Preparations for the Rückrunde: Winter training plan

­The new year has begun and the holidays are over. After two weeks of rest and recuperation following the 2-2 draw away to Darmstadt on the 21st December, playing and coaching staff alike enjoyed two weeks off, spending the festive period with family and friends and switching off from the stresses and strains of the 2. Bundesliga. With the first day of training complete on the 6th January, the players can look forward to an intense week of training at the Volkspark, with two training sessions a day planned until Friday. Friday will provide anything but respite for the Rothosen, as FC Schalke 04, who currently find themselves in fifth in the Bundesliga, are the visitors to the Volksparkstadion. Kick-off is at 6:00pm, with tickets available for €10-20.
Less than 48 hours after the first game of the new decade at the Volksparkstadion, the HSV flock will migrate and head south to the warmer climate offered in Portugal for the traditional winter training camp. Dieter Hecking and his troops shall be in ‘La Cascade’ hotel in Lagos from the 12th to the 18th January, with another friendly planned during the week in the Algarve. The opponents, as well as the date and time of the game, have not yet been confirmed. The Rothosen will make a detour whilst flying back to the nest in Hamburg, taking on 20-time Swiss champions FC Basel 1893 on Sunday 19th January at 3:00pm in St. Jakob-Park. 
The final stop on the winter tour shall be much closer to home, and an old haunt of management pair Dieter Hecking and Dirk Bremser. The long-time partners started their career at VfB Lübeck and spent three years on the Baltic coast at the beginning of the new millenium, heading back to their old stomping ground on the 23rd January for a friendly against the Regionalliga side at 6:30pm. Tickets for the game at the Stadion Lohmühle are available for €9.50-18. A week later, on Thursday 30th January, it all kicks off once again as 1. FC Nürnberg are the guests at the Volksparkstadion for the final game of Matchday 19 in the 2. Bundesliga (kick-off 8:30pm). There’s a long way to go before that game kicks off, though!

Here’s an overview of all of the important dates during the preparations for the Rückrunde