Fabian Bredlow has survived Corona, is allowed to leave the domestic isolation and is an option for the game in Gladbach. Instead, the next bad news followed: On Friday, Orel Mangala was tested positive.
Stuttgart were eagerly awaiting the test result of Bredlow, who tested positive for Corona ten days ago, and more clarity as to whether the keeper could be a candidate for the post between the posts for the match in Gladbach on Saturday (LIVE! from 18.30 on kicker). The test result of the sample taken this morning was negative, so the keeper has been cleared and is allowed to leave the domestic isolation.
But the relief was followed in the same breath by the next shock. Mangala, who was also routinely tested on Friday, gave a positive result. The Belgian had to go into isolation immediately and will be out until further notice. “This is definitely a setback for us. On the one hand, because we had hoped to be spared from further positive cases. And on the other hand, because Orel was on his way back to old strength after his injury and now we have to do without him again,” explains sports director Sven Mislintat.
At least Bredlow is now in the matchday squad, whether he will make it between the posts remains to be seen. “He has to feel good athletically,” says coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who continues to be without Florian Müller, Waldemar Anton, Erik Thommy and Roberto Massimo, who have also been ill for some time. Their condition is “different. One has symptoms, the other doesn’t. But I don’t want to say any more,” said Matarazzo.
Matarazzo would have no concerns about shock
If Bredlow does not meet the selection criteria after all, the VfB coach would have no qualms about putting Stuttgart’s young professional Florian Schock in goal. “We deliberately signed Flo as a number 3 and not just as a training goalkeeper. We have full confidence in him and that he can deliver a good performance. He makes a good impression in training.”
The 20-year-old would definitely have special features. For example, he is “taller than me,” jokes Matarazzo, who stands at 1.98 metres. Schock is one centimetre taller. In addition, he has “a certain mass, is quick to react, has good blocking skills and holds many balls”. As a personality, the giant also brings “a lot of character for the future. He is a good boy who will go his way with us.”
Before that, however, Schock first has to prove himself athletically. Possibly already in Gladbach. Not an easy place for a Bundesliga debut. “We’re trying to find the right amount of looseness and tension,” says Matarazzo, who is approaching the preparation in such a way that “he has the optimum tension. You can feel a certain tingling in his stomach. But that’s quite normal, everyone feels that before their first game”.