Germany became the first major football league in Europe to restart on Saturday, kicking off five Bundesliga matches. A recovery under the watchful eyes of the whole world but in a disturbing silence, that of the empty stages, after 63 days of interruption because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Among these matches, we find in particular a first shock, Dortmund-Schalke, the famous Derby of the Ruhr. But the shadow of the health crisis is visible everywhere. On the masks worn by Schalke players when entering the grounds of Signal Iduna Park; in the completely empty stands of this lair usually known for its famous "Yellow Wall"; and even on the substitutes' benches, where only one seat out of two is occupied by these masked heroes of the football.
No handshakes between players
Without ceremony or music, the teams entered the fields separately. No handshake, no children to accompany the players, and no sound adrenaline rush for the first hot actions. In Leipzig, which hosts Freiburg, some even kept their masks during the warm-up! The same confusing scenes had occurred a few minutes earlier on four second division stadiums, the D2 having resumed at 1:00 p.m. with an identical sanitary protocol.
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In the Ruhr Derby, young Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland scored the first goal of the recovery. The 19-year-old Norwegian starts on the same high foundations that made him one of the attractions of the Bundesliga in a few weeks. After his goal of an instant recovery at the penalty spot (29th), he went, with his finger raised, to the corner point, where he waited, while shaking, his teammates. They joined him without approaching or touching him too much, while respecting the social distancing measures that frame the resumption of football this weekend. Music was heard at the time of the celebration to fill the silence of the stadium behind closed doors.
[⚽ VIDEO GOAL] #Bundesliga
Erling Haaaaaaaaaland launches the festivities against Schalke 04! (1-0)
The Norwegian international leaves the opposing goalkeeper no chance and launches the Ruhr derby perfectly! pic.twitter.com/434tVRRcDp
In Germany, the nets had not trembled since a goal from Cologne striker Mark Uth on March 11. The competition has meanwhile experienced an unprecedented two-month suspension from the Covid-19, which has killed more than 307,000 people worldwide.