The ball has been on hold since November 13th because of the World Cup in Qatar in the Bundesliga, and things won’t start again until January 20th. The unusual interruption poses major challenges for the clubs – and they deal with it very differently. Some are already on vacation, others are testing until just before Christmas.
The FC Bayern Munich players who are not taking part in the world tournament in Qatar have been back at the training ground on Säbener Strasse since November 28 after a two-week vacation. Training will continue until December 9th, after which there will be a Christmas and winter break. The team will not start training again until January 3rd, when the national players will also be back. Only three days later it’s off to the training camp in Doha, where the team is preparing for the second half of the season until January 12th.
Dortmund national players have to go to training
Borussia Dortmund’s internationals don’t have it that good. BVB is asking its previously eliminated World Cup drivers to return to team training immediately. There are training sessions until the end of the week. On December 10th the team will play in a blitz tournament in Bucharest. Only then does the entire squad go on winter break until January 2nd. From January 6th to 14th there is a training camp in Marbella (Spain). The Dortmunders have been quite active so far anyway. From November 21st to December 1st they traveled to Asia, where they played three friendlies.
Eintracht Frankfurt (to Japan), Bayer Leverkusen, 1. FC Köln and VfB Stuttgart (all to the USA) also traveled for the first time. Speaking of Stuttgart. The new coach Bruno Labbadia would like to start immediately, but it won’t start again until December 13th.
Union back after three weeks vacation
Union is only now back on the pitch. The Berliners have been on vacation for almost three weeks and are now starting their winter preparations. Only shortly before Christmas is it free again, and from January 2nd to 11th we go to the training camp in Campoamor, Spain.
The Mainzers are still full of juice. The 1. FSV left for the training camp in Mallorca on Monday (December 5th, 2022). It’s only released on December 13th. From January 4th to 11th it’s off to Spain again – this time to Marbella.
Augsburg also trains in two blocks
After the World Cup break, training has been back for FC Augsburg since Monday. The first block of training ends just before Christmas on December 20th. From January 4th the team will be in the training camp in Alicante. It’s going back on January 12th. SC Freiburg is still on the pitch against Young Boys Bern two days before Christmas Eve. FC Schalke still meets VfL Osnabrück.
Leipzig and Hertha BSC early on vacation
Hertha BSC chose a completely different approach. After the start of the World Cup, training and various friendlies continued. That’s why the pros are already going on their Christmas vacation on December 8th. RB Leipzig’s players have even been on vacation since December 3rd. From January 2nd to 12th the training camp will take place in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
Squad plans are running – or not
The fact that the club is not planning any activities in the upcoming transfer window fits in with the calm in Leipzig. This also applies to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, for example. Other clubs are planning in the background. But who will come or go can only be speculated about. The transfer window opens on January 1st.
FC Schalke 04, who are threatened with relegation, are said to be very interested in Union Berlin’s Tim Skarke. And Deniz Undav from Premier League-Association Brighton & Hove should be on the wish list at Hertha BSC. At 1. FC Köln they want to keep their eyes open as to whether signing a striker is feasible.