In view of the current Corona cases in the professional squad, FC Bayern München has discussed postponing Friday evening’s second-round opener against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed that he was considering the idea.
“We currently have ten outfield players and two goalkeepers. That is why we are thinking about how we can play the game and have discussed the situation with the DFL,” Salihamidzic told the ‘Deutsche Presse-Agentur’ on Wednesday. In recent days, eight professionals have tested positive for the Corona virus at the record champions – Alphonso Davies was added to the list on Wednesday. The Canadian international is in domestic isolation, the 21-year-old said.
Salihamidzic: “It looks like we will play “
But there is unlikely to be a postponement of the 70s classic, which is due to kick off on Friday night. “There is a set of rules for this, which we will abide by like everyone else,” Salihamidzic remarked on the DFL match regulations in the Corona pandemic. These rules state that “at least 16 licensed players eligible to play and/or amateurs/contract players eligible to play in the licensed team must be available”. If this is not the case, the club concerned can apply for the match to be postponed. “It looks like we will play, and then we will also go into the game to win it,” Bayern’s sporting director noted.
Even before that, Gladbach’s manager Max Eberl had reported at the matchday press conference that FC Bayern would “like to cancel the game”. He said he had been in ready contact with both Salihamidzic and the DFL on the matter. “That is not our topic,” Eberl said, however.
On Wednesday morning, Niklas Süle also signed off for Bayern’s first session, the international defender leaving the Säbener Straße ground after the Corona test. In addition, Leon Goretzka could only train individually due to knee problems: “Goretzka hasn’t played for five weeks. With Süle, we also don’t know if he could play. He has back problems,” Salihamidzic reported.
