Almamy Touré: "Happy to resume" in the German Championship

Text by: RFI Follow

Almamy Touré is preparing to resume in the German Championship, after two months of interruption of the Bundesliga because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Franco-Malian defender of Eintracht Frankfurt, who went through AS Monaco, said he was "happy" before facing Borussia Mönchengladbach on May 16.

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Almamy Touré, we can see the different preventive measures adopted before the resumption of the German Championship (Bundesliga): wearing a mask, the team that travels to the stadium by taking two different buses… Do you feel safe ?

Almamy Touré : Yes, with the measures that we have to respect, I feel a little safer. We try to do our best to avoid contact. Wearing a mask reduces the risk, too. If everyone follows the instructions, I think it's positive for us and that it allows us to feel a little safer.

Are you happy to find the pitches and the matches, even if it will be without spectators and without supporters?

Obviously, it will be a little different because there will be no supporters. But, if everything is in place for us to resume matches, yes. Staying at home is good. But football is our passion. I am happy to resume if we can do it and everything is in place to keep it safe.

How did people react in France, where the Championship is stopped, compared to the very probable recovery in Germany?

Friends tell me that the decision was made too quickly (in France), that we could have waited a bit to see how things are going and look for solutions. But, unfortunately, in France they directly arrested. Afterwards, here in Germany, we managed the crisis rather well. We are happy to resume. In France, there are bound to be disappointed.

This forced Bundesliga shutdown came at the wrong time for you while you were in the thick of it. Everything was going very well for you. Was it detrimental to see your ascent stopped altogether?

It would have been nice to be able to finish the season normally and that I could continue at the same pace. But this situation does not only affect me. It affects the team and football in general. I didn't just watch my person. We will try to re-attack with the same rhythm and make the same matches. Because that's football: be regular all the time.

Words gathered at a press conference,

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