The morning after Leeds United's friendly against SC Verl en Mail Sport around the village of Marienfeld bikes. From the Eiscafe (Ice-Cream Parlor) to the Golf Club or the Combi Supermarket, the Leeds team have been foundation guests last week.
The players enjoy a morning bike ride on their recovery day. Overbrenger is Wilfried Gnonto, helmet and calls, takes the action and smiles as always. Also little surprise that none other than Largie Ramazani delivers much of the chatter.
“The air is broadcast, the bike is cycling, the team works together,” says Ramazani on a clip placed by Leeds. Shamoun, who runs the Eiscafe, says that the players visit so often that he has asked them to leave a Google review.
In honesty there is not much different to do in these parts. As far as the locals are concerned, they are used to seeing football players roaming through their streets. The Hotel-Residence Klosterpforte, where Leeds did their training camp for the season last summer, was also the basis for Portugal in Euro 2024.
Christopher Schemmink, the hotel director, remembers that Cristiano Ronaldo came out of his room and took everything when thousands of supporters had gathered outside the hotel gates. 'There were six to seven thousand fans here on the day Portugal arrived. We had 90 security personnel who did three services a day to secure the location, “Schemmink tells Mail Sport.
Portugal, who also used the basis for the 2006 World Cup, booked the entire location, while Leeds only wanted the Sporthotel. Admittedly, things are quieter with Leeds in the city, helped by the secret of this camp and the fact that fans are forbidden to attend due to security problems that have been discussed by local authorities.
The reason why Leeds returned to this part of North Rhine-Westphalia is easy. For manager Daniel Farke it worked last year – and also during his time at Norwich.
The complex is 40 minutes from his hometown and he enjoys a long -term friendship with the family who owns the hotel.
On the walls are framed photos and signed shirts of all teams and managers who have stayed here over the years, including Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp.
The conversations about the return of Leeds started from the moment they left last season and accelerated every other year when the plans for the season were discussed.
Japan was considered because of the influence of Ao Tanaka, just like America, the 49ers -link, but Leeds had no certainty that they would play Premier League football.
In an era in which tours are great earners for the season, it is certainly not ideal from a commercial perspective. But from the point of view of football, it taps all the boxes.
“The first time we came with Leeds, everyone liked it because of the facilities and the good conditions,” Farke said. “For the English soul of my players it is also better not to have 40 degrees again, so it's more or less the perfect location.”
With two fields on site, gym facilities, a swimming pool and a tennis court, everything is within walking distance.
The decision to return led to dissatisfaction among supporters, after fans were again banned by the German authorities. That is the nature of covering this tour that we have exercised the report on competitions to an hour after the last whistle, according to the police. It was the same last year.
Bar some changes, such as bringing two members of their own land to Germany and asking the hotel to improve connectivity on site, the idea has been very bad to replicate the success of last summer, but with more intensity prior to the club's return.
In the past week, five signing sessions were seven, with the German midfielder Anton Stach and Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Perri who arrives here and did their medical means here.
Adam Underwood, the new sports director, traveled to ensure constant communication between Farke and the recruitment team.
“If I'm really honest, I don't like a training camp that is so close to home, because everyone thinks they can come for a cup of coffee,” Farke said. “The problem is that as a manager you don't have that time, especially in this part of the transfer window, so it's annoying if I have to answer:” No, no, no “on all these 157 WhatsApp messages,” he joked.
It has been that kind of week for Farke, who missed the staff against players Paintballling session on Wednesday. According to all accounts there was a lot of cheating.
The team dinners on site and a barbecue last Wednesday also offered the chance of the new signing sessions to perform their initiation numbers. Sean Longstaff and 6ft 4ins Stach are mentioned as characters. The two new central midfielders must also be influential on the field.
Schemmink remembers how Lazio once came and the singing was so loud that the local delivery could not sleep. Leeds have been relatively quiet.
Part of the allure of this place for football teams is the lack of distractions. Leeds have trained heavy and competitive, with a few days, including double sessions.
On the pitches, surrounded by club branding, they worked on their usual 4-2-3-1 but also a 4-3-3 formation. Farke wants his players to be flexible, depending on the level of Premier League. He also wants his team to be the strongest in the competition.
From the ball the work has been cut considerably since they returned to Thorp Arch three weeks ago.
“If we can be the strongest team in the Premier League, it can only help us,” says Full Back Sam Byram. “So it's something everyone has worked very hard on.”
Skipper Ethan Ampadu noted that the majority of new signing sessions on the large side are no coincidence.
'You must be (physical). Everyone knows what the Premier League is about, “he said. 'You have to be able to run and win the fights. Especially with the newly promoted parties, you must first show that before you show the quality on the ball that everyone has in the competition. So you have to match the fight. '
He adds: 'We already have a really good culture in the team. So when good guys come in, they fit easily. '
With so much income, there are of course expenses and the no-nonsense way in which Farke Patrick Bamford has treated and Mateo Joseph sent a message to the rest of the team.
Although Jack Harrison's return remains the subject of a lot of debate among Leeds fans, Farke has insisted that it is 'to him to regain their trust and trust', with reference to earlier examples such as Brenden Aaronson and Junior Firpo.
The amount of dialogue between Farke and Harrison is interesting about the friendly competitions, but as a step for Igor Paixao, the Brazilian winger, the future of Harrison will be uncertain.
With a new keeper in place, it is expected that Illan Meslier will continue when an offer arrives. To his honor, the Frenchman trained and performed well during the preseason.
Yet that was the Farcical character of the first friendly against German third-class opposition that after Meslier had come off, he was sitting next to us in the seats of the press box, instead of in the stands. It was a game in which the opposition brought away a penalty for accidentally picking up the ball and Leeds' Alex Cairns was punished because he held the ball for too long.
Leeds played SC Paderborn, the son of the Team Farke plays ahead on Saturday and goes home on Sunday for a few days off.
In the end it is difficult to take a lot of friendly matches against weaker opposition – but things are nicely. So far, Leeds has spent £ 75 million and that figure will be closer to £ 150 million towards the end of the window, with at least two more important signing sessions.
A movement for Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz is still on the agenda. There is a clear strategy instead of adding players with experience at top level that are around the peak of their career. And if Leeds wants to stop the trend of promoted teams that immediately go down again, they desperately need that strategy to work.