Munich and Dortmund chiefs positive about closed door return
Hans-Joachim Watzke of Borussia Dortmund and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge of Bayern Munich have declared themselves pleased with the Bundesliga restart amid the coronavirus crisis.
“Many people are amazed that the Bundesliga and German politics had the courage to bring back matches on the basis of a detailed concept,” Dortmund chief executive Watzke told the Ruhr Nachrichten paper on Sunday.
Watzke, who watched his team defeat local rivals Schalke 4-0 on Saturday, was impressed by the global impact of the return from the coronavirus enforced suspension.
“The UEFA president (Aleksander Ceferin) congratulated [us] on the smooth running, the English have shown our games over a long time period, the league was on the front page of four Spanish papers on Sunday,” he said.
But there remains work to be done until things can return to normal.
“I’ll only be happy again when we can play in front of our fans again,” Watzke said. “Without them – it hurts.”
Bayern chairman Rummenigge said that there could be no complacency.
“It is important that we’re content but don’t relax now,” he told Sky TV ahead of his club’s meeting with Union Berlin. “We also have to be disciplined in the future to deal with the political requirements.”
Bavarian premier Markus Soeder has said “the experiment has worked” with football’s return and Rummenigge believes the Bundesliga could be an example for others.
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“Everyone was happy that it has worked so well in Germany and gives hope for the colleagues in other countries that they too could start playing again at some point,” he said. (dpa)
