Training camp gets underway for HSV in Kitzbühel

Hello Kitzbühel is the message from today for HSV and the club’s supporters, as the Rothosen embarked on their one-week training camp in the Austrian mountains. At around 9am local time the team took off from Hamburg airport, before landing in Salzburg and completing the rest of the journey to the Tirolian Mountains by bus, finishing up at their final destination, aptly enough ‘Das Tirol’ hotel, which will be the team’s basecamp for the coming week. Kitzbühel is best known as an Alpine ski resort, where the best downhill skiers in the world take on the challenge of the Hahnenkamm slopes every winter, looking for the best route through the snow. For Dieter Hecking and his charges the task during the next seven days will be to plan a successful route through the upcoming Bundesliga season.

23 outfield players as well as three goalkeepers received the call-up to participate in the training camp. Stephan Ambrosius, who is still recovering from rupturing his ACL, and Vasilije Janjicic, looking to return after tearing his intra-articular ligament, have not made the trip, whilst Tatsuya Ito has been granted an extension to his holiday to recuperate after his exertions for the Japanese national team over the summer. Despite their individual injury setbacks, David Kinsombi (torn hamstring) and Ewerton (groin problems) will be with the squad, hopefully signalling a return to action in the near future.

The coaching staff are looking to really put the squad through their paces, with at least two training sessions a day as well as a number of group discussions and analysis sessions. The two particular highlights of the week shall be testing friendlies against top opposition; on Wednesday against Olympiacos in Jenbach at 6pm, and on Saturday against Huddersfield Town at 4pm in Kitzbühel. The second game will be broadcast live on HSVtv, but only for fans living in Germany. HSV felt right at home from the first minute in Kitzbühel, mainly due to the non-stop rain that greeted their arrival. In that sense: Hello Kitzbühel!

The squad for Kitzbühel: goalkeepers - Heuer Fernandes, Mickel, Pollersbeck; outfield players - Bates, David, Dudziak, Ewerton, Fein, Gyamerah, Hinterseer, Hunt, Jatta, Jairo, Jung, Kinsombi, Kittel, Leibold, Moritz, Narey, Özcan, Papadopoulos, Sakai, Vagnoman, van Drongelen, Wintzheimer, Wood