FCA players return to first team training
Opening session of 2026
First Team
03.01.2026, 16:15
The FC Augsburg first team have returned to the training pitch following a short winter break. Around 70 fans were in attendance at this opening session, including many young supporters. New acquisition Yannik Keitel also took part, despite only signing his contract just hours prior on Saturday.
Manuel Baum led the team out onto the training pitch following the 46-year-old extending his tenure as head coach until the end of the season, after initially taking charge of the team on an interim basis. “Three games have turned into 22 and now we have five months longer together to have some fun. From the position of head coach, I can also work more closely on certain areas, so it is a nice situation to be in,” explained Baum. “My heart belongs to this club, no matter which task I am taking on.”
Another strength of Baum’s is integrating young players from the club’s academy, a number of whom received a first taste of training with the senior side during Saturday’s session. Alongside Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, both Kristijan Jakić and Marius Wolf were absent due to illness. Those away at the AFCON were also not present, namely Elias Saad, Ismael Gharbi and Samuel Essende. Anton Kade trained individually, completing running exercises.
Photo gallery: preparations for the remainder of the season underway
In spite of the icy temperatures and bright sunshine, the training session was an intensive one. Focus was fully on the penultimate fixture before the Bundesliga reaches its halfway point, when FCA travel to Mönchengladbach for a 15:30 CET kick-off on Sunday, 11th January 2026. Baum emphasises: “What we initially need to do in the remainder of the campaign is collect a good number of points as quickly as we can.” In order to be best prepared to do so, FCA will undertake a behind-closed-doors friendly match against FC Ingolstadt.
