The start was certainly frosty, but apparently not icy cold enough for some. Five Werder players showed up for Monday morning’s lactate test in shorts despite temperatures reaching minus-4 degrees...
The start was certainly frosty, but apparently not icy cold enough for some. Five Werder players showed up for Monday morning’s lactate test in shorts despite temperatures reaching minus-4 degrees...
The start was certainly frosty, but apparently not icy cold enough for some. Five Werder players showed up for Monday morning’s lactate test in shorts despite temperatures reaching minus-4 degrees. While most of the players were warmly bundled up on the running track at Grounds 11 of Weser Stadion, Werder’s top striker Claudio Pizarro, captain Frank Baumann, Hugo Almeida, Per Mertesacker and Peter Niemeyer all showed up for the first fitness test of 2009 in shorts.
All of Werder’s healthy players were on hand Monday morning at Weser Stadion, rested and with plenty of motivation to start the preparations. "The winter break was unusually long. It started very early and we had a lot of time to shut down physically and mentally. Now I am happy that we’re back," said Frank Baumann, who despite being "scantily clad" for the lactate test looks forward to the training camp in Turkey. "There are better conditions there, if nothing else just the temperatures. The workload will surely not be any more difficult than in previous years."
Head coach Thomas Schaaf also appeared regenerated from the break. And it was clear how much he looks forward to the start of 2009 by the press talks he held in the afternoon. "We are all very motivated, looking very much forward to the next couple months. We know that we can play better and want to show that. I am looking forward to the preparations, even though we know that not everything goes perfectly in these weeks. But it’s our intention – despite all obstacles and injury concerns – to find a rhythm and quickly bring the team up to speed. "
