The Bundesliga will restart on Saturday May 16 with the 26th matchday, in which the stellar encounter will be the derby of the Ruhr area between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke .

This was reported on Thursday by the director of the German Football League (DFL), Christian Seifert, after a teleconference with the 36 teams of the first and second Bundesliga .

Yesterday, Wednesday, the political authorities had given the green light for the restart of the season behind closed doors . " They will not be normal games. They will continue to be marked by the coronavirus crisis . We know that we play under observation and under certain conditions," said Seifert, who called to respect the rules set forth in the DFL hygiene plan to prevent infections.

The 26th matchday, the first after the interruption in March, will close on Monday with the duel between Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen. "We have taken into account the situation at Bremen which was the last team that could resume group training," said Seifert.

The last day must be played on the last weekend of June . The plan of this return to the competition contemplates, according to health protocols, to regularly test players and people close to the teams.

"It would have been irresponsible to raise the return of the season without testing. The alternative was to wait for a vaccine, which could last months if not years and no club could have assumed that situation economically," said the official.

Seifert pointed out that the experience of the Bundesliga can serve as a model for other team sports in which you can neither wear masks nor keep your distance and also for other trades. The DFL, he said, will share its experience with other organizations. "We will be able to play again because we are lucky to live in a country that has one of the most modern and efficient health systems in the world, which, if we are honest, many of us did not see this way before this crisis," said Seifert.

Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Fredi Bobic had said earlier in an interview broadcast by the club that the restart is going to be interesting because no one has a clear idea of ​​what may happen. "I've talked to colleagues and we all think it's going to be interesting because nobody has any idea what might happen . It feels like it's the beginning of a season," said Bobic.

The key will be, according to the former German international, that the team find its rhythm more quickly after returning to play after a pause without friendly preparations and without true group training. "The pre-match phase is short. Curious results may come out. We jokingly said maybe there could be a 5-5," he explained.

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