The last phase of preparation begins this afternoon when Coach Thomas Tuchel awaits his team at the training ground in Dortmund for the first time since their return. In an interview, the Coach talks about the intensive days in Dubai.

Thomas Tuchel on the preparation so far:

“We are very pleased with the first couple of weeks. We won back our work attitude which we exerted in the first half of the season. The conditions in Dubai were exceptionally good. I am very pleased with our player rotations. The only bad news was that Manni and Schmelle were not with us due to their injuries from the first half of the season.

…on the main focus in the training camp:

“It was very complex as there weren’t any individual areas.  We wanted to have confirmation from the games that we were on the right track. The units were short but intense. The group has a good chemistry.

…on the friendlies so far:

“We worked really hard in both games and created lots of goal scoring opportunities and deserved to win. We should have scored more goals and should have also defended better in one or two moments of play. We must now work on this in Dortmund.”