New year, old problems: The new wave of corona infections did not rustle past football and carried away several stars on Christmas vacation.
Bayern Munich: Actually, the preparation for the spring kicks on Friday against Mönchengladbach would have started yesterday. Because Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Corentin Tolisso and Omar Richards as well as assistant trainer Dino Toppmöller became infected while on vacation, it should only start today – after PCR tests for all team members. The club said that all infected people are fine – how they will return from their vacation spots is open. New ones are to be flown in from the Maldives by private jet. It is also unclear whether the quintet was infected with the Omikron variant. If so, that would mean a 14-day quarantine with no chance of freedom.
Paris Saint Germain: In France’s league leaders Lionel Messi caught it on home leave and four other players.
Juventus Turin: Giorgio Chiellini tested positive at the beginning of the preparation. Before New Year’s Eve, two other players had to go into isolation.
Xavi: “It’s ridiculous”
At FC Barcelona, 18 players were eliminated in yesterday’s La Liga game against Mallorca (still in progress when this issue went to press), ten of them due to positive corona tests. “It’s ridiculous that this match is taking place,” said coach Xavi after the league rejected the move. Monaco, which had coach Niko Kovac on leave at the turn of the year, went to the cup game against Rouen without seven infected players. Two games were canceled in the English Premier League. A cluster was also formed in Gambia’s national team before the Africa Cup, which starts on January 9th in Cameroon. The test match against defending champions Algeria has been canceled.
Source: Nachrichten
