The Hungarian capital welcomes this Tuesday the knockout stages of the Champions League between Leipzig and Liverpool, before another meeting on February 24, between Mönchengladbach and Manchester City.
If Germany has refused to host English teams on its soil for fear of the risk of the spread of Covid-19, Hungary, of which Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a fan of the round ball, is brushing aside the concerns.
As much the European Supercup, which had opposed Bayern Munich to Seville in September in Budapest in front of more than 15,000 spectators - UEFA hoping to make it a pilot project "-, had cringe, as there, the controversy is absent . "Unlike the Supercup, these matches will be held behind closed doors, without any supporters in the stands" of the modern Puskas Arena (68,000 seats in normal times), explains Jeno Sipos, spokesperson for the national football federation ( MLSZ) As for the players, they will have to comply with "strict epidemiological rules" defined by UEFA and the Hungarian organizing committee.
After being transported by shuttle from the airport to the hotel, then to the stadium, "the team and the technical staff will be isolated from the public, they will not be able to meet anyone and will have to undergo PCR tests", he told AFP.
"Budapest has not much to lose," comments sports journalist Gergely Marosi, citing a "minimal" health risk.
And could even gain: "The clubs received bear the costs, it makes the staff of the stadium work as well as the empty hotels".
"The victory of this sports diplomacy"
Gyorgy Szollosi, editor-in-chief of the daily Nemzeti Sport
In neighboring Romania too, we are rubbing our hands in front of the surprise relocation of the Champions League poster between Atlético Madrid and Chelsea, scheduled for February 23.
The sports press greeted "excellent news", while the Romanian Federation (FRF) confides not having hesitated for a second, while advancing the same health guarantees (no spectators, respect of restrictions).
"A match played in the framework of the most prestigious European club competition is a major sporting event and we offered our support to the organizers as soon as this possibility was raised", explains its president Razvan Burleanu.
"It is first and foremost a question of solidarity", underlines the Minister of Sport, Eduard Novak, contacted by AFP.
For the Romanian supporters, just seeing the two teams on television playing on “their” Arena Nationala (54,000 seats) will be the opportunity to dive back into the festive atmosphere, which they do not have. have tasted more since the stadiums closed in March 2020, due to a pandemic.
Tallinn, Warsaw, Genoa: three other cities had been considered to host this meeting before Bucharest won.
It is the coach of the Madrid club Diego Simone who would have made the choice.
He has fond memories of it: Atlético won the second Europa League in its history there in May 2012.
Another element that played in favor of the Romanian capital: Bucharest is one of the twelve host cities of the Euro (June 11-July 11).
Four meetings are on the program (as in Budapest) and for the moment, Romania does not plan to organize more.
"We proposed it following the postponement of the competition last year, but a possible redistribution of matches is out of the question at this stage," said Romanian event coordinator Florin Sari.
Viktor Orban, who dreams of hosting the Olympic Games, has struggled for years to attract major events: World Swimming Championships in 2017, Women's Champions League final in 2019, World Athletics Championships to come in 2023, the list has grown over the years.
The leader has thus injected millions of dollars into football, through a vast stadium construction program.
For Gyorgy Szollosi, editor-in-chief of the daily Nemzeti Sport, the holding in Budapest of the round of 16 first leg of C1 signals "the victory of this sports diplomacy".
"A welcome publicity" that Hungary could argue "if the format of the Euro had to be tightened because of the virus", argues his colleague Gergely Marosi.
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