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The restart of soccer in Germany has hit its biggest issue so far as Dynamo Dresden, a 2. Bundesliga side currently in last place in the league, have had two players test positive for Covid-19. The entire team has been ordered into a 14-day quarantine, and will miss their scheduled match with Hannover 96 on May 17th.
“On Friday, May 8, 2020, the third test series for ’Covid-19’ of all second division squads, including the coaching and supervisory staff of SG Dynamo Dresden, took place as scheduled. After evaluating all laboratory samples, it was clear on Saturday that there were two new corona cases at SGD,” Dresden explained in a statement published on the club’s official website.
“The affected players have been medically normal in the past few days and are currently still symptom-free.
“After an intensive analysis of the situation, the health authority in Dresden responsible for the SGD in Dresden decided on Saturday that the entire second division squad, including the coaching and support team, must now go into a 14-day quarantine at home.”
This shows the challenges of restarting any sports league around the world, and shows how the Korea Baseball Organization has truly done a remarkable job keeping everyone away from the virus during this time.
With nine rounds of matches left in both the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, calendars will need to be adjusted each time a team is sent into quarantine. For Dresden this will be particularly challenging as they sit at the foot of the table entering the restarted season, though just two points from safety with 24. They are tied with Karlsruhe for the drop but behind on goal difference, and both clubs trail Wiesbaden who sit on 25. Now the close of the season and lack of training for a fortnight could drastically affect their chances of staying up.
This is the reality of German football restarting in the time of the coronavirus. Sometimes what happens to the future of your club may come down to the health of your players and who gets infected. It certainly incentivizes teams to do everything possible to make sure strict protocols are in place.