#B04goesUSA – Day 7: More important than football

The squad is finally complete. Julian Baumgartlinger arrived in Orlando late on Sunday evening and on Monday morning he joined his team-mates on the training ground for the first time. His wife gave birth to a daughter in Austria on Saturday morning. "I'd like to thank the coaching team and all the management very much for letting me be there," said the captain of the Austrian national team who is a father for the first time. "There are few things in life more important than football. That's definitely one of them." At the same time, he is happy to be back on the training ground with his team-mates. "I've missed it." He now wants to give one hundred per cent to get match fit again as soon as possible.

Trio at doping control

Last year there were no checks but in 2017 doping control was back on the agenda at the training camp. Vladlen Yurchenko, and Ömer Toprak and Chicharito were required to provide urine samples. The containers were full by lunchtime and the control staff were able to do their work.

Universal Studios

After lots of intensive sessions, head coach Roger Schmidt decided against training on Monday afternoon and he gave his players a couple of hours off. Some used the time to recover in the hotel from the hard work on the training ground, others played golf and nearly half the squad took up the offer of the club to visit Universal Studios. While a group, including Karim Bellarabi, Kevin Kampl and Hakan Calhanoglu, were keen to investigate the Hulk ride, Bernd Leno, Danny da Costa and Co. opted to go in search of Harry Potter in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.

Highlights of Estudiantes game

Anyone wanting to find out more about the visit to the amusement park can look at the Werkself logbook with Kevin Kampl on the Bayer 04 Facebook site. There are also images of Sundays match against Estudiantes de La Plata one by Roger Schmidt's team on penalties.

Preparing for A-levels

Most the time the players relax in their rooms after training. Some of them take a nap, others use their smartphones, watch a film or go on their games consoles. Kai Havertz, on the other hand, takes a book in his hand from time to time. That is usually for educational reasons. The 17-year-old is currently preparing for his A-levels. He has to attend lessons until the end of March and then he can prepare for the exams at home.

Higher level courses: German and Sport

Havertz opted to take the higher level courses in German and Sport, Geography is his third subject and he has to take an oral exam in Mathematics. "There was no alternative," said Havertz with a mischievous smile. In spite of the many hours missed due to football he is a good student. Everybody involved is confident the teenager will pass his A-levels and then concentrate fully on football. The youngster has talked to Bayer 04 TV about the training camp, his targets for 2017 and how he balances study and football. The video will be online in next few days.

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 <<.