Settled Sosa sets out target for Austria trip
Borna Sosa is looking forward to Crystal Palace’s training camp in Austria this coming week, having caught the eye in Friday night’s 3-0 preparatory win over Crawley Town.
The Croatia international arrived in South London two weeks ago after signing from Ajax and has immediately acquitted himself well as left wing-back, getting forward and looking dangerous in Palace’s two pre-season matches thus far.
Now, the Eagles head to a week-long training camp in Windischgarstenustria, in the Austrian Alps, where they will play four more matches – against FSV Mainz 05 (2 x 60-minute games) on Tuesday, 29th July (13:00 and 14:20 BST) and FC Augsburg (2 x 90-minute games) on Friday, 1st August (15:00 and 17:00) with all four games to be shown LIVE on Palace TV+.
Sosa, who has previously played against both teams with VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, told Palace TV: “Everything [at Palace] has been above expectation for me. I expected a lot really because I've heard so many good things, but really everything is on such a high level.
We have a couple of days to put in hard work, but also to bring the team spirit together.
—Borna Sosa
“The people inside the club are something that really makes me happy, because they welcomed me so good, and I felt from the beginning like I’ve been here for many years. It was really, really easy for me to settle and I'm really, really happy.
“I’m looking forward to playing against two Bundesliga teams I played many, many times. Going to Austria, we have a couple of days to put in hard work, but also to bring the team spirit together.
“It's, let's say, the last preparation week because after Austria we are going in a real week where the games are [competitive], so we are trying to just listen to what the coaches are saying to us, and this will put us for sure in a good way.”
Upon their return, Sosa and Palace will have a week-long build-up towards our first-ever involvement in the FA Community Shield, with a third trip to Wembley Stadium this year – this time to face Liverpool – a match for which additional tickets have been made available for Members and Season Ticket Holders.
On pre-season so far, and his impressive early displays, Sosa smiled: “Of course, it’s still pre-season, so we are trying to figure out what suits the best for us and what we can work on. We have really good sessions, we are giving a lot of energy and the levels of the training and the games are really, really good.
“The system is obviously something I know and I feel comfortable to play in, and I think we still have two weeks until the first official game, so we are preparing, we are going in the right way and hopefully we'll continue like this.
“We have really good strikers and people in the box. This is what gaffers wants from us, that we are arriving with many, many players in the box.
“And for us as a team, especially when you have a wing-back, it's a good opportunity when you have a free foot to deliver a cross, because always something can happen, not sometimes from the cross, but also second ball and we are there, we are making pressure.
"I think it's a dangerous tool in our team and hopefully we will be able to score many goals like this.”