Bayern Munich set to take 29-man roster to training camp in Doha, Qatar

It’s that time of the (new) year again. The Bayern Munich players have enjoyed their 12-day holiday break and are now set to travel to Doha for their winter training camp. Niko Kovac is taking a 29-man roster to the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence training camp in the Qatari capital complete with 25 outfield players and four goalkeepers.

The full squad list for Doha:

Bayern will have six days of training while they’re in Qatar as they hope to start the Rückrunde in winning fashion in their pursuit of catching Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table. Looking forward to the six-day training camp, Niko Kovac briefly outlined what he wants to work on (FCBayern.com):

We want to fine-tune a lot of things in Doha, including fitness and technical-tactical elements, and we have to begin preparing for our first opponent so we can get off to a good start at Hoffenheim.

Important squad notes for the training camp:

• Corentin Tolisso and James Rodriguez will travel with the squad to Qatar, but will likely spend more of their time focusing on individual rehabilitation from their respective injuries.
• This will be the first full training camp for new signee Alphonso Davies.
• A handful of Bayern’s youngsters were included in the 29-man roster, including Meritan Shabani, Lars Lukas Mai, Johnathan Meier, Jeong Woo-yeong, and Joshua Zirkzee, all of whom have shown plenty of promise for the amateurs.
• This will likely be the last winter training camp for the contingent of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, and Rafinha.

It is also important to note that this will be the first time in eight years that Bayern will go into the winter training camp not in first place in the Bundesliga. After a strong showing in December to close out the Hinrunde, Bayern are only six points behind Dortmund with plenty of time to close the gap. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reiterated the optimism at the club, stating, “We won’t give up the title race without a fight.” Thomas Muller also chimed in, adding, “We want to apply as much pressure as possible as quickly as possible.”