Deutsche Welle (English edition)
100 days until Tokyo Olympics: An unfair Games looms
It's 100 days until the postponed Tokyo Summer Olympics. However, COVID-19 numbers are on the rise in some places and athletes due to compete in Tokyo feel that they and their concerns are not being taken seriously.
"I was totally relieved and really wanted to get out of my apartment," saber fencer Max Hartung told DW. The 31-yearold was finally able to leave after completing 10 days of quarantine and testing negative for COVID-19.
Hartung had been forced into quarantine after four of his teammates tested positive for COVID-19 following the Fencing World Cup in Budapest in March.
"I felt a bit like I was locked in a cage," he said.
The fencers became infected even though the organizers had implemented what they had thought to be an effective hygiene plan.
"We placed our trust in the organizers," Hartung said. "Even more disappointing was the fact that the even the additional protective measures we had taken were not effective."
Tense mood
It's not just the Fencing World Cup that has seen mass infections. At the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun,
Poland, 50 of the 7000 participants tested positive.
One hundred days before the Tokyo Games are scheduled to open, the renewed rise in the number of infections in Europe is causing concern within the German Olympic team, said Hartung, who has served as the German athletes' spokesperson since 2017.
"We had all hoped that the spring would be better and that the first competitions would be different. The fact that there are now increased reports of infections again worries many."
Thomas Bach: There is no 'plan B'
Such concerns, said Hartung, means that there is little sign of the eager anticipation among the athletes that you would expect before a "normal" Olympics. Not just that, but there are
still major uncertainties about the hygiene plan for the Tokyo Games.
"We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on July 23 in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo," International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach told Kyodo News, adding that for this reason, there was no "plan B." The reason the 67-year-old is pushing for the Games to go ahead may be primarily financial, as they promise to bring the IOC billions in revenue.
It can't come quicly enough. The postponement from 2020 to 2021 and the costs for the COVID-19 hygiene plan have driven up the bill to at least €2.3 billion ($2.74 billion). The local organizing committee expects to spend around €12.66 billion, with €760 million alone earmarked for the hygiene plan. But is that enough?
Norio Sugaya, an infectious disease expert at Keiyu Hospital in Yokohama says the Games should be canceled.
"The risks are great in Japan," the expert said. The country is "not safe at all."
The playbook doesn't say much
Is financial gain more of a priority than the health of the athletes? Quotes like Sugaya's will not make competitors feel any easier about the situation.
"There's no way I'm going to trust blindly. Along with our association 'Athletes for Germany', I want to form my own opinion and question the concepts," explains Hartung. But that is not easy at the moment, he says, because almost no information has been made available to athletes.
"The first playbook [hygiene guide for participants] doesn't yet say much about what it will look like on the ground in terms of training times or catering. Just three months before the Games, I would have liked us to have more details and also to have more say, but we haven't had that chance yet. I hope we will get more information and we can get a better picture of the
situation, so that we can then hopefully travel to Japan."
The fencer considers it pivotal for the athletes to participate in the hygiene concept. Hartung says experts for viral diseases have to work on the concept, but athletes can offer advice on what is necessary to guarantee fair competition.
Hartung: ‘It will definitely be unfair'
Fair competition? The current difference in ability to train alone make fair competition in Tokyo almost impossible. In addition, some athletes are already vaccinated, but others are not. "It's a huge advantage to be vaccinated. But time to do it is running out," Hartung says.
Still, the question of equal opportunity must be asked. After all, athletes who have already been vaccinated can train normally and prepare for the competitions in Tokyo in a completely different way, while others have significantly higher
hurdles to jump.
"It's definitely going to be unfair," Hartung says. "Not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have already been vaccinated as a contact of a high-priority person. Whether you can perform and be protected in Tokyo should not be left to chance. I hope vulnerable groups are vaccinated quickly and then my teammates can be vaccinated."
chance but he fires over under pressure in the box. If xG (expected goals) is your thing, then check out Neymar's xG for the first half alone. Wow.
46' Second half starts! HALFTIME
Catch your breath! What a half. Tight, tense, tactical and completely terrific. The match exploded when Neymar hit the woodwork three times in five minutes only for Bayern to go down the other end and take the lead. Bayern need just one to progress.
41' GOAL! 1- 0 Bayern Munich (Choupo-Moting)
Incredible. Just as PSG's pressure couldn't be greater, Bayern take the lead. David Alaba gets a shot away from the left hand side of the box, Navas' save sends it into the air and ChoupoMoting rises highest to bungle it in somehow. Bayern are halfway there!
40' Neymar hits the post, the crossbar and the post!
Neymar bamboozles Lucas Hernandez but Neuer and the post combine to keep out the Brazilian's shot. Bayern get the benefit of the doubt from the referee and then Neymar delivers more outrageous skill before curling an effort onto the bar. Not long after that, he hits the post after Mbappe squares it to him in the box. What a sequence!
30' Magic Manuel
Sané gets a chance to shoot on the edge of the box but gets it wrong. Should he have done better? Joshua Kimmich drills wide minutes later. Chances finally coming for Bayern, but then Neuer makes an incredible save to deny an unmarked Neymar in the box. What a game!
25' Smart or silly?
PSG looked stable but there have also been some antics. Di Maria gets a bang on the knee and is asked if he needs a doctor, he does but then two minutes later he is surging forward at the heart of a PSG counterattack that ends without a chance. Bayern plugging away but PSG's threat on the break remains.
Angel di Maria - in pain or playing the game? 16' Naughty Neymar
A few neat twists and turns shows both Neymar's best and worst sides in the opening quarter of an hour. He made the difference in Munich. Will he do the same again in Paris?
Neymar could hold the key for PSG in Europe this season 10' Bayern hope risk brings reward
Bayern have started aggressively here but have yet to fashion a real chance. Then Manuel Neuer has to make a huge save to deny Neymar in the box. Tense and tight, as you'd expect.
Kick off! Odds not in Bayern's favor Flick wants focus
"In the box, I expect determination and absolute concentration in front of goal," Hansi Flick told Sky just before kick referring to Bayern's two goals from 31 shots in the first leg. Still can't believe they lost that game.
Big ask for Bayern
Bayern need two goals, at least, tonight to progress. Can they do it? It's a big ask but would you really write Bayern Munich off?
Team news!
Leon Goretzka is not fit in time and so Bayern have to reshuffle. It looks like David Alaba will move into midfield. Kingsley Coman is fit though and starts.
Julian Draxler starts again for PSG, who are without captain Marquinhos (injured).
Bayern XI: Neuer - Davies, Boateng, Hernandez, Pavard - Kimmich, Alaba - Sané, Müller, Coman - Choupo-Moting
PSG XI: Navas - Diallo, Kimpembe, Pereira, Dagba - Gueye, Paredes - Di Maria, Neymar, Draxler - Mbappe
Choreo on show
There might be no fans in attendance tonight, as has become the norm in the pandemic but PSG fans have made sure their players know they are being supported. A huge choreo reading "Allez Paris" is in the stands. Even if you don't speak French I think that one is pretty clear.
Polish support for Bayern
What a different game, tie even this would have been had Robert Lewandowski been fit. Bayern Munich's Polish striker sends his support from afar as he continues to work on his return to fitness. I don't know about you but do you think he really believes Bayern can win tonight?
What do the coaches have to say?
The two bosses both had their press conferences yesterday. Hansi Flick lamented his side's profligacy in the first leg but said Lucas Hernandez, Jerome Boateng, Leon Goretzka and Kingsley Coman should all be available for at least some part of the match.
"We know we have to score at least two goals. It will be a tough task, but these are the games we play football for. We want to cause a mini upset in Paris. Of course, we'll be delighted if we manage that," he said.
Mauricio Pochettino labelled Bayern "the best team in Europe" and said that he considers them "favorites" despite the first leg. He called for unity from a squad who have crumbled at key moments in this competition in the past.
"I spoke about the collective attitude to keep the ball, but also the aptitude. We'll need both of those things tomorrow. Barça is in the past. Bayern is tomorrow's match, up against the best team in the world. It's obvious that a team such as there's will try to cause us problems. It's in such moments that we need to show strength, solidarity and solidity."
What's the state of play?
PSG brutally exposed Bayern Munich's defensive frailties in snowy Munich last week as precious away goals from Kylian Mbappe (x2) and Marquinhos left the Germans with a mountain to climb.
Bayern dominated proceedings for long periods, registering 31 shots to the Parisians' six, but without Robert Lewandowski ( injured) and Serge Gnabry (Covid-19), only took two of their chances.
Headers from Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Müller brought Bayern level at 2-2 before Mbappe scored his second of the game to put PSG in the driving seat.
Bayern will have to win by two clear goals at the Parc des Princes to progress, while a 3-2 win would lead to extra time.
What's Bayern's injury situation like?
Not good. Just like in the first leg, Bayern will be without top scorer and world player of the year Lewandowski — as well as Gnabry, who is still recovering from a coronavirus infection. Choupo-Moting is likely to start again up front, but he will have to be more clinical if Bayern are to have a chance.
And there are problems further back, too. Leon Goretzka faces a late fitness test which, should he fail, could see David Alaba move into midfield in his place, leaving another hole in defense.
Niklas Süle is already out; but Jerome Boateng should recover from a slight knee problem suffered against Union Berlin at the weekend. If not, Javi Martinez could be pressed into action in the back four.
Why are Bayern so frail at the back?
Regardless of the personnel, Bayern have been noticeably vulnerable at the back this season, no more so than during the first leg against PSG.
"We didn't look great with the goals we conceded," lamented Thomas Müller postmatch, referring to the high lines and sloppy marking which were ruthlessly exploited by Mbappe, Neymar, Julian Draxler and Angel di Maria.
Not that it's a new phenomenon. "Bayern have had defensive problems all year," said former defender Dietmar Hamann. "They've not been at 100% concentration all season."
Indeed, compared with the 2012-13 treble-winning season under Jupp Heynckes, when Bayern conceded an average of 0.6 goals per game, this season's average stands at 1.2. In other words: double.
How to stop Kylian Mbappe? "Irresistible, unstoppable, merciless."
That's how Monday's Kickermagazine described the phenomenon which is Kylian Mbappe — who, along with Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland, the magazine called "not of this world."
The Parisian scored goals number 26 and 27 in his 43rd Champions League appearance in Munich last week. Last month, on March 21, he already became the youngest player ever to reach 100 goals in France's Ligue 1, aged just 22 years and 91 days and having played just 142 games. He also has 16 goals in 42 games for his country, for whom he has already won the World Cup.
In this season's Champions League, no player runs with the ball more often that Mbappe, who averages a dribble every 14 minutes. And an incredible 62.7% of them are successful.
No wonder that the suitors are lining up for the forward, whose contract is up in 2022. "If he wants to be a truly world class footballer, then there can be no other club than Real Madrid," opined former German World Cup winner Lothar Matthäus, who believes Mbappe could be "the new Ronaldo" in the Spanish capital.
Then again, even Real may baulk at a likely asking price of €250 million ($297 million). Not that PSG, owned by the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar, will want or need to sell. "We are confident that we will soon extend both Mbappe's and Neymar's contracts," sporting director Leonardo told Sky Italia last week.
Auf Wiedersehen, Flick?
"Next question." That's how Hansi Flick has been responding to reporters' questions about his future at Bayern Munich and his strained relationship with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic this week, with the head coach cutting an increasingly irritated figure.
The dispute is rooted in differences of opinion over transfers and squad planning going back to January 2020, with Flick and Salihamidzic not seeing eyeto-eye on various personnel issues, including the departure of Thiago Alcantara, failure to reach deals with David Alaba and Jerome Boateng, and the underwhelming recruitment of Bouna Sarr and Marc Roca.
Having won all six trophies on offer last season, Flick may feel he has nothing left to prove at Bayern, especially within a hierarchy in which he feels he doesn't have enough control. He wouldn't be out of a job for long, with the German FA (DFB) reportedly keen to install Flick as Joachim Löw's successor in charge of the national team.
"We are absoutely convinced that we want to work with both [Flick and Salihamidzic]," insisted Bayern president Herbert Hainer on Sky television on Sunday, attempting to play down the crisis behind the scenes.
But he wasn't fooling anyone, with one veteran reporter commenting: "FC Bayern have been more like the old FC Hollywood recently."
the hosts shifted gears and did precisely what their boss had hoped for.
Germany showed off the wellrounded strengths that make them one of the best teams in Europe. Frankfurt striker Laura Freigang, the second-highest scorer in the Bundesliga, continues to carry her sterling club form to the international stage.
Germany's second goal was the best of the day though, and proof of how good this team is. The intelligent Laura Freigang latched onto a fantastic through ball from Sara Däbritz, flicked it back to Tabea Waßmuth, who set up a charging Linda Dallmann
for a thunderous finish. The lightning-fast ball movement set off a flurry of German celebrations and took the wind from Norway's sails.
While Germany’s perfor
mance in front of Norway's net resoundingly answered questions posed of their finishing in their recent loss to the Netherlands, their other areas of play have also improved.
The last two games have shown this is a defensive unit that can frustrate strikers. The midfield, when not cutting deep into Norway's half with a certain swagger about them, forced the visitors into hopeful balls lobbed from deep.
The occasional individual error remains though, much to Voss-Tecklenburg's frustration.
"We did see today that we can be a bit cleaner technically when we are put under pressure. [These giveaways] end up costing us a lot of energy," she said.
Youth ready to deliver
Given just how young their squad is, the last week has been really impressive for Germany. Not only does the quality of the depth on show bode well for the future of this team, but this young group is also putting real pressure on more established stars.
It’s unclear just how many matches Germany will get in prior to next summer's Euros, but the familiarity they demonstrated with Voss-Tecklenburg's system in April shows they can deservedly count themselves among the favorites.