German football gets back on the field today

BERLIN: The German Bu­n­desliga takes the spot­light on Saturday (today) as the first top Eur­o­pean football league to resume during the coronavirus pandemic.

After a two-month break, the German Football League had to submit an extraordinarily detailed plan of measures to gain approval for the restart from Chancellor Angela Merkel and the 16 state leaders. With leagues still suspended in England, Italy and Spain, and Fra­n­ce having already decided to end its season, the Bundesliga this weekend will have the footballing world’s attention to itself.

Bundesliga CEO Chri­stian Seifert has warned the matches, played behind closed doors, will “look and feel different”. The shouts of players will echo around the empty stands and goals will have to be celebrated with elbow or foot taps because players have been ordered to avoid hugs or handshakes.

Match fitness is a concern as teams only started training sessions for the whole squad last week.

In Saturday’s stand-out game, Borussia Dortmund host Schalke in the 156th Ruhr derby. For the first time in the fixture’s 95-year history it will be played without spectators, when 82,000 passionate fans would normally pack out Signal Iduna Park.

On Sunday, Union Berlin host leaders Bayern Munich, who are four points clear in their bid for an eighth straight title.