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Gregor Kobel on the training camp and the returnees
It has been an unusually long winter break for Dortmund's goalkeeper. After BVB played their last competitive match more than seven weeks ago, the Swiss shot-stopper linked up with his national team for the World Cup in Qatar and then went on holiday like his team-mates. Kobel has been back with the squad, which is currently very large, since Monday. All the players who have recently been injured or carrying a knock boarded the plane to Marbella on Friday.
"It's top here. We have super pitches, super weather and super conditions," Kobel explained on the second day of the training camp. "We had some time to recover. But within the team, you can now sense everyone is keen to get down to work and get started again as soon as possible." According to their goalkeeper, the BVB players want to "start the second half-season full of energy". After all, BVB currently sit sixth in the table and have some things to set straight.
Kobel said: "We defended outstandingly in the opening games of the first half of the season. We started the season very strongly defensively. But in the final matches, we stopped playing the way that we had played at the beginning." The task will now be to "rediscover the rhythm and become a bit more consistent in a couple of scenarios. We've already shown that we're capable of it." Kobel and his team-mates want to build on the things that were good. "You have to talk about the things that weren't good. That's what we did and what we'll continue to do. I trust the team."
And then there are the aforementioned returning players too. "We have three or four new signings; that's how it feels anyway. We're delighted about every player who is back. We will gain more quality with them," believes Kobel.
Christina Reinke