Goalkeeping day in Campoamor

With Frederik Rönnow, Lennart Grill, Jakob Busk and Yannic Stein all out in the Spanish sun, Union are blessed with four fit goalkeepers preparing for the second half of the season. So our third daily report from the training camp near Alicante is dedicated to them; the forgotten ones, about whom Eduardo Galeano once said "where he walks, the grass never grows".

Reaction is both demanded and encouraged

It is a quick reaction time that both divides and unites the men between the sticks. The quickest, whose hair-trigger movements operate on a level imperceptible to most other mere mortals, almost have the ability to slow down time. They can make the difference between a goal or not, a win or a loss.

But even the best have to practice, so the first half of the morning session was dedicated to honing those reactions. The four keepers took turns standing with their backs to goalkeeping coach - himself a former Union keeper - Michael Gspurning. He hit balls sharply off the wall in front of them, with the rebound having to be deflected to the side as far as possible.

After the reaction exercise, Gspurning continued to work them, this time with shots raining down on them from all angles, from all positions. Their long sleeves were drenched with sweat, the knees of their tracksuit bottoms wore thin.  

Football tennis and one on ones

In the second session in the afternoon, Busk, Grill, Rönnow and Stein warmed up with a round of football tennis, afterwards, joining the rest of the squad to show off, to flex their muscles, rpoving themselves against their more feted team-mates in a series of one-on-ones. Two players charging at one from all around the box. While waiting, the others worked on their kicking.

Tomorrow, Thursday, the team will have more time for regeneration with only one session scheduled in the morning, while the afternoon will be available for treatments, massages and individual work in the weight room.

Quote of the day: "Good for the video, bad for the camera!" - an AFTV cameraman when Jakob Busk struck their apparatus with a low shot. Whether further swear words were also used remains entirely unrecorded.