After VfB’s international players returned unscathed from duty with their respective national teams, the Cannstatt boys started to gear up in earnest for Sunday’s clash with Baden-Württemberg neighbours Karlsruhe at a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Arena (kick-off 13:30 CET).
Captain Marc Oliver Kempf and Co. were put through their paces at the VfB training complex, although Nicolas Gonzalez, who earned his third senior cap for Argentina in a 2-2 draw with Uruguay on Monday evening in Tel Aviv, did not train with the rest of his colleagues. Instead, he followed an individual programme in the gym alongside U21 internationals Orel Mangala and Maxime Awoudja.
Florian Kleinhansl and Nick Bätzner (both from the U21s) and Lilian Egloff (U19s), who all featured in the 4-0 friendly win over Grasshopper Club Zurich on Friday, joined in the session with the first team, as did Benedict Hollerbach (U19s).
