On Monday, FC Bayern held its mandatory fitness tests for the new season, with a few pros already reporting back to the club. Team training officially began one day later. One player on the chopping block was missing
Many players were not yet present. Sacha Boey, Armindo Sieb, and Joao Palhinha—all of whom are free to leave the club—were on the field, as were Tom Bischof, Arijon Ibrahimovic, and Sven Ulreich.
Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl were also training at Säbener Straße, but not yet with the team, as they are still working their way back to full fitness following their injuries.
Zaragoza is dealing with persistent knee problems
One player, however, was completely absent: Bryan Zaragoza. The 24-year-old, most recently on loan to AS Roma, wasn’t there at all. According to information from BILD, he has been struggling with knee inflammation in recent weeks. Of course, this isn’t good news either regarding a possible sale of the Spaniard.
A timely solution in Zaragoza’s case isn’t in sight at the moment either. There have been occasional informal inquiries from Spain, but none of them have materialized in recent weeks. That’s why the record champions—who clearly prefer a sale over a loan—must continue to be patient.
Otherwise, it was an XXL training session. Vincent Kompany, Bayern’s head coach, held a sort of talent scouting session. Dozens of youth players were in attendance, including gems like Maycon Cardozo, Wisdom Mike, Felipe Chavez, and Filip Pavic.
So there was indeed a lot going on at Säbener Straße, which is currently a major construction site due to extensive renovations. Despite the crowded training field, Kompany was very communicative, saying: “Even though there are a lot of us, and even though there are a lot of young players: The most important thing is communication! Talk to each other—that’s the most important thing in soccer!”
One or two of these young players will have the chance to prove themselves and earn brownie points during the preseason. That much is already certain.