With plenty of self-confidence in their luggage, Arminia Bielefeld will take on SC Freiburg on Saturday . However, a certain Corona tension is always present as well.
In league comparison, Arminia Bielefeld have got off reasonably lightly so far in the course of the Corona pandemic. “We are doing well and yet we are not immune,” says coach Frank Kramer. Because: “It’s unpredictable, no matter how professional you are.” Stefan Ortega Moreno got to feel that shortly before the winter break, puzzling over how and where he got infected. The keeper was badly affected, missing the end of the first half of the season in Leipzig (2:0). Now he is back, in full possession of his powers. However: “When I trained with the team for the first time, I also told the others: It feels like after a long summer break, the lungs have to work hard.
The captain is also feeling the effects. Manuel Prietl caught the virus at the same time as Ortega Moreno, and a return to the starting eleven on Saturday in Freiburg is still rather out of the question. “You have to see,” emphasises coach Kramer, “how quickly the body can adapt to a maximum load, which is a game.” It is likely that the Austrian will take a seat on the bench for the time being. In the win in Leipzig, Sebastian Vasiliadis, who has also already been through COVID-19, and Alessandro Schöpf formed the Bielefeld double six.
In Breisgau, Arminia want to continue the trend from before the winter break. The Kramer team has collected eleven points from the last seven games, and “we want to continue on this path”, says the coach. Always with the worry, however, that Corona can also strike at DSC. “A certain tension is there,” says Kramer, “we do the PCR test every day to be on the safe side.” Which, however, see opponents Freiburg, who have to do without three players who tested positive at short notice, is no guarantee. A constant uncertainty plays into it. “And I have the feeling,” says Kramer, “that it will accompany us for the next few months. “
