A number of stars participating in the Club World Cup hosted by Qatar have expressed their admiration for the audience during the matches, which has revived the spirit of football matches, which have been affected greatly by the absence of fans from the stands for many months.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said, "It was very impressive playing here in Qatar, which will host the World Cup next year, and playing in the presence of fans in these circumstances is wonderful, and it was an opportunity for us to test playing on one of the World Cup stadiums." .
For his part, Bayern Munich coach, Hanzi Flick, considered that playing a match in front of the fans forced him to change his style, and he joked that he was now required to raise his voice more in order to communicate his instructions to the players.
And he expressed his hope that the fans would soon return to the German stadiums, and said, "We of course have to wait for everything to go in the right direction," referring to the decline in infection rates with Corona virus.
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Lewandowski translates Bayern Munich’s advantage by scoring the first goals of the match # Al-Ahly |
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For his part, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski spoke of a "beautiful moment" after playing again in front of the fans, and said, "I have to say, honestly, I almost forgot what it looks like in the presence of the fans."
Yesterday's match between Bayern Munich and Al-Ahly, which ended with Bayern winning two clean goals, was attended by a crowd of 12,000 fans.
The organizing committee approved the attendance of fans at 30% of the stadium's capacity, amid precautionary measures as part of the plan to confront the Corona virus.
Fatima Al-Nuaimi, Director of Communication at the Local Organizing Committee for the FIFA Club World Cup, said that the organizational success of the tournament so far in light of the various challenges due to the Corona crisis, is a useful experience and an exceptional opportunity to benefit and develop experiences as the 2022 World Cup approaches.