On Monday, the Reds will take part in a mini-tournament in Lagos as part of their training camp in the Algarve. In two 30-minute-half matches, Hannover 96 will face SC Heerenveen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.


Debut for Djourou and Hoffmann

In 30-minute-half matches, Hannover 96 have the chance to test out their early form under competitive conditions in Lagos in the south-west of Portugal. There’s also the chance to speed up the integration of new boys André Hoffmann and Johan Djourou. Firstly, the Reds will play the side currently 13th in the Dutch league, SC Heerenveen at 15.45 CET, before facing Bundesliga rivals Bayer 04 Leverkusen from 17.00 CET. Both sides are completing their training camps in the Algarve, with Lewandowski and Hyypiä’s side at the ‘Cascade Resort’ facility in Lagos. Leverkusen and Heerenveen will face each other at 14.30 CET. 

Eggimann missing

Heerenveen challenged both of the Bundesliga teams in last year’s training camp and twice came out victorious; a 4-2 win over Leverkusen followed a 1-0 victory against Slomka’s men. As is often the case in friendly matches, the end result isn’t of much importance. What is much more important is assessing the performance of the players under competitive conditions and trying out match tactics. “We have the opportunity in both games to incorporate a lot of players, as well as to integrate the new boys”, said manager Slomka ahead of the tournament. It will certainly be interesting to see how André Hoffmann and loanee Johan Djourou go about their jobs after such a short space of time. Along with the two transfers, the U23s that have travelled with the squad are hoping to make an impression. Whether it’s Ali Gökdemir, Jannik Löhden or Deniz Kadah, every one is hoping to get their chance. Someone who will have to do without playing is central defender Mario Eggimann (recovery following a flu-like infection), who is still in recovery training. Captian Steven Cherundolo is expected to make an appearance after overcoming knee problems. 

On Saturday, January 12th, Hannover 96 will play another friendly match in Vila Nove de Cacela, this time against FC Utrecht, before returning to action in the Bundesliga on January 18th, with their match against Schalke 04.

Oliver Rickhof, Christoph Heckmann and Felix Janoschek reporting from the training camp in Portugal. Translated by Matt Hardy.