The early bird...

Rani Khedira is the first of the three to start today's training day. After a quick quarter of an hour in the bath, the vice-captain heads straight to breakfast. In his bowl: muesli with fresh fruits. Before the training preparation begins, he has a treatment with the physiotherapists and a routine meeting with the team council and head coach Steffen Baumgart.

Only five minutes later, Leopold Querfeld also starts his day. After a quick face wash, the central defender goes to breakfast – porridge with fruit is his choice. Then just a quick stop in his room to shower before heading to the gym for individual preparation with strength and stabilization exercises.

Ilyas Ansah's alarm clock goes off precisely at 8:00. The 20-year-old doesn't take long to get ready and goes straight to breakfast. For him, it's also light – fruit with yogurt, then off to preparation.

High intensity on the pitch

At 10:00, Steffen Baumgart calls the team for the first session of the day. After a joint warm-up and passing drills, the focus is on overload situations in attack. They work hard for two hours – intensively, loudly, and with concentration. After training, Leopold Querfeld heads back to the gym. There, he rolls out on the foam roller and does some follow-up work.

At lunchtime at 13:00, the seats will be reassigned today so that the groups can mix up again. Afterwards: physio, a short break, gather strength for the second session.

“You had 90 minutes to come up with reasonable questions”

For Ilyas Ansah, today marks his first media round at 1. FC Union Berlin. Five journalists interview him for about 15 minutes. Unusual, but no problem: the offensive player takes it in stride: “This can actually be fun. To put yourself in the journalists' shoes and think about what the best answer is – or what the journalists want to hear.” (laughs)

Leopold Querfeld also meets with a journalist in the afternoon. Preparation? Not necessarily: “For such interviews, not really, because you don’t know exactly what will be asked. But after the game, I do think of a few things, because the questions often repeat or you always have to reflect the course of the game.”

On the pitch, it’s all about precision, sequences, body language. Off the pitch, it’s about words and impact. Two different requirements – both are part of professional daily life.

Rani Khedira skips the interview round today and prefers to spend the time having a coffee and a brief moment with family.

Work hard again, then wind down

At 16:30, the coaching staff calls for the second session of the day at the Adi-Dassler-Stadion. The traveling fans watch as mini-games and shooting drills are conducted. The workload remains slightly lighter: tomorrow the first Friendly of the training camp is scheduled – at 14:00 against SpVgg Greuther Fürth at Sportpark Ronhof.

The team gathers for dinner at 19:30. When asked if anything else is planned afterwards, Khedira replies briefly: “No.” Because the next day not only a game awaits but also fan evening. So it’s straight to the room – enjoy the peace, recharge, put the feet up, clear the mind.

Quote of the Day: "You are intelligent, but you have no idea about fashion" – adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden brings a smile to the face of Union president Dirk Zingler during his visit to the training at Home Ground.

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