While the rest of the team were biking through Zillertal, Milos Veljkovic was training individually on the second pitch at the Parkstadion in Zell am Ziller. After lunch, the Serbia international answered journalists’ questions in the mixed zone in the Hotel MalisGarten. “I had a bit of a knock,” said Veljkovic. “I’m alright again now though.”
Both on and off the pitch, the team have been working hard at their training camp to be in the best-possible position for the start of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. A vital part of this is making the team one cohesive unit. On Sunday evening, they engaged in the tradition of new players belting out a song for their teammates. “Some of the lads performed really well – Skelly sang a French song, and Justin did ‘Let Me Love You’ by Mario,” said Veljkovic, who knows he has an important role as one of the more experienced heads in the team. “These evenings with the team are very important for bonding, because you can mix with the whole group.”
Werder’s number 13 joined up with the squad again upon their arrival in Zillertal. The defender had been granted extra holiday time after taking part in EURO 2024 with Serbia. The Basel-born now wants to get back into the swing of things and make up for being a week behind his teammates. “I want to get back to the same level I was during the EUROs,” said Veljkovic, who has a lot of competition for a place at centre-back. “It’s great that we have so many players who can play there. We push each other, and we saw last season how well we can make up for players being unavailable.”
He shoots, he scores ????#werderpic.twitter.com/TwvMOPs2wi
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) July 21, 2024
The 28-year-old was one of 1,800 spectators at a sold-out Parkstadion for the 3-0 friendly defeat to US Lecce. “We’re not satisfied with the game,” said Veljkovic, who will be looking to return to action against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday. “It was one of our first friendlies though and there’s still a while until the start of the Bundesliga season. We’ll analyse the match, learn from our mistakes and show a different side of ourselves on Friday.”
