The "Footbonaut" -- is a robotic cage which footballers can use to improve passing, spatial awareness and control. The machine is being used by German champions Borussia Dortmund.
The final frontier? —
The "Footbonaut" -- is a robotic cage which footballers can use to improve passing, spatial awareness and control. The machine is being used by German champions Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund
Once inside the "Footbonaut", a player is fed balls by eight different machines and then has deliver the ball to one of the 72 panels - - which is indciated by a flashing green light -- that make up the space-age contraption before they receive another ball. This picture shows Dortmund's German star Mario Gotze testing himself against the machine.
A giant leap for soccer training? —
Once inside the "Footbonaut", a player is fed balls by eight different machines and then has deliver the ball to one of the 72 panels - - which is indciated by a flashing green light -- that make up the space-age contraption before they receive another ball. This picture shows Dortmund's German star Mario Gotze testing himself against the machine.
Borussia Dortmund
German coach Jurgen Klopp has overseen Dortmund's recent domination of German football. Dortmund have won the Bundesliga in each of the last two seasons, winning plaudits for the adventurous style of play. Klopp's team also currently sit top of a European Champions League group containing Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.
High-klass Klopp —
German coach Jurgen Klopp has overseen Dortmund's recent domination of German football. Dortmund have won the Bundesliga in each of the last two seasons, winning plaudits for the adventurous style of play. Klopp's team also currently sit top of a European Champions League group containing Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax.
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Dortmund's rise to prominence has forced their attractive young squad into the limelight. None more so than Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year.
Polish power —
Dortmund's rise to prominence has forced their attractive young squad into the limelight. None more so than Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who was strongly linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year.
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One player who did swap Dortmund for Manchester was Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese playmaker had made a promising start to his Old Trafford career before being sidelined with a knee injury last month. Another player developed by Dortmund was Nuri Sahin, the Turkish midfielder who signed for Real Madrid in 2011 before joining Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in August.
Borussia's best —
One player who did swap Dortmund for Manchester was Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese playmaker had made a promising start to his Old Trafford career before being sidelined with a knee injury last month. Another player developed by Dortmund was Nuri Sahin, the Turkish midfielder who signed for Real Madrid in 2011 before joining Liverpool on a season-long loan deal in August.
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