FCA arrive in Alicante

It’s time to get back to business: FC Augsburg have begun preparations ahead of the second half of the current Bundesliga season. Head coach Manuel Baum’s team travelled to the training camp in Alicante, Spain on Friday, 4th January.  FC Augsburg’s preparations for the second half of the season kicked off with medical check-ups on Thursday, 3rd January. Only one day later, the FCA lads headed off to the training camp in Spain. The squad’s residence is around 60km south of Alicante in Algorfa, where the plane touched down at noon, leaving the snow in Augsburg far behind. The plane actually had to be de-iced in Munich before taking off, causing the take-off to be slightly delayed, but the weather in Spain more than made up for the inconvenience. 17-degree-celcius sunshine greeted the players on the Mediterranean coast. After having lunch and a small break, the team headed to the nearby training pitch. However, Manuel Baum instructed the team not to unpack their football boots; instead, the boss sent the team for a run to shake off the players’ fatigue from the lactate test and the trip to Spain from their legs. Only Kilian Jakob and Christoph Janker, who have now both just recovered from their injuries, completed a separate training session consisting of light passing drills with the fitness coach.

Three players missing

Three players were nowhere to be seen on the journey to Spain. Alfred Finnbogason was missing due to the birth of his second son on Thursday in Augsburg. He is due to re-join the team on Saturday evening. Whether or not Philipp Max can also re-join the team depends on whether his stomach bug goes away in time to make the trip. Forward Caiuby remains in his home country Brazil for the time being for private reasons. Without the trio, the FCA squad numbers 28 players, as new signing Gregor Kobel (on loan from TSG Hoffenheim) is also in attendance, as well as youth player Maurice Malone, who also took part in the summer training camp in Mals. Manuel Baum has planned two training sessions per day over the next few days in order to prepare the team as much as possible for the start of the second half of the season on Saturday, 19th January (KO 15:30 CET) against Fortuna Düsseldorf.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc08mX3HfcQ