FC St. Pauli

The panorama view at breakfast? Stunning. Sitting on the roof terrace, you can feel the sun on your face early in the morning, while the players and staff take in the magnificent views of the green-shrouded mountains. After breakfast, it's time for the first training session of the day - and contrary to the weather forecast - it takes place in bright sunshine. Before taking to the pitch, Afeez Aremu, Marcel Hartel and new boy Manolis "Manos" Saliakas use the time to knock a few balls back and forth beach-volleyball style. If we had some sand, we'd have our Beach Boys in Brown.

Manos, in particular, looks the part, but that's no surprise, as he reveals. "Beach volleyball is one of my favourite sports, along with padel. I enjoy playing it – besides football, of course," says the Greek, who moved to the Millerntor from top-division club PAS Giannina this summer.

But first back to the training session, which is no walk in the park. Lots of work with the ball and rapid transitions are on the agenda - plus emphatic finishing. Elsewhere, the goalkeeper quartet of Dennis Smarsch, Nikola Vasilj, Sören Ahlers and Under-23 stopper Jhonny Peitzmeier work out on the adjacent pitch, punching away tennis balls lobbed at them by goalkeeper coach Marco Knoop. The forecast downpour finally arrives towards the end of the morning session, and it rains cats and dogs. You'd be mistaken if you thought the weather put a dampener on things, though. "The weather is actually good for football, especially if you're a defensive player," says Afeez Aremu with a grin as climb back up the hill to the hotel. Manos can only nod in agreement.

The 5`8" (1.77m) full-back with the cultured right foot is not afraid to put in the runs, as he has shown in training and the warm-up games he has contested for the Boys in Brown so far. Manos has impressed with his running on the right of defence and loves to get forward to deliver his dangerous crosses. In 35 Super League 1 appearances, he assisted four goals and scored one himself. "I'm a player who gives his all to the last minute and the attacking style of play favoured by St. Pauli suits me," he explains.

From Super League 1 to Bundesliga 2: a new adventure has begun for the 25-year-old, and St. Pauli are the first club he has played for outside of Greece. "The atmosphere in the squad is superb. They gave me a fantastic welcome and made me feel at home right away," Manos adds.

That the Boys in Brown are known beyond Germany is something we get a sense of at the hotel, but St. Pauli is more than just a football club in Greece, too, as Manos tells us: "There are lots of St. Pauli supporters clubs in Greece and I've received lots of really nice and positive messages from people who support the club since my move. The Chania branch of the FC St. Pauli supporters club even came to the training ground to give me a present, a T-shirt, which made me very happy."

When the rain finally stops, the sun comes back out in time for the second session of the day, which focuses mainly on tactical runs and set pieces. And though training is just as much fun when it pours, the panoramic backdrop is even more beautiful in the sunshine. "The view with the mountains in the background is amazing. I've never been here before," says Manos. You did everything right, then, Manos – welcome to FC St. Pauli once again!

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters