The 22 year olds target is Leverkusen! The fact that the game against Bayer 04 is not until Sunday afternoon very much suits Bargfrede, who is hoping to hold onto his position in front of the back four: "I feel very comfortable in the 'Number six' position. I was able to play there during the pre-season preparations and did the job quite well. On Saturday the coach put his face in me and started me there again. I hope it stays that way," said a confident Bargfrede on Tuesday morning. But the young hopeful is also well aware that the competition for places is fierce: "The trainer has a number of options in the midfield. After my substitution, Clemens played well, and Wesley can play there too. We'll all just have to recommend ourselves through training."
Ahead of the second game in the Bundesliga season, the competition for places is bigger than it has been for some time within the Green-Whites squad - and that in every position on the pitch! Up front the coach has all options available with just the exceptions of Denni Avdic (pelvic torsion) and Onur Ayik (therapy following cruciate ligament tear). The hunt for a place in the starting eleven will be sharpened this week, with Claudio Pizarro also having returned to team training last Friday.
The fact that there are so many options available to the trainer is also down to a small group who are returning to training after injury and looking to work their way into the first team. Onur Ayik, Leon Balogun and Özkan Yildirim may currently be avoiding the limelight but are often the first players on the training pitch - often doing laps with physiotherapist Sven Plagge at around 8am. Each of the trio all have set themselves clear goals: "It's getting better from day to day, but I have to think in weeks still," said Onur Ayik, who celebrated his Bundesliga debut last season but is now in therapy, recovering from a cruciate ligament tear. Things are moving more quickly for Leon Balogun, who is expecting to return to full team training at the end of this week: "I can still feel a slight tightening in my thigh and I don't want to take any risks. If all goes well, I can try again in two or three days."