," Frings added.

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