Bright sunshine welcomed Borussia Dortmund upon landing in San Javier, near the coastal city Murcia, after their 3-hour flight to Spain. In La Manga 30 kilometres away, the team have begun preparations in their training camp for the second half of the season.

The training camp will represent a fresh start for BVB after a first-half of a season which has been overshadowed by “difficulties and setbacks”. Injuries and slumps in form during the aftermath of the World Cup has sent Jürgen Klopp’s men in a downward spiral, leaving them in 17th place after the first half of the season.

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Jürgen Klopp stimmt die Mannschaft auf die Rückrunde ein.

“The message for the second half of the season is: all or nothing for BVB! Everyone has to put in 100% and perform on the pitch when it is needed,” emphasised the Manager, who took some positives from the time spent in La Manga: “We were able to experience a lot of good times together because at the start of the season, we were able to work together properly”.

But the team is still a long way off being complete. Already in the second training session of 2015, injury struck again – Sven Bender twisted his knee in training and his meniscus required operating on. Sebastian Kehl took part in the 1-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest but suffered a strain to his left shoulder and will be side-lined for four weeks.

But when the going gets tough, Marco Reus is back. The German international enjoyed making his return in the 0-0 draw against Leverkusen as well as Sokratis. “In Leverkusen, taking a point is always a good result and it does us a lot of good today,” said Klopp after the match, even if it means dropping a position lower in the table. “We weren’t perfect by any means, but we did what was necessary and took an important step forwards for the second half of the season. We can’t talk about a relegation battle or demand a footballing masterclass”.

Boris Rupert