Inside Leeds' Germany training camp: Full-blooded challenges, paintball, and singing

New York Times

28-07-2025

Leeds United are flying home from Germany today after the third of their six weeks spent preparing for the forthcoming Premier League campaign was played out behind closed doors on the continent.
Daniel Farke took his squad and staff to Hotel-Residence Klosterpforte in Harsewinkel, North Rhine-Westphalia, just as he did 12 months ago. The sad similarity with 12 months ago was the absence of supporters.
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While Euro 2024 was a convenient excuse for tired and overworked police, unable to marshal incoming Leeds fans a year ago, that same excuse was not available this time. United maintain they were confident fans would be allowed up until mid-June, when the German police informed them their matches would have to be played behind closed doors.
This was because segregation at the matches was a concern to the police and, in effect, the need for reserves to be called in from around the country to support the local force was a red line it was not prepared to cross.
Leeds tried to convince the police to change its verdict and even looked into changing their own plans, but at the 11th hour, this proved too difficult. With a grovelling apology, United had to ask their fans to stay away from Germany while the team trained.
Here, The Athletic takes you behind the scenes of what has played out over the past eight days in Germany.
It was a late but necessary check-in for the squad on Saturday, July 19, at their training base. Staff and players flew directly from Sweden to Germany after their opening summer friendly against Manchester United in Stockholm.
By the time everyone had woken up for their first full day, they were preparing for an addition. Private flights had been chartered to take Anton Stach from his Hoffenheim base to his family home, and then to Paderborn, the most convenient airport for accessing the club's training camp.
The Germany international met the first of his colleagues on Sunday before undergoing his medical and the final stages of his £17.3million transfer on Monday, July 21. Stach was kept out of sight as the invited media descended on Harsewinkel to watch a full-blooded training session.
No matter how often you watch these professional athletes, who have had to fight and scrap for every inch to get to where they are in their careers, their competitive edge and desire to conquer every aspect of training never fails to surprise.
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The players started with warm-up exercises led by sports scientist Jack Pullan. After a variety of stretches on mats across the complex's basketball court, they gathered around Farke and his coaching team on the grass.
Assistant coach Christopher John was celebrating his birthday. Farke and fitness coach Chris Domogalla led the squad in a round of applause for him, and after that, the footballs were not in play straight away.
Domogalla split the squad into quartets and they rotated through a variety of drills involving hurdles, cones and poles. It's all done with the aim of preparing the players' bodies for what's to come in their intensive session ahead.
Captain Ethan Ampadu found himself initially grouped with compatriot Joe Rodon, Sam Byram and new boy Sebastiaan Bornauw. Humour is central to trips like these and crucial for building the bonds that will have these footballers running through brick walls for each other over the next 10 months.
'Is this the stiff and fragile group?'Ampadu said to Domogalla. Byram's injury history and status as the squad's oldest outfield player should not be lost on anyone.
For Farke, too, his quips throughout the week, and one assumes throughout the whole season, are central to building his own relationship with the players. The 48-year-old is the boss, make no mistake, but he has been around dressing rooms long enough to know how to manage morale.
As Rodon followed Byram in their group between poles, Farke wandered over to comment with a wry grin, 'Can you be quicker than Byram?' The 31-year-old, who credited Farke with saving his career after last season's title triumph at Plymouth Argyle, will relish beating his younger peers in training through the campaign.
Do not forget, Byram has already been filmed putting everyone but Joel Piroe away in the club's pre-season bleep test this summer.
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Once the team got into their drills with the balls, we had a priceless glimpse of Farke as the coach, the manager on the grass invested in improving everyone under his watch. In one exercise, which had seven players passing from various angles in a diamond shape, he insisted: 'Ten passes, not nine or 10 passes. Ten passes.'
It's Bornauw, Harry Gray, Sam Chambers, Rhys Chadwick, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Jaka Bijol and Jack Harrison in the group nearest the watching media. 'Keep the ball on the floor, the ball does not bounce, no hectic, guys,' says Farke.
The manager talked about body shape and having the players relax. In one amusing moment, as Chambers went to pass to a colleague, his effort snapped one of the training poles. 'Not only do you try to hurt my players, but my poles, too!' Farke shouted and put a hand on Chambers' shoulder, smiling.
The level of competition ramps up as Eddie Riemer, Farke's right-hand man and stand-in at Bramall Lane when the manager was banned from the touchline last season, reorganises the groups into small-sided games with two teams aiming at two mini goals apiece.
The team in possession could only score once it successfully completed seven consecutive passes, while the team pressing was encouraged to win the ball back and then score at the earliest opportunity into their designated nets. Rodon has built a reputation at Leeds as someone with their heart on their sleeve, never shy about expressing how he really feels about something.
In one amusing moment, as Jayden Bogle put the ball between his legs, Rodon threw his head back and, with an exasperated tone, moaned: 'Oh, f*** off.' This was training, but any time a player made a mistake or felt hard done by a coach's decision, they would be furious.
Farke was watching one of the teams that included Rodon, Ampadu and Daniel James. When things began to bubble over, he could be heard saying: 'Three Welsh players in one team is always dangerous.' The German has repeatedly glorified his Welsh players' roots over the past two years. He adores their fight and spirit.
There were signs of how Bornauw has settled with his new squad as he wheeled away from one poor miss with a Yorkshire impression of '******* hell, man!'
No quarter given in training today. I will always underestimate how much they want to win every minute aspect of training.
Look out for Bornauw's improving English impression and Rodon's nutmeg reaction. #lufc pic.twitter.com/3bcZkK9vMN
— Beren Cross (@BerenCross) July 21, 2025
Largie Ramazani was never too far away from the needle that lurked in every exercise and had the players facing off with one another. In one particular moment, when something had gone against Wilfried Gnonto, it was Ramazani, Ampadu and even Farke, teasing the Italian.
As Bornauw limped away with what we came to learn was a thigh injury that will rule him out for a fortnight, Riemer again divided the squad into four teams for a tournament. Illan Meslier, Karl Darlow, Alex Cairns and Rory Mahady marshaled a full-sized goal each as the outfield teams rotated between them, across two small pitches.
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This is where the fight for goals and wins really ramped up. Ramazani was central to the most eye-catching flashpoint. As he grappled with Bogle for the ball, the winger ended up tearing the full-back's bib, pulling half of it off his back.
Riemer whistled and, as he stopped play, Ramazani swivelled to boot the ball at the already-floored Bogle. A penalty was awarded, with the squad gathering to watch it.
Bogle vs Darlow. Farke: 'No rebounds!' Rodon: 'All day, Karl. All day!' Ilia Gruev, apparently the most placid member of the squad, went to stand by the ball in an effort to put Bogle off. Ampadu marched over to carry the Bulgarian away.
At Leeds United training in Germany. The footage speaks for itself.
Ramazani had torn Bogle's bib to give away the penalty.
'Shitbag.' #lufc pic.twitter.com/xoQb18xEvC
— Beren Cross (@BerenCross) July 21, 2025
Ramazani, being calmed by Gnonto: 'Watch him f*** it now, s***bag.' Bogle tucks it in the corner and Harsewinkel's residents can hear the roar. Ampadu runs up to Ramazani's face: 'You s***bag!'
It's impossible not to laugh at how petty this all is and it must be like this year-round. These are the little moments, no doubt forgotten by the players hours later, which forge their connections, their will to fight for each other when it matters.
Aside from that tete-a-tete, there was some superb quality on show. Followers of the club's social media will have seen Darlow's full-stretch parry of James' volleyed rocket. Piroe sent Rodon, Ao Tanaka and Gruev sliding out of the way with one chop of the boot before finishing one of his many goals.
😍 SAVE! @KarlDarlow pic.twitter.com/PSPUF37aaa
— Leeds United (@LUFC) July 21, 2025
Harrison and Lukas Nmecha were spotted firing shots at Mahady after the session had finished, squeezing in their extras as club security chief Martin Sykes and kit manager Chris Beasley returned on their bicycles, beaming. Several of the official and expensive Premier League footballs had been lost in the woods behind the pitches. Sykes and Beasley were not to be denied.
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Once the media had been sent packing from that session, club footage would later show Stach got involved in an afternoon knock-around. His transfer would be finally announced on the Tuesday morning. Operations manager Matt Robertshaw said he couldn't help but marvel at his height when he saw the midfielder stood with Meslier at one of their meals.
The media had their first look at Stach when he arrived with the squad for Tuesday's friendly against SC Verl. His international clearance had not been received in time, so he watched from the stands with Bornauw, Isaac Schmidt (calf), and Brenden Aaronson, who only arrived that morning after prolonged summer service with the USMNT.
There was no access for the media on Wednesday, but we learned this was a key day of social bonding for the players. Aside from a players-against-staff paintball match (Farke not included), which the former predictably took very seriously, there was a raft of initiation songs for any employee to have arrived since last year's Germany trip.
Among the players, this meant Tanaka, Ramazani, Schmidt, Nmecha, Bijol, Bornauw, Gudmundsson, Sean Longstaff and Stach were on a chair singing what they desired. The song choices have remained a closely guarded secret, but the Swedish left-back is understood to have been the keenest to get up and get on with his.
While this was all unfolding, United executives were accelerating their pursuit of goalkeeper Lucas Perri. It was a move that came together far quicker than any of them expected.
Hannah Cox, head of football administration, and Adam Underwood, sporting director, had been in Germany at the start of the week to get the Stach deal over the line. They then flew back to the UK, not expecting any further deals during the training camp.
They had to fly back to Germany once the Perri talks entered their final stages. A second significant transfer of the week represented an outstanding week for the club, which was entirely worth the air miles.
Perri arrived with his family on the Thursday night, had his medical on the Friday, and signed off on the final bits of paperwork before the club got ready for his announcement on Saturday morning. There was a minor administrative delay, but while Perri was taking in the Paderborn friendly, the announcement was set for that evening.
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Perri was in the stands as Leeds faced a far sterner challenge from the 2 Bundesliga outfit. Luis Engelns, Farke's 18-year-old son, began in the heart of the home midfield. There was nothing over the line, but a couple of firm Ampadu challenges on the teenager caught the eye.
There was a knowing grin shared between father and son as the latter walked past the away dugout following his second-half substitution. It proved a valuable test for Leeds at the end of their third week of preparation for the new season.
Farke will take a lot more from the forthcoming matches against Villarreal and Milan. We will only see the real impact of a week like this next May.