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German football will resume this weekend, and there are many reasons for English clubs to be very attentive to procedures.
The Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga return this weekend, the first of the major European leagues to do so. There will be a full schedule of closed-door matches in Germany as some of the world’s biggest names will be back to work.
There will be a Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke on Saturday, Bayern Munich’s trip to face Union Berlin on Sunday, and a Monday night special between Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen. There will be basement battles, European fights and, of course, the strange dead rubber on the middle table.
In the United Kingdom, BT Sport They have announced that all games will be televised live, with an early anticipated audience.
But it is not just supporters who will closely monitor the events. Clubs, managers, agents, scouts, doctors, broadcasters, and executives have reasons to tune in.
Here, Goal explains why England will be watching Germany so closely in the coming days and weeks …
The example
We’ll start with the most obvious, shall we?
As Premier League clubs continue to debate the merits of a comeback in June, and the UK government continues to offer mixed and less than reassuring messages, their German counterparts have been way ahead of the curve for some time.
The last Bundesliga match, between Borussia Monchengladbach and Koln, was played on Wednesday March 11, just two days after the last Premier League match, Leicester’s 4-0 victory over Aston Villa.
But while German football, and indeed German society, had already begun preparing for the Covid-19 impact (Gladbach v Koln was played behind closed doors), the English game was much slower to respond. In fact, if Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta had not tested positive on Thursday, March 12, it is likely that the entire round of games, with supporters present, would have taken place that weekend.
Germany, like most nations, has been greatly affected by the coronavirus. There have been close to 200,000 cases, but unlike the UK, for example, they have been able to keep the death rate relatively low, with less than 8,000 deaths so far.
Widespread testing, increased availability of ventilators and intensive care beds, and clearer government communication have played an important role. Germany was able to start relaxing its closure measures last month, and Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed the return of professional football on May 6.
There has been some opposition, some German states have advocated a longer quarantine period, while supporter groups have protested the idea of ”ghost fighting”, but overall progress has been smooth, if anything. occur in these times.
Meanwhile, the Premier League remains as divided as ever …
Security measures
The biggest problem around the return of football has been the safety of the players. In England, several Premier League players have expressed concern, but we can expect club doctors and fitness staff to be closely related to their Bundesliga colleagues as they seek to allay those fears.
Nat Phillips, loaned by Liverpool with 2.Bundesliga, Stuttgart, explained the steps German clubs are taking in an interview with the Reds’ official website this week.
Phillips said, “When we first came back [to training]They were small groups, so we arrived at 15 or 20 minute intervals with three or four of the players you were training with; standard social distance, keeping two meters apart even around training.
“We all got our own parts from the locker room, so there were only four or five players in one locker room at a time. The sessions, there was no contact, was mainly technical work, for which they would not come into close contact at any time during training.
“We check our temperature every morning when we arrive at the training facilities. You took your kit home and drove to and from training in your kit. So they didn’t spend a lot of time on the ground and when they did, they still kept their distance, even on training ground. “
The teams returned to full contact training across Germany last week, with players tested for Covid-19 up to four times a week. Dynamo Dresden, final of 2.Bundesliga, was the first club to announce positive tests for the players; Their game in Hannover, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed while the team is under quarantine for two weeks.
However, the rest are slated to move on. The teams that played away this weekend, including Stuttgart, which is in Wiesbaden, have been isolating themselves in hotels without contact with anyone outside the football club. Players traveling to train together in cars are instructed to wear masks and gloves, and the overall social withdrawal is still moving away from the training ground.
For Premier League clubs, the question is how effective are these measures and whether they can be implemented, logistically speaking, in this country. There has been a good dialogue and exchange of information between medical staff that should, in theory, help the process if, or indeed, when the game returns in English.
Transfer objectives
One of the biggest uncertainties around football, and there are some, is the future of the transfer market.
Clubs around the world have seen their income decimated by the closure of the coronavirus, and fans are unlikely to be able to enter stadiums for many months, and the expectation that broadcast and sponsorship revenues will be affected, a recovery Quick is unlikely.
The expectation, then, is that there will be a significant drop in spending. Various sources have said objective They’re anticipating one of the quietest transfer windows ever, with free transfers and loan signatures at the top of the agenda for most clubs.
Still, some will continue to track long-term goals. Manchester United and Chelsea, before Covid-19, had worked extensively with Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, while Liverpool were expected to be moved by striker Timo Werner, whose RB Leipzig Dayot Upamecano teammates Ibrahima Konate and Marcel Sabitzer were also attracting the interest of England.
Others, like Bayer Leverkusen pair Kai Havertz and Leon Bailey, and Werder Bremen attacker Milot Rashica, have also been seen by Premier League clubs.
With traditional ‘face-to-face’ exploration off the table for the time being, and with off-field circumstances providing real proof of character, fitness and mindset for players, there will be plenty of work for Kingdom talent watchers. United. do.
Lenders
In recent seasons, Germany has become one of THE places for future young British footballers to learn their trade. Sancho was a kind of pioneer, with his example followed by people like Reece Oxford (Augsburg), Ademola Lookman (Leipzig) and Rabbi Matondo (Schalke).
Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea have sent players on loan to the Bundesliga and the 2.Bundesliga.
Chelsea have Ethan Ampadu, the Welsh international, in Leipzig, although the 19-year-old had made only three league appearances before Covid-19. It will be interesting to see if the former Exeter youth can appear more regularly on a side that still harbors title ambitions.
Liverpool will also hope that both Marko Grujic (Hertha Berlin) and Taiwo Awoniyi (Mainz) can have more playing time. Grujic had abandoned the initial XI for Hertha before the suspension of football, but with new coach Bruno Labbadia promising a clean slate for everyone, the Serbian midfielder will hope to have his chance.
Awoniyi, meanwhile, has had a frustrating season with Mainz, making just six appearances. Liverpool also have the aforementioned Nat Phillips, hoping to secure promotion to the Bundesliga with Stuttgart.
Those three are not expected to become first-team regulars at Anfield, but Liverpool hopes to be able to showcase their talents to potential suitors, either on borrowed or permanent basis.
The same could be said of Jonjoe Kenny, lent at Schalke by Everton. England’s under-21 full-back has made a good impression on Gelsenkirchen, making 26 appearances, and having recently turned 23, he could face a decisive summer in terms of his future Toffees.
Everton may also be interested to see how former players Lookman, in Leipzig, and Anthony Evans, who joined Bundesliga background club Paderborn, did in January.
The product
So how will it all look, sound and feel? We know that clubs will be allowed to play in their own stadiums, albeit with no supporters, although Mönchengladbach has come up with a new scheme that allows fans to buy a cardboard cutout with their own face, which will then be placed in the stands. More than 12,000 have been sold, at a cost of € 19 each. Proceeds will go to local charities.
Elsewhere, we know that all games will be televised, and that broadcasters will not attempt to artificially add an atmosphere out of fan consideration, although it is understood that Sky germany may offer a “crowd noise” option for viewers.
They have already agreed on some free games, the goal of which is to allay fears that fans may gather in bars or public spaces to watch games.
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Saturday’s derby between Dortmund and Schalke, which would generally draw a crowd of more than 80,000 people at Signal Iduna Park, is seen as the first major test as to whether fans are ready to respect the guidelines of social estrangement, although the Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert says there is “no suggestion” that supporters would risk their own safety by congregating in stadiums, either to support or protest.
Either way, for other leagues waiting to restart, particularly the Premier League, it will be fascinating to see what “ghost football” looks like, what it sounds like and what it feels like.
It is football, yes, but not as we all know. Not now, and not for a long time, one suspects.
