Four games played and three wins and a draw suggest a good start but coach Jürgen Klopp was reluctant to draw any conclusions just halfway through the six-week pre-season preparations. Including the new signings, BVB had ten players involved in the World Cup; more than ever before.

But for the four World Cup winners, everyone is now back at the club preparing for the new season. However, with the Under23s starting their competitive campaign on Saturday and the friendly in Osnabrueck on Tuesday, the coaching staff are having to plan very carefully who turns out where and who trains with whom. Klopp liked the mix, saying, “They are all great lads, some of whom never train with the first team” which meant that they had to get used to how things were done eith the elite group.

BVB set out in a very flexible formation for the first hour of their 5-1 win in Essen and scored all their goals during that time. Klopp: “I wanted to see that we are prepared to work hard and that we were in better condition than our opponents. The game looks a little different with heavy legs.”

Essen was pretty much a test of will. Ahead of the game Klopp had intended to change the entire team at half-time. But, according to Klopp, “In the end a few had to play longer than intended and defy the voices in their head screaming Stop! That’s what happens in pre-season.”

For the first time since September 2008, BVB started in a 4-4-2 formation with Hofmann and Mkhitaryan wide and Aubameyang and Immobile up front. The coach liked what he saw, “The movement was good and for 35 minutes we did well defensively, too.” Mkhitaryan, Immobile and Aubameyang scored three of the five goals in the game.

From Tuesday the squad will continue their hard work in Bad Ragaz. Jürgen Klopp pointed out that “We have never had a pre-season like this. Of course I would love to have a pre-season where everyone is there from day one and we work together for seven weeks. But we are making steady progress.” Ramos and Sokratis were the latest additions to the playing ranks and Klopp was simply stating facts when he added, “In three weeks’ time, we shall need 16 players ready to go, because the serious stuff starts then!”