At 2:32 p.m., Erik ten Hag stepped onto the training ground at the BayArena for the first time as Bayer 04 head coach, followed shortly afterwards by the first players – Amine Adli with a new short haircut, a cheerful new father in Jonas Hofmann, and new signing Ibrahim Maza led the way. Despite a brief rain shower at the start of the session, the players' anticipation surrounding their return to the pitch was clearly evident.
A total of 20 players took part in the first pre-season training session, including various young players as well as Aleix Garcia, Victor Boniface, Arthur, Alejo Sarco, and goalkeeper Niklas Lomb. New additions from the youth team included Osman Turay (from FC Schalke 04) and Dustin Buck (FC Augsburg).
The focus at the start was on drills with the ball in a restricted space. Ten Hag and his new assistant coaches Andries Ulderink and Rogier Meijer pushed the players hard from the outset and ensured that the exercise was intense. This was followed by a series of runs and several rounds of soccer tennis, before the session ended with a practice match.
Following his first training session at Bayer 04, ten Hag told media representatives: “We've prepared intensively for this start over the past few weeks. So I'm really looking forward to finally being on the training ground and getting to work with the guys.”
Reflecting on the current state of the squad and his ambitions and goals with the Werkself, the Dutchman said: "What the club has achieved in recent years is outstanding. But that's now in the past. We're now looking ahead, together with many people here at the club who have a great deal of expertise. I'm confident we will continue to compete at the top and build a new, very promising team. It is still very early in the preparation phase, but my impressions so far are very, very good."
In addition, ten Hag spoke to Werkself-TV about training in this early phase of preseason and the upcoming training camp in Brazil starting next week...
Erik ten Hag interview with Werkself-TV:
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