Professionals, 25. March 2025
The fans got to see returning heroes Alexander Nübel, Jamie Leweling and Deniz Undav out in training, while Maximilian Mittelstädt and Angelo Stiller were confined to the weights room for load management reasons after they had featured in Germany’s starting line-up for the 3-3 draw with Italy on Sunday evening. Other internationals were also back in Cannstatt, namely captain Atakan Karazor (Turkey) and defender Ameen Al-Dakhil (Belgium). The real surprise on Tuesday morning, however, was a different kind of “returning hero”.
Dan-Axel Zagadou came out and was allowed to jog around the side of the pitch, as well as carrying out various stabilising exercises. He has also been seen more often in and around the changing rooms of late, which has boosted the rest of the squad. “’Daxo’ is a lovely guy and it’s great to have him back with us,” said Mittelstädt, who spent time alongside the 25-year-old in the weights room. “We’re obviously hoping that he can get fit and healthy as soon as possible, and then be able to start helping us out again.”
Hoeneß contract extension a popular move
Mittelstädt is also looking ahead to Saturday’s Bundesliga clash away to Eintracht Frankfurt (kick-off: 18.30 CET). “We’ve been putting in some good performances recently without necessarily getting the results we’d like. We need to learn to be a bit more mature and cold-blooded,” the Germany international said.
He also spoke of the contract extension signed by head coach Sebastian Hoeneß, which he believes will give the team extra impetus as the season draws to a close: “We were all delighted about it within the team. It sends a really good message both internally and externally.”