Head coach Viktor Skripnik held two training sessions for his side on Wednesday. Levin Öztunali and Maximilian Eggestein were not present however - they, along with six other...
Head coach Viktor Skripnik held two training sessions for his side on Wednesday. Levin Öztunali and Maximilian Eggestein were not present however - they, along with six other...
Head coach Viktor Skripnik held two training sessions for his side on Wednesday. Levin Öztunali and Maximilian Eggestein were not present however - they, along with six other Werder players, have been called up by their respective nations during this international break. Despite lacking in first-teamers, training still took place in Bremen - and Wednesday's sessions had one eye firmly fixed on the future, as nine academy players were given the opportunity to train alongside the first team.
Last season, Maximilian Eggestein made his Bundesliga debut for the Green-Whites, and now the midfield star will also wear the national shirt for the first time. Germany's U20 head coach Frank Wormuth has picked Eggestein in his squad for their two upcoming games against Italy on 3rd September and Poland on 7th September, making it Eggestein's first national call-up at any level. Levin Öztunali, after representing Germany at last summer's U20 World Cup, has now moved up a level to the U21s and will get the chance to show what he can do this week in their games against Denmark and Azerbaijan. "At your club you work day in day out on your strengths and weaknesses and try to reach your goals. In particular though, at your club you train with a lot of older more experienced players. With the national squad you train alongside the very best in your age group. I do think the experiences with the youth teams have helped me tremendously in my career," Öztunali told DFB.de.

Just 19 Werder players trained on Wednesday morning, but there were 28 of them by the afternoon session. Viktor Skripnik and his backroom staff used the more relaxed atmosphere during the international break to take a look at some of the prospects currently playing their football in the Werder academy sides. Nine players from various age groups were given a taste of the first team - one of those was Johannes Eggestein, Maximilian's younger brother. This integration of younger players into the first team is an important part of how the club wants to conduct itself in regard to future talent.
There was some bad news for Werder fans however, as Philipp Bargfrede was forced to sit out the end of the session after picking up a knock on his foot - the same foot that he injured slightly in last week's clash with Gladbach. Melvyn Lorenzen also had to finish his session early because of a discomfort in his knee - he will undergo tests today. It's as yet unclear when either player will be able to return.
The youth players to take part in first-team training on Wednesday were: Justin Plautz (U17); Jannes Vollert, Melvin Krol, Johannes Eggestein, Tom Pachulski (U19); Marcel Hilßner, Ousman Manneh, Patrick Mainka, Torben Rehfeldt (U23).