The women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin has returned to Köpenick after a one-week training camp in Aschheim, Bavaria.

Top conditions in Aschheim

On Sunday, 23.07.2023, the Union squad set off by train for Aschheim, just northeast of Munich. Head coach Ailien Poese's team were then able to train at the Sportpark, the club grounds of FC Aschheim. In the late afternoon, the team took to the training pitch for the first time and completed a relaxed session with some mobility exercises.

To start the first full day of the training camp, the whole team watched the German national team's 5-0 opening victory in the World Cup against Morocco. Afterwards, an intensive session was scheduled to work on game-specific stamina. In the evening, there was another strength session in the conference room.

On Tuesday, some tactical principles were worked on in training and an internal match was played, which was only won in the end by a penalty shoot-out. In the evening, a games evening organised by the team was on the agenda. There, the support team got their chance to shine, showing off their knowledge of football.

The first game of the training camp (and the second of pre-season overall) was played on Wednesday evening, Union winning convincingly 5-0 against the Bavarian Regionalliga team FFC Wacker München. The goals were scored by captain Lisa Heiseler, the three newcomers Anna Weiß, Anouk Blaschka and Sarah Abu Sabbah. The final goal was scored by Sophie Trojahn.

After a strong performance in the test match and some exhausting training sessions, Thursday saw a free afternoon, while in the morning, there were still treatments to be done. Most of the team used the free hours with a trip to the Bavarian capital Munich.

After the afternoon off, Friday was again filled with two demanding sessions. In the morning, the focus was again on game-specific endurance. In the afternoon, there was a football tennis tournament.

On Saturday, the second friendly followed against 1. FC Nürnberg. Throughout the match Union kept up with the newly promoted Bundesliga team and never looked out of place. In the end, though, they narrowly lost 3-2 against "the Club", with the goals for Poese's side being scored by Celine Frank to make it 1-1 and Anouk Blaschka  to make it 3-2.

The camp ended with watching the Germans' second group match at the World Cup, the entire team watched the 2-1 defeat against Colombia together before returning to the capital by train.

The long-term injured midfielders Pauline Wimmer and Luca Scheel worked individually on their comebacks, making good progress in their rehabilitation programmes. Wimmer was even able to take to the pitch for the first time during the training camp.

Head coach Poese was satisfied after the week-long trip to Aschheim, saying, "We had very good conditions here. The hotel was good, everything worked out with the arrival and departure. We had the possibilities to train on the pitch as well as to work in the rehab area."

The Outlook

The team now get two days off to take a breather after an intense week. Then, from Wednesday, the preparation for the fourth friendly of pre-season against FFC Turbine Potsdam will begin. The recently relegated team from the Brandenburg state capital will be the guests at the Fritz-Lesch-Sportplatz next Sunday at 14:00.

As with all home matches this season, admission is free of charge.