Joint training - professionals and U23 team

Werder professionals and U23 players clap hands before training.
First Team
Thursday, 10.10.2013 / 17:13

Spectators at the morning training Thursday had plenty to stare at. For the first time in the Robin Dutt era, the complete professional squad trained together with the second team. Only the internationals from both teams missed...

Spectators at the morning training Thursday had plenty to stare at. For the first time in the Robin Dutt era, the complete professional squad trained together with the second team. Only the internationals from both teams missed the training with their respective national team duty.

"This joint session is a result of the regular meetings with the coaching staff of the U23 team and the sports bosses of the performance academy which take place every Wednesday. The idea came up there and was implemented right away," said Dutt afterwards in the changing room. "I am certain that this was fun for everyone," said U23 coach Viktor Skripnik. "We often train next to one another. This time we brought both teams together. This is a clear sign that the cooperation is not just one-way. We aren't just talking about instructions from the professionals, we are shaping this together."

The opening scene at training was also symbolic. The U23 players were already on the pitch and when the professionals ran on, both teams clapped hands and raced out drills together. The youngsters had a chance to prove themselves under the watchful eyes of Dutt and assistant coach Damir Buric. But the coaching team of Skripnik and Frank Bender as well as coaching trainee Torsten Frings were also on hand, leading drills and observing.

The training session ended with a final 11-on-11 game. The "professionals" won 1-0 on a brilliant shot from Lukas Schmitz. But the U23s gave a strong performance.

Defender Assani Lukimya was able to take part in the full training after overcoming his hip problems.

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