Up through the Höllental valley, a right turn towards Blumberg, across the border into the no-man’s-land near Bargen, through Schaffhausen and St. Gallen with a brief view of Lake Constance, past the Hohenems border, Feldkirch, and Bludenz – and after three and a half hours, the team arrived in Schruns. Some at SC Freiburg know this route by heart. Bus driver Stefan Spohn, for instance, first drove the SC bus to Montafon back in 2007, when the team made its first summer trip to the area. “It’s been a long time, but I still really enjoy going,” he said. “The scenery is beautiful, the accommodation is top-notch, and we’ve met great people there over the years – Schruns has simply become a tradition.”

For the next nine days, however, it won’t be the landscape or the locals that take centre stage – the players are entering the crucial phase of pre-season preparation. “Being together while enjoying hard work” is how fitness coach Daniel Wolf summed up the days ahead. The 44-year-old has overseen and developed Freiburg’s training camps since 2018. What has changed most for him over the years is the structure: “The training rhythm now reflects what we do during the season. In pre-season, we gradually increase the intensity over the weeks and tailor the workload to each individual as much as you can in a team sport.” Different levels of fitness after the summer break and staggered returns for international players require a highly targeted approach to managing training load, with the goal of being in peak condition by mid-August when competitive fixtures begin.

No longer part of the squad is Kiliann Sildillia, who was officially unveiled as a new signing at PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday morning. Noah Weißhaupt didn’t make the trip with his teammates due to personal reasons and, like Johan Manzambi – who missed Wednesday through illness – will join up at a later date. That means 27 first-team players set off for Schruns on Wednesday afternoon, with U23 goalkeeper Kilian Katz joining the group for the first few days. On Saturday, the squad will be completed by U21 European Championship runners-up Noah Atubolu, Merlin Röhl and Max Rosenfelder, who has already returned to light training after injury. Alongside the work on the training ground, two friendlies are scheduled during the camp

On Friday, SC Freiburg will face Austrian Bundesliga side SCR Altach at the Stadion Schnabelholz. For the Vorarlberg club, it’s their final test ahead of their first competitive match in the Austrian Cup the following week. Recent results have been promising for Fabio Ingolitsch’s side – a 3-1 win over Swiss top-tier club FC Luzern and a 1-1 draw with Swiss champions FC Basel. Kick-off for the match, which will be played in two 60-minute halves, is at 17:00 CEST.

A week later, SC Freiburg will wrap up their training camp with a friendly against second-division side Dynamo Dresden. That match, featuring reunions with several familiar faces from their time in Freiburg – Thomas Stamm, Claudio Kammerknecht, Sascha Risch, Konrad Faber and Christoph Daferner – kicks off at 14:00 CEST at the local ground in Schruns.

Both friendlies will be shown live and free of charge on the club’s website and YouTube channel. Public training sessions in Schruns will be announced on the SC calendar on the club website on a daily basis.