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Mark Uth was lucky in bad luck. He suffered “only” a concussion after his collision. There were minutes of anxiety in Augsburg. Jonas Friedrich was there live and describes his impressions.
Mark Uth is fine. The Schalke striker, who had to be treated unconscious for minutes after a bad clash in the Bundesliga game between FC Augsburg and Schalke 04, reported from hospital on Sunday night.
The worst was to be feared when the former national player lay motionless on the ground before being taken off the field to applause from his teammates and everyone involved.
“At first it seemed like a normal duel. When I saw that Uth wasn’t moving at all, it was clear to me: this is not great,” said Sky commentator Jonas Friedrich, who played the game for pay. Television announcer accompanied his impressions in an interview with t-online.
Friedrich: “I would have understood the demolition”
“It got bad shortly after the collision because it was clear from the reaction of the surrounding players that it was serious. In that second, it was not entirely clear how it was. The situation was totally uncomfortable. For the players it must have been incredibly difficult “.
Shock moment at Schalke: Manuel Baum (right) worries about his forward Mark Uth. (Source: Christof Stache / imago images)
Friedrich, who has worked for the Munich-Unterföhring station since 2012, found himself in an oppressive situation. “Of course, in such a situation, he would have understood if the match was abandoned. Both captains could have gone to the referee and told him that they did not want to continue playing. But Schalke wanted to continue playing.”
Referee Manuel Gräfe had offered Schalke the match whistle. But they wanted to keep playing for their injured teammate and get their first three since January, which they almost did (Read more about the game here).
Also for Friedrich the landscape was special. As a commentator, he had to appropriately comment on the game overshadowed by the shocking incident, not an easy task.
“As long as it wasn’t clear how Mark Uth was doing, I had to put the sport in perspective. Normally, one or another decision might be more strongly discussed or evaluated. But then it all fades into the background,” says Friedrich. “It was important to dispense with extremes in the course of the game and not make harsh or final evaluations.” This was easiest for him ten minutes before the break, “when it was clear that Mark Uth could be contacted.”
The next “sports disaster”
Because the game itself had a lot to offer, and especially for Schalke players, various ups and downs. Marco Richter’s 2-2 draw in injury time meant the Royal Blues were the 27th consecutive league game without a win. The latest hit is dated January 18, 2020.
“From a sporting point of view, the Schalke team will surely say that they can get something positive out of the game. Not because: ‘We were close'”, Friedrich assesses the situation with “Knappen”. “The truth is, that was the next sporting disaster.”
“That blow to the neck in injury time is brutal. You can see the team’s confidence is shaken to the core. But if they haven’t won since January, that’s anything but surprising.”
