According to coach Fabian Hürzeler, FC St. Pauli did not make the controversial decision to train on the German holiday island of Mallorca easy. “First of all, I can say that of course I would have preferred to stay here,” said Hürzeler on Thursday. “Because everything else is an additional burden for the players, also for the staff,” added the coach. After the game on Saturday (1 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the second Bundesliga and on Sky) at 1. FC Magdeburg, the Hanseatic League will be in the sun between Monday and Friday.
Due to the rainfall in recent weeks and the resulting poor pitch conditions for weeks, the Hamburg club is moving its training to the Spanish island. It was only on Wednesday that the last quarter-final of the DFB Cup between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Borussia Mönchengladbach was canceled due to heavy rain. The process in the middle of the season is still unusual for a German professional club.
“It’s not a training camp”
The club received positive feedback on social networks, but there were also derisive comments regarding the regular sustainability debates surrounding the Kiezkickers. On Thursday, a spokesman referred to a mobility analysis that showed that the travel activities of the professional team during football games only accounted for a small proportion of pollutant emissions. “We didn’t expect everyone to stand up and give thunderous applause for the measure,” said the spokesman. The club is aware that it is operating in a field in which there are contradictions.
“It’s not a training camp,” said Hürzeler. This choice was made because there were no suitable alternative options in the Hanseatic city and the leaders of the second Bundesliga wanted to enter the important phase of the season with optimal conditions.
Frank Heike, Hamburg Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Daniel Theweleit, Leverkusen Published/Updated: Recommendations: 5
The club also wants to use the process to prevent injuries to players. “Why Mallorca? Because there is the opportunity to train well there,” said Hürzeler. St. Pauli found a good hotel there and is training on the underground of the first division club RCD Mallorca. The club travels there on a normal airline flight.
