FOR GERMAN FOOTBALL, attention will be at its most intense in empty grounds.
The Bundesliga’s top two divisions return to action today after a two-month hiatus, as they bid to complete their seasons and show the rest of Europe that elite football can be played in a pandemic.
“I think it’s possible to play”, says Conor Noss, an Irish U19 international making a breakthrough at Borussia Monchengladbach. (You’ll likely see his surname written as Noß.)
“If we show a good example, maybe the other leagues will see it is possible and it will open the doors for others.”
Following three weeks of socially-distant sessions, full-contact training has resumed with teams quarantined away from their families. For Noss and his ‘Gladbach team-mates, this means staying in a hotel opposite the club’s stadium.
Social distancing is in place around training, with players sitting two metres apart during meals.
Players and staff are tested for Covid-19 twice a week and if anyone tests positive for the virus, they are quarantined away from the rest of the squad. Nobody at ‘Gladbach has tested positive for the virus this week.
“It’s very unusual”, says Noss, “but you have to get used to it. It’s the safest thing to do so I’m happy to do it.
“I’m happy football is back. Obviously there is a little concern as to how it will work and if everything is safe, but I think the German football league (DFL) and the German government have done a good job putting the rules together. I feel safe, and that’s the most important thing.”
The Bundesliga’s slogan is deeply ironic when read in these abnormal days: “Football as it’s meant to be.”
“Football as it may have to be” is more appropriate for the alien game that returns this weekend.
There will be no fans in the grounds, of course, and Noss’ club have become creative in the void by filling the stands with cardboard cut-outs of supporters. Meanwhile, Sky in Germany are offering viewers of the derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke an alternative feed with songs and chants: a recorded atmosphere, effectively.
Players and staff will arrive at games in a fleet of disinfected buses, so as to allow them to maintain social distancing on the journey to the stadium. All will have to wear masks and stay around five feet from each other before kick-off, with the starting team changing at a different time to substitutes.
Footballs will be disinfected, as will the dressing rooms after players leave for kick-off.
If substitute benches are too small to allow social distancing, players and staff will be allowed to sit in the stands. Players will be given individual water bottles to use during games and they are advised to shower at home after games.
10 members of the written press will be permitted to Bundesliga games, although players won’t be stopping to answer their questions in the mixed zone, and press conferences will be done over video conference.
It is a delicate operation, with Christian Seifert, the CEO of the DFL, admitting. “We are playing on probation.”
There have already been problems. Augsburg Head Coach Heiko Herrlich has to sit out his side’s game with Wolfsburg this weekend having bafflingly broken quarantine by popping out of the team hotel to buy toothpaste, while more troublingly, second-division Dynamo Dresden can’t fulfill their fixture with Hannover this weekend as their entire squad entered isolation last week following two positive tests for Covid-19.
Patrick Kohlmann is a former Irish youth international – he played at U16 level under Brian Kerr and for the U21s under Don Givens – and is now an assistant coach with Holstein Kiel in Germany’s second-tier.
“These messages make you aware that the re-start is only an attempt to finish the season”, he tells The42 over email. ”The DFL and the German association has done a great job, and I’m sure that the hygiene concept minimizes the risk of infection. But there is no 100% safety. We will start this weekend without Dynamo Dresden. They will have to catch up with their games later.”
Like Noss, Kohlmann is happy to return to games. “In principle, I am really pleased that football is returning and we can do what we love doing. After the long period of being inactive, domestic quarantine, and playing in small groups with no contact, it is great to train as a complete team like we used to. The main thing is that we all stay healthy and are able to end the season.
It will certainly be different, and the feeling without spectators will be strange because football thrives from fans and their emotions. But since it is currently not possible, we have to accept the situation and make the best of it. We are all looking forward to the day when the stadiums are full again.”
Kohlmann was born in Dortmund to an Irish mother, and turned down the chance to play for Germany at underage level to represent Ireland. He spent 14 years wading through Dortmund’s youth ranks and became a riposte to the notion that good things come to those who wait: his first-team debut – a 2004 Bundesliga tie with Kaiserslautern – was cut short after just 43 minutes with a serious knee injury. He never played for the club again, moving on to FC Rot-Weiss, then joining Union Berlin and finally Holstein Kiel, with whom he retired in 2017 to move into coaching.
“I played left-back together with the legend Dede”, he remembers, “and I can always say I played in a league match right from the beginning. I’m sad to say we lost 1-0, but still, it was a reward for me to play after 14 years with my home club, Borussia Dortmund.”
He made five appearances for the Irish U21s, and has fond memories of his time with the Irish set-up.
“I am really proud of this experience. It was an honour to play for Ireland even though I grew up in Germany. It was an easy decision to choose to play for Ireland, in spite of the fact that I also received an invitation to play for Germany. I have never regretted it. I was made to feel welcome right from the beginning.
“I would particularly like to mention Liam Miller. When I first started for Ireland, and later in the U21s, I shared a room with him. He was always there for me if I needed help and never made me feel I was different because I came from Germany.”
Kohlmann’s club lie seventh in the second tier, with promotion a distant prospect: they are 10 points behind third-placed Hamburg, who occupy the promotion/relegation play-off spot.
‘Gladbach have more tangible ambitions in the top tier. They are ensconced in fourth and the last of the Champions League positions, six points from leaders Bayern Munich and two points clear of fifth-placed Bayer Leverkusen. They return to action later today, away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Noss has been training with the first team and is close to his debut, having sat on the bench for a league clash with Augsburg, European ties with Roma and Istanbul Basaksehir, along with a German Cup clash with Dortmund.
“I’m really happy I’m here and training with the first team, trying to learn every day and progress”, says Noss. “Maybe the gaffer thinks I’m ready. I think I am: I try to show that in every training session. We have to see what will happen.”
Like Kohlmann, Noss qualifies for Ireland through his Irish mother, who was born in Donaghmede and moved to Germany when she was 18.
“I’m an attacking midfielder”, he continues, when asked to describe himself as a player. “I think my strengths are my technical abilities and my vision. I’m very good on the ball, I can always play dangerous passes. And I’m very flexible: I can play No. 6, No.8, No. 10, on the wing, second striker. I can play in various positions.”
He mentions Kevin De Bruyne and Philippe Coutinho when talk turns to the players he is impressed by. “I wouldn’t say I try to be like them, but I try to see what they are doing and try to improve my game.”
Noss was called up to the Irish U19s set-up by Tom Mohan last year, playing a couple of qualifiers along with the final 10 minutes of a 13-0 battering of Gibraltar.
“It was a great experience playing for my country”, he says. “I really enjoyed playing with Ireland and I’m really proud to be Irish. Obviously, I’m also proud to be German, but at the moment I’m really happy with playing for the U19s with Ireland, and I enjoyed my time over there.”
One new measure may help Noss make his senior debut for ‘Gladbach, with teams allowed to make five substitutes per game. His potential involvement gives Irish fans an added reason to look to Germany this weekend, but ultimately his and the innumerable other subplots will be submerged beneath a single question.
Can Germany pull this off?
