The week‘s training begins with a run in ‚Bürgerpark‘

For the Werder players, this week’s first training session, ahead of the vital away trip to Karlsruhe SC, got underway with a spot of running. Coach Thomas Schaaf gathered his squad together for a session of endurance training in ‘Bürgerpark’ and set the Green-Whites off for a few laps of the area. Peter Niemeyer was missing from the session having injured a thigh playing for the reserves against Union Berlin: “The muscle just seized up and I was unable to continue. I can only hope it doesn’t take too long now to recover,” explained the Werder midfielder on Monday.

The goalkeepers were also exempted from the session in ‘Bürgerpark’ and instead got to work on improving their jumping power at the athletics hall in the Weser Stadium with goalkeeping coach Michael Kraft. The injured players, such as club captain Frank Baumann (ankle) and Sebastian Boenisch (muscle tear), went through individual programmes.

source: werder.de

Matthaeus tips his hat to Thomas Schaaf

Lothar Matthaeus is Germany’s most capped international of all time and during his professional career, he won almost every award that it is possible to win in football. Now the former midfield powerhouse is planning to follow up on the successes of his active playing days as a trainer. To reach that particular goal though, he has a long and rocky road ahead of him.

Right now, Matthaeus is working on attaining his football teaching licence and, for that reason, made a two day stop-over with Werder Bremen last week, in order to cast a watchful eye over the shoulder of Green-Whites coach Thomas Schaaf: “All you can do is tip your hat to the work he has done here,” said the former Hungarian national team coach. Schaaf himself made it clear that he didn’t need to teach Matthaeus about football but that the period of observation could prove helpful in “extending the wealth of his experience as well as to help him assess the on-going structures and learn how it all slots together.”

source: werder.de