Last Thursday, the women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin travelled to Enguera for a six-day training camp, preparing for the second half of the Regionalliga Nordost season in the winter sunshine.

Arrival in Enguera

It was a tough start, the team met at the stadium An der Alten Försterei at 4:30 in the morning for their departure to the airport. It was only after a stopover in Zurich, that the squad finally landed in Valencia at noon, taking a bus from there to the renowned "Soccer Inter-Action Academy" in Enguera. On-site support was provided by the sports event agency Match IQ, who hadalso organised the men's training camp.

In bright sunshine, the players first familiarised themselves with the pitch and the facilities of the academy. In the evening, the team completed their first relaxed session.

Only midfielder Luca Scheel was unable to make the trip to Spain, the 20-year-old having recently had to undergo a knee operation. Pauline Wimmer, who is also currently suffering from a knee injury, is with the team and is completing her rehabilitation programme.

Two sessions on Friday - team outing on Saturday

On Friday, the first real day of the training camp, two training sessions were scheduled. After working on the athleticism of the players, the focus was on the passing game. The first session was rounded off by a training game in which the players were focused and intense.

The second session followed in the afternoon, but this was mainly for regeneration. A football-tennis tournament provided sufficient relaxation and fun, albeit of a competitive nature. Footballers will be footballers, after all. After dinner, the entire team met for a games evening and finally the day ended with a relaxation session lead by sports psychologist Mona Utler.

On Saturday, another training session took place in the morning, during which the players' heavy legs started to became noticeable, meaning the physiotherapists Nico Haase and Ulrike Kliem were particularly in demand. After lunch, the team finally set off for a joint excursion to Valencia, 70 kilometres away. In the third largest city in the country, the team had a few hours to spend at leisure. After arriving back in Enguera, Utler led another workshop on communication.

Coach Ailien Poese is very satisfied with the days in Enguera so far. "The training camp here gives us the opportunity to focus on topics more intensively. Especially the solutions against deeper lying opponents, and build-up play when playing deep are topics we have dealt with intensively."