It might be an exaggeration that the ball rolls again in the sports park. But at least it rolls again. Third-division soccer team SpVgg Unterhaching resumed training yesterday. At least a little bit, as the current situation allows. A little bit of normality has returned after a three-week break and a completely deserted training area.
Unterhaching - sports park, training ground one, yesterday at 9.15 a.m .: A small group enters the lawn. This has only limited to do with football, but at least the professionals have grass under their feet and a ball on their feet. The units are scheduled in small groups of a maximum of four players, but each lasted around 75 minutes yesterday. Of course, the SpVgg pays careful attention to compliance with the hygiene regulations. The players have already moved to the sports park and then showered at home.
There is a distance between players and coaches on the pitch, duels, for example, are still taboo, speeches also take place at a distance. After all. "Of course it doesn't come close to normal training," says head coach Claus Schromm, but he is glad to see his kickers again after weeks in the "home office" with the merely virtual fitness program and to give personal guidance. "It is simply important that the boys can do something with the ball on the lawn again," he emphasizes.
The big smile on the face of the players made it clear that there was relief at the return to the pitch. “World class,” enthused Captain Josef Welzmüller after his unit in a group with Dominik Stroh-Engel, Maximilian Krauß and Luca Marseiler. "That was really fun. Even if it's just small groups, it's great to finally see each other again. You realize what you have in a team and in your friends. And it's nice to be back where you belong. "
The program yesterday: warm-up unit with athletic trainer Georg Wallner, football-specific movements that were previously not logically possible in the training plans for home, then technical exercises with passing and shots on goal, and finally an intensive final load. “A lot for the beginning,” said Welzmüller, “some of the muscles will be sore tomorrow. Some of them also had blisters on their feet because they hadn't worn soccer shoes for weeks. But these are aches and pains that are now happily accepted. "
Training in this form is planned three times a week. Today is free, the next training days are on Thursday and Friday. In between, the plans for home still remain to be worked through.
The days in the sports park are now quite long for the trainers due to the small groups. Only after 3 p.m. did Schromm march back to his car. But he was also pretty happy about the return to the pitch: "It was nice to see the boys again and we saw everyone today." Even convalescents like Marseiler, Max Dombrowka, Alexander Kaltner or Felix Müller were reduced in view of the reduced Program. "It was easy to get in first," says Schromm, "on Wednesday we will get clear statutes from the DFB about what we can do. Then we will see how we proceed exactly. "
The approval of the square was only received by the district office on Monday evening. Because the SpVgg has been running the Stadion and Platz Eins itself for two years and is therefore considered a “permanent establishment”, the municipality does not block the sports facilities. "The professional department is a KG, that is, a company, and thus decides for itself what risk it exposes its employees to," confirmed City Hall spokesman Simon Hötzl when asked. The training should nevertheless take place in camera, as the SpVgg emphasizes, so fans should definitely not visit the sports park.
