“I think it would be interesting to look a little more towards the German championship. "When in spring 2019, he touted the benefits of the Bundesliga, arms crossed in the press room of the facilities of the Stade de Reims, David Guion did not suspect that a year later French aficionados would turn to" fussball "hit by a devastating pandemic.
No doubt he would have preferred this to be done in other circumstances, but here we are. The BuLi will be the first major European championship to reopen on Saturday with, sorry, a tasty Ruhr derby (Dortmund-Schalke 04).
The closed door rejects
Exciting at first glance, this recovery is immediately less if we take into account the closed session imposed by the health context. The absence of a 12th man is a hindrance to the football experience as a player but also as a viewer, so that most of the 20 Minutes readers who responded to our call for contributions are not thrilled when the football resumes this week-end. "Even if I really like football, testifies Mathieu, the interest of this sport resides enormously in the sound emanating from the stands, the public, the shots of supporters filmed by the cameras. However, the camera degrades the spectacle enormously and takes away in my opinion a great part of the interest of this sport. I therefore think that it should not become the norm, at the risk of ultimately diverting viewers from the spectacle that a football match must constitute. "
This reluctance is not premonitory and, on the contrary, stems from experience. It has its roots in the Parc des Princes, where PSG qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals in early March in a dumb stage against Borussia Dortmund. "The PSG match against Dortmund brought me the greatest emotion at the end of the match, when there was communion with the fans outside, and yet I have been a fan of PSG for years and I expected a return in 1/4 final ”, writes Antoine. Mathieu abounds. “Remember the PSG - Dortmund return match: what did we remember from this match in terms of football? Nothing. The only thing that remained in memory was the celebration of the Parisian players with their supporters at the end of the match! "
The fear of an under-spectacle for the recovery across the Rhine is all the more justified since the festive image of the Bundesliga holds as much in its attacking football as in a stadium occupancy rate of around 90% a year (89.3% in 2019, including 100% for Bayern and 98.99 for BVB). So don't forget to wet your neck before turning on the TV on Saturday.
Gladiators sent to the arena for the pleasure of the people
Beyond the ambient gloom, our readers are also very numerous to highlight moral arguments. "In these times of pandemic the priorities should be elsewhere", argues Thierry, who takes this opportunity to congratulate French football for "knowing how to stop in time". Itou for Gilles, laconic: "the Bundesliga, like any sporting event, is irrelevant in this pandemic context". More discreet, Antoine denounces the irresponsible sacrifice of athletes on the altar of collective happiness.
"I have the impression that we are putting health, caregivers, the sick and all the people who are experiencing a crisis aside just to play football. It disgusts me. Now is not the time to play soccer. I also have the impression that there is a lack of respect for the players, the staffs and all the people who work in the field by putting them in the arena. They are gladiators, we "sacrifice" them for the happiness of the people. For me, it's not football, it's a device. So this weekend, it will be BuLi free for me. We will watch football when it is football, not a pseudo-show. "
Between the skepticism of the former and the ethics of the latter, we find Hatim, happy to find "an exciting championship turned towards attack" and above all Alexis, whose plea transpires the love of German football and predicts a weekend in place under the sign of guilty pleasure. “The Bundesliga is a championship whose posters I like to watch, as much for the spectacular game as for the generally pleasant atmospheres. In addition, the afternoon game schedules are perfect for recovering from the previous day's booze or digesting granny's chicken. Or even to accompany the aperitif on Saturday evening for the poster which starts at 6.30pm. Eating mini sausages while watching Monchengladbach-Frankfurt is an exquisite cocktail. However, I am a little embarrassed by this recovery which seems hasty vis-à-vis the health situation. Especially when you see that some teams have positive cases. But I risk obscuring my scruples from the first seconds when Jean-Charles Sabatier pronounces a German name with a perfect accent. "
No doubt, nature takes back its rights among the junkies of the Bundesliga. Not said, however, that the uniqueness of this football weekend is enough to tip the heads of the greatest number towards the German stadiums.
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