The World Cup is in full swing. MoveToLive is accompanying the German team as the official fitness equipment supplier of the German national soccer team. Volker Lichte, MoveToLive Key Account Manager, reports for body LIFE on the last few days leading up to the first group match against Portugal.
Sunday, June 1: World Cup test match
Germany vs. Cameroon 2:2
This is exactly what it could look like for the winner of the MoveToLive World Cup competition (see body LIFE 6/2014, page 28/29), except that the opponent in Düsseldorf in September will be Argentina and not Cameroon.
Tuesday, June 3:
Departure to Brazil, Sao Paulo & Wednesday, June 4: Arrival Porto Seguro - Ferry - Campo Bahia
From Frankfurt, I started my journey to the World Cup camp of the German eleven. I flew via Sao Paulo to Porto Seguro in the east of the country. Once there, I immediately noticed the high humidity. After another 35-minute bus ride and a subsequent ferry ride, I finally reached my accommodation on Brazil's picturesque Costa do Descobrimento, the "Coast of Discovery". It was here that the Portuguese navigator Cabral first set foot on Brazilian soil in 1500. My adventurous journey finally ended at the DFB media hotel, 500 meters away from Campo Bahia, with miles of dream beaches, paradisiacal coastal villages, magrove forests and Indian reserves.
The MoveToLive equipment selected was to be set up in two different locations in the hotel, one directly in Campo Bahia and the other on the training grounds two kilometers away. On site, I learned that our equipment had already arrived the day before and had been safely unloaded.
Thursday, June 5:
Setting up MoveToLive at Campo
It was only possible to set up our equipment with the help of countless Brazilian helpers on site. From the hotel entrance, we transported the equipment on electric trolleys through the hotel grounds along sandy paths to the training pavilion. I communicated mainly through sign language and learned that the upward thumb is THE sign of communication in Brazil and means "everything is OK". I was relieved when, at the end of the day, all the equipment was set up in the hotel complex, undamaged and ready to go. By the way, when I say "at the end of the day", I mean 5 p.m. - because by this time it was already dark in Brazil.
Friday, June 6:
Set-up at the training ground.
Evening World Cup dress rehearsal between Germany and Armenia 6:1
Setting up at the training ground was much easier than in the campo, as the ground here was level. The only challenge was finding a power connection for our five treadmills, but that was also mastered. The nice thing for me personally in the close and long cooperation with the national team is always the look behind the scenes and the opportunity to get to know the absolute specialists from other areas relating to the Brazil World Cup mission. For example, I was able to talk to Rainer Ernst from FIFA's turf expertise team and learned that it will be necessary to ensure that no scorpions or poisonous snakes stray onto the training pitch before every training session.
In high spirits, the final preparation match was then switched on at the end of the day. However, this was significantly dampened by the bad news of winger Marco Reus' injury.
Saturday, June 7:
Equipment check with fitness coaches Marc Verstegen and Benny Kugel
While the mood in the press hotel was very subdued, it was very positive again in the team hotel. Everyone was in a "now more than ever" mood and so it was quite easy for me to get back into my usual daily rhythm. Fortunately, my job was already largely done. The only thing left to do was the final set-up of the equipment with DFB fitness coach Marc Verstegen.
Sunday, June 8:
Arrival of the team and first training session
When Brazilian rhythms were heard on Sunday morning, I knew it could only mean one thing: the team had arrived. There was a hectic atmosphere among the numerous media representatives and the street around the players' hotel was packed with journalists. At Campo Bahia itself, the atmosphere was good and was initially only interrupted by a brief rain shower, which forced me to make a short sprint to our equipment to check that it was well covered. After just 15 minutes, the rain shower was over and the day continued with a relaxed first training session for the team.
Monday, June 9:
Return flight to Germany
My day of departure. It was a confirmation of the months of preparatory work coordinating with our distributor from Brazil and the improvisational work on site when Georg Behlau, the head of the DFB organization team, told me that he had had little time to talk to me in the last few days, but that he had full confidence in me and the MoveToLive team and could therefore concentrate on the successful, timely completion of the entire hotel complex. I boarded the shuttle bus that was waiting outside the Campo and began my journey home. 18 hours later, I was lying on Lake Escher in Cologne, watching the first pictures of our team on TV. 9,500 kilometers away and "just" there.
My personal conclusion
The Brazilians have once again made it clear to me how important respect is in dealing with one another; I have hardly experienced any other country where respect for one another is valued as highly as it is in Brazil. In my opinion, respect is crucial for the successful management of a team, for assessing the other team member, for dealing with each other as a team and ultimately also for winning the World Cup title. I have already encountered these values of mutual respect and trust very often in the German team environment.
Source: MoveToLive
Published on: 3 July 2014