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In the midst of Coronavirus outbreak, Bayern Munich’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge talked about the effects of the malicious virus. In a press conference (via Sport1) prior to the match against Union Berlin, Karl-Heinz welcomed DFL’s decision to play the upcoming Bundesliga matchday and added that “even professional football is about finance.”
Hansi Flick explained that Bayern made all the precautionary measures — doctors instructed players how to behave to reduce the chances of infections, all employees will start working from home on Monday, and Rummenigge asked the fans not to come to the upcoming match in Berlin.
Furthermore, Flick added that there is no training plan for the near future.
We have the final training now, what comes next will be decided after the match. We have to make sure that we keep the team fit. It’s going step by step now, nobody can say what the next weeks will look like. We have to adjust to the situations and that’s what we’ll do. We prepare ourselves professionally, that’s our job.
DFL was under a lot of criticism because they’ve decided that the next matchday will be played. French, Spanish, English and Italian football matchdays have all been canceled, but in Germany that is not the case. Hansi Flick explained the decision, and Rummenigge added that “we’re talking about an industry, even if some people in the Südkurve don’t like to hear that.”
The big difference is that we don’t have a player who has tested positive in the Bundesliga. I believe that we in Germany are extremely responsible in dealing with the demands of politics. Football can help ensure that people in panic are offered something that they are used to. At our club, all 1000 employees came to work punctually at 8.30 am today. Our aim now is also to help slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
It is mind-boggling how Rummenigge is so focused on the financial side of the coronavirus outbreak.
Rummenigge — “There are follow-up plans!”
Of course everyone is now thinking about follow-up plans in the worst-case scenario. These do exist, but they are dependent on UEFA and FIFA. We have a question that nobody can answer seriously: how long will Corona last? We also have to ask ourselves how to deal with the issue. So far, everything is being implemented seriously and we hope it will stop quickly.
In a situation like this, it is clear that the team’s mentality and morale will fluctuate. “... There is clearly a lack of atmosphere, emotionality, and mood. It’s all a bit strange...”, said Karl-Heinz. While Hansi Flick praised the team’s Rückrunde and called for solidarity:
It’s difficult, I haven’t been through this before. It will be a game about mentality. It’s not a football game as you know it. I think that we are well positioned. But I would like to have different topics in my first season as a coach. The team has played a sensational second half, the triple seems to be within reach. But now it’s important that we face up to our joint responsibility. Everyone should handle the situation responsibly so that the virus spreads as slowly as possible. We will play the matchday, that’s our job. We accept the decisions and the situation. We have to be well prepared and everyone on the team has to push themselves so that we go into the game focused.
It seems that Bayern is well organized regarding the coronavirus and this will probably be the last match in March for the Bavarians. We can all hope that this situation will be soon over and that everyone goes unharmed.