Leogang day 4: Early wake up call

The players gathered in front of their Hotel Kirchenwirt at 8a.m.in order to engage in a running exercise with athletic coaches Christof Elser and Yannick Obenauer. "We constantly changed the pace during this running exercise," explained Elser. After breakfast, the main emphasis was placed on passing exercises and various scenarios including playing via the wings. Carlos Eduardo and Prince Tagoe were meanwhile training individually.

After two tiring exercises, the players got to enjoy a deserved lunch meal, which consisted of fish and chicken dishes, tasty vegetables and various salads. Outside, it started to rain in Leogang and in order to keep the pitch in good shape for Sunday's test match, the last training session was held in the gym. "You have to deal with the weather as it comes. Obviously you have to be careful in conditions like these, especially if you have tired legs," said Andreas Ibertsberger. "The strain is a lot higher this year than in the previous pre season preparations and thats why this session in the gym was a welcomed change," said Marvin Compper, who views the friendly match encounter with Israeli side Hapoel Ramat-Gan as an important test. "We have to work on our defence and become more solid. We want to take the next step here." The match kicks off at 6 p.m. in the Steinbergstadion.