#B04goesUSA – Day 3: Chicha’s favourite number

Day three at the training camp in Orlando will be remembered: Youngster Atakan Akkaynak celebrated his 18th birthday away from home. His fellow players sang to him after the evening meal and presented him with a chocolate cake. The Germany U17 player was centre stage in the morning. Head coach Roger Schmidt congratulated him on the training ground, the player had to give a speech and the team responded with encouraging applause. It was the start of a busy day with Akkaynak, who started at the Werkself in 2007, also appearing on the Bayer 04 Facebook page to share his opinions on the training camp to date.

Three players score the maximum

The Werkself pros had two training sessions on Thursday. And the ball was centre stage in both the morning and afternoon sessions. Drills covered various match situations and approaches to challenges. The results were noted for all the players and the winners were announced in the evening. Three players won 100 per cent of the challenges they were involved in. Goalkeeper Niklas Lomb and striker Chicharito were joined by Kevin Kampl who stood out both on and off the pitch.

Black or Red with Chicha

His team-mates are regularly surprised by the appetite of the slim man from Solingen. He always fills his plate and never says no to a dessert. "His metabolism must be working like a dream," said Chicharito who had another duty after the evening meal. First, there was an interview with the German Football League (DFL) and then it was off to play pool in a Black or Red challenge. The Bayer 04 media team discovered seven is not a lucky number for the Mexico international. To find out which number it is visit the Bayer 04 social media platforms.

Jolle or Danger

Finland ‘only’ has a population of 5.5 million but the people from the far north appear to love to travel. Joel Pohjanpalo was not surprised when somebody spoke to him in Finnish following the afternoon session. A family from Helsinki, on holiday in Florida, took the opportunity to call into the Omni Hotel to watch their fellow countryman train. Pohjanpalo took time out for the parents and their two girls, signed autographs, posed for photographs and revealed his nickname. Although he is known as Danger at Leverkusen he was called Jolle before that.

Shortest journey

While Joel Pohjanpalo had the longest journey, from Melbourne to Orlando, it was just round the corner for Jonathan Tah. The Germany international spent his winter holiday in Miami – just 250 miles away from the training camp. "I was able to acclimatise quickly," said Tah in an interview with Bayer 04 TV. "I'm fully refreshed and ready to go."

Hakan against Wendell

The Turkey international is an expert from set pieces. And, to help Hakan Calhanoglu add to his tally of assists and goals in the next 18 Bundesliga matches with a goal or two from free kicks, it was time to bring out the yellow dummies to form a wall. Hakan did not need to be asked twice as he fired shots past the ears of youth goalkeeper Tomasz Kucz. He was followed by team-mate Wendell. However, the Brazilian was unable to near the strike rate of Calhanoglu.

Looking forward to the NBA night

The Werkself have a packed programme on Friday 6 January. After two training sessions they will watch an NBA match in the evening. Kieß, Bender and Co. will see Orlando Magic play the Houston Rockets.

You can keep up-to-date with events in Florida round-the-clock via our hashtag #B04goesUSA. Just log on toTwitter,Facebook,Instagram and Snapchat (@bayer04snaps). Information on the Werkself training camp is available here in German, English and Spanish: >> http://www.bayer04.de/goesUSA <<