Team

Farewell, adidas! HSV head to Graz for friendly following training camp

Since Monday, the HSV first team have been preparing for the new season at their training camp at club partner adidas’ Homeground. Friday afternoon saw them bid farewell to Herzogenaurach and make their way to Austria for a friendly against SK Sturm Graz.

“We’ve had absolutely perfect conditions here,” summed up HSV board member for sport Stefan Kuntz during a Q&A session at the Fan Afternoon, highlighting the benefits of holding the training camp at HSV partner adidas. The coaching staff and players echoed that view, having been able to train and work intensively and constructively under ideal conditions for five days.

From Monday to Friday, training on the adidas Homeground pitches was full throttle, with various sessions pushing the team hard. In the limited downtime, the excellent adidas facilities provided space for many conversations, team meetings, and individual discussions. A welcome break from the daily routine came on Wednesday, when players and coaches enjoyed spending time with the roughly 600 travelling supporters at the Fan Afternoon.

On Thursday, the fans were treated to a public training session at the Adi-Dassler-Sportplatz, before HSV held one final session on Friday. Early in the afternoon, the team bid farewell to their partner adidas and continued their journey towards Austria. The Rothosen are set to play a friendly in Graz on Saturday against SK Sturm Graz, the reigning Austrian Bundesliga champions. For the hosts, the match will serve as their final dress rehearsal before the start of the season. HSV will then return directly to Hamburg from Graz, where they will continue to build on the work laid down at the adidas Homeground back at the Volksparkstadion.