1. FC Köln: European final sprint: Steffen Baumgart sends his stars to yoga! – Bundesliga
“THINK ABOUT YOGAAAAAA!”
That roared Stephen Baumgart (50) Friday noon once across the square at Geißbockheim.
The hero. The cobra. The lotus position. Terms that the FC stars now also know…
No joke, the Cologne coach sends his players to yoga in the European final sprint!
Yoga trainer Bradley Franco (left) on Friday afternoon at Geißbockheim with the FC playersPhoto: Andreas Pohl
► Recently coming Bradley Franco, a well-known yoga teacher from Cologne, goes to Geißbockheim twice a week – to introduce the FC stars to training (from India) for body, mind and soul. The units last almost 40 minutes and take place in the gym at Geißbockheim.
Both units are mandatory for the goalkeepers. The field players should have run once after the game, the second session is then voluntary.
![Cologne's yoga teacher Bradley Franco in action](https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/koelns-yoga-lehrer-bradley-franco-in-aktion-901b4e30e0eb4b649fe2679647c0f8ff-79495124/17,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg)
Cologne’s yoga teacher Bradley Franco in actionPhoto: Private
With Yoga to Europe!
Baumgart says to BILD: “I already offered that in Paderborn. With yoga you can really wind down. I think yoga is becoming more and more influential in competitive sports.”
The trainer himself does not take part in the units, prefers to watch. Baumgart: “But it would also do me good….”
What exactly should the training bring to professional footballers?
“Football players are often overtrained. Yoga is a technique to find physical balance. It’s also about the mobility of the joints, because a lot of the movements in football are the same,” says yoga teacher Bradley in an interview with BILD and laughs: “But we don’t do the lotus position.”
![Bradley Franco looks at the complete training and explains to BILD why professionals should do yoga](https://bilder.bild.de/fotos-skaliert/bradley-franco-schaute-sich-das-komplette-training-an-und-erklaerte-bild-warum-profis-yoga-machen-sol-22de129eea0347d49bac0a0e4ef6e163-79499494/5,w=1280,c=0.bild.jpg)
Bradley Franco looks at the complete training and explains to BILD why professionals should do yogaPhoto: Andreas Pohl
► Baumgart keeps surprising his stars with unconventional training methods. In preparation, he had chased Modeste and Co. across the field in 1000-meter runs with Roland Kaiser music (“Santa Maria”).
It didn’t do any harm. Cologne Sunday (7.30 p.m.) plays against BVB for Europe. Who would have seriously expected that in the summer after the last disaster season…?