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Berlin (dpa) - humility, no more, lessons from the crisis.
Alienation, longing, hope.
Many keywords represent a year of football under pandemic conditions.
Or more precisely: for professional football.
The amateur area, the basis of popular sport, has come to a standstill for months in many places and is still largely dormant.
Sport is characterized by uncertainty.
«We cannot say with certainty that we will play this game in 14 days, for example, and that game two weeks later.
Such a time structure, which has a very strong impact on experience, is not possible because we have absolutely no power over the future at the moment, ”said sports sociologist Gunter Gebauer of the German Press Agency.
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It was a year ago, the 26th matchday was also on the agenda, when the German Football League declared a standstill.
"One of the reasons for this is that during the course of the day there was a suspicion of an infection with the corona virus in the vicinity of several clubs and their teams, and further infections cannot be ruled out," the statement said at the time.
"Previously, in the 2nd Bundesliga, after the professional team from Hannover 96, the local health authorities also ordered the entire team of 1. FC Nürnberg to be quarantined at home."
Quarantine, another buzzword that has not lost its horror, but has also simply been a part of sport since Corona.
The fact that the Hanoverians are again in isolation at a phase in which RKI boss Lothar Wieler is concerned about the start of the third wave of pandemics in Germany, like the Holstein Kiel team in the second division, does not matter Hope for improvement.
On the contrary.
And the audience remains outside.
From the perspective of futurologist and trend researcher Anja Kirig, associations and organizations have only partially used the Corona period so far to involve fans more in other ways.
"There is definitely still a lot of scope for more involvement here," she told the German press agency.
In Germany in particular, there would be a lack of standardized platforms "that prepare data well so that fans can get information, exchange ideas and help shape it," explained Kirig.
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Fans want to get involved, sometimes claiming a say.
Above all, however, fans want one thing: Back to the stadiums, cheer on their team, cheer with their idols and, if possible, abuse them from time to time.
"The self-image of football fans is that they are not 'consumers', but rather that they contribute to the overall event through their own activities and emotions," said fan expert Michael Gabriel, head of the fan projects coordination office, who recently said: " Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung »:« The naked game has become in a certain way banal without a spectator. »
The alienation from football, which more than a few fans feel after a year of football in Corona times, "began before the pandemic when fans were perceived as accessories and not as fellow players on an equal footing," said social scientist Kirig.
After the presentation of the final report at the beginning of February, the participating fan representatives made it clear how they felt themselves to be perceived by the “Future of Professional Football” task force.
"The good - also controversial - results that we have worked out in the task force are unfortunately only partially visible in the final report," said Anna-Maria Hass.
“Once again, the impression arises that the people involved are refusing to undertake urgently needed reforms.
We see this as a setback for all fans - whether in the stadium or in front of the television.
Above all, it is a challenge to continue working for the urgently needed reforms in the future. "
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The fans suffer, the clubs' coffers suffer, but does what goes on on the pitch also suffer?
The hit rate shows no negative change, instead Bayern's world footballer Robert Lewandowski is even on a goal scorer record course.
The fight for championship, but especially for international ranks and against relegation, certainly cannot be denied the tension.
"The level has not changed, it has just become a bit more relaxed," said Nils Petersen from SC Freiburg to the "kicker".
The goalscorer from Breisgau brought other aspects into play: “I hate this feeling of excitement, nervousness, stomach ache, you go to the toilet three times and sweat a lot, it's uncomfortable.
It's all a little less now because there is no direct feedback from people.
It sometimes feels like a training game. "
Which doesn't mean that he doesn't miss the audience either.
Like the former BVB goalscorer Norbert Dickel, who has been Borussia Dortmund's stadium announcer for 30 years.
«29 of those years I stood in front of the Süd and read the team roster.
Nobody answers me now.
It's not fun, ”said the 59-year-old recently to the broadcaster Sky.
"It's just cruel."
But the worst realization for everyone in professional football is: Somehow it goes without a spectator for a while.
After all, the crisis sparked discussions about an upper salary limit.
The sometimes insane transfer fees should, in the opinion of some, be a thing of the past.
Gratitude was first emphasized when professional football resumed play after a forced break of more than two months in mid-May under strict safety and hygiene measures.
Doubts about a new - inevitably - down-to-earthness of the billion dollar business also always played a role.
And when Karl-Heinz Rummenigge sharply criticized the legally impeccable departure ban for FC Bayern towards the Club World Cup in Qatar and then commented on the vaccination, quite a few saw their concerns confirmed.
Whether in the Champions League, in the Europa League, in the Bundesliga - the program continues, while other areas of life, such as culture, stand still almost completely.
International games are simply relocated from virus variant areas to high-incidence areas so that at best only five days have to be quarantined instead of 14 days.
And in the summer the EM, which has been postponed by a year, is to take place in twelve countries.
If necessary, also under the circumstances that the possible national player Thomas Müller described when the game was resumed a year ago after the evening game at 1. FC Union Berlin without a spectator: “Of course it has something of 'old gentlemen, 7:00 p.m. by floodlight' -The atmosphere."
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210315-99-831787 / 3
Gebauer's new book at Reclam
History of the Olympic Games
History of the soccer world championships
Statement by Thomas Müller from May 18, 2020
Homepage Anja Kirig
Coronavirus area on the DFL homepage