Regular training grounds don’t cut the mustard in Deutschland

If Harry Redknapp is looking for a way to keep Jermain Defoe from being distracted by temptations of the flesh, he need not seek help from the Germans. After leading VfL Wolfsburg to fifth place in the Bundesliga and a UEFA Cup spot last season, coach Felix Magath has led his squad straight to a nudist colony on the Baltic island of Usedom. “I wanted to give the training sessions some new attractions,” he told German newspaper Bild as he watched his men perform drills in front of the wrinkly and the shameless.

Not wanting to be outdone by the Wolves, newly promoted Borussia Mönchengladbach have also started training in front of nude folk in Bad Lippspringe, in order to prepare for their ‘relegation fight’, as Bild so negatively puts it. Coach Jos Luhukay insists his side aren’t bothered by the choice of training location, yet Gladbach striker Rob Friend has clearly been paying attention to the scenery:

“There weren’t any models, they were mainly grandmas and grandpas. We’ll keep an eye on it.”

[Bild]