BayernForum.com

18.02.2007

If they were not aware of it before Saturday evening, the Bayern players now know that unusual situations call for unusual measures, as the Bavarians began preparing for Tuesday's Champions League last sixteen trip to Real Madrid just hours after the final whistle in the Bundesliga defeat to Aachen. Immediately after the Munich party arrived home from the west of the country late on Saturday evening, Ottmar Hitzfeld ordered his stars to train at the Säbener Strasse.

"It wasn't a punishment. It was simply making best use of our time," the 58-year-old informed reporters at the unusually late hour, revealing that the session was not ordered up as a spontaneous response to defeat in Aachen. "We told the players three days ago. It was all agreed beforehand. We'd have trained even if we'd won 3-0," Hitzfeld explained.

<b>Gaining a day</b>

The stars who appeared in Saturday's league clash were sent indoors for regeneration exercises, while the substitutes completed a normal training session out on the floodlit field. "We wanted to use the brief phase between matches to regenerate as best as possible," assistant coach Michael Henke reported. "Matches in Southern Europe don't start until 10 in the evening, so why shouldn't we train between 9 and 11 p.m.?"

The regeneration circuit included exercise bikes, massage, Aqua gymnastics and an ice bath. "Obviously, we had to organise everything in advance," Hitzfeld observed. By completing the training and conditioning routine on Saturday night, the players effectively gained a day in terms of preparing for the trip to Madrid's Bernabeu stadium.

<b>Emphasis on hard work</b>

"We're in an unusual situation, and that calls for unusual action," Hitzfeld commented on Sunday morning, underlining the vital importance of Bayern's upcoming European fixtures.

"We're having to work exceptionally hard on ourselves," the boss continued, "every player needs to be aware that Bayern Munich is all that counts right now. We have to sacrifice everything for the cause." Saturday night training was just a start.