BUND OF BROTHERS
ALL Jonjoe Kenny is concerned about today is testing himself against Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland.
The on-loan Everton full-back knows that even though there will not be the usual 80,000 crowd when his Schalke side visit Borussia Dortmund in the Ruhr derby, there will be worldwide interest.
While British football remains divided over a return, Germany is providing the blueprint for dealing with the pandemic. Kenny (left) and his Schalke team-mates quickly agreed a 15 per cent pay cut in March to safeguard jobs at the club.
And now the strict medical protocols – including testing the families of players for Covid1 9 – have enabled the Bundesliga to be the first big European league to return.
And Kenny can’t wait. “I am very excited to get back playing again,” said the former England youth star. “And I feel really grateful I can get back to what I love doing on a Saturday. Schalke have made us feel as safe as possible.
“They have given us everything possible to go out and be ready for games and to perform. Everyone is feeling good.
“No one is feeling anxious or nervous and everyone is ready to play because of the protocols we have gone through to safeguard our health and safety. I have been tested four times so far.
“A lot of the lads have families and kids and so whoever is in your household at the time, they get tested too.
“It has all been figured out to make sure the families are healthy and safe so players can go out and play. The way the club has gone about it has been brilliant and put the players at ease.”
The last Bundesliga match was on March 11. Schalke players joined other sides by taking voluntary pay cuts.
“There are thousands of people working at Schalke and you realise they have families and we want to keep this club up and running,” said Liverpool-born Kenny. “For us to give back a bit of our wages to help everyone else in the club was the right thing to do.”
There will not be the usual din of the 25,000 fans on the Yellow Wall today, but title-chasing Dortmund will field two players making a big noise in the Bundesliga. England’s Sancho has 14 goals this season, while Leeds-born Haaland has been an instant hit since his January transfer from Red Bull Salzburg.
Both are targets for Premier League clubs, but Kenny will have them in his sights today. “What Jadon has done is unbelievable – he is a top, top player,” he said. “So is Haaland. He is a danger. You want to be going up against these top players.
“Young players in the Bundesliga get their chance. When you get belief off the manager, it takes you to another level.”
The same can be said for Kenny, now 23. He played all seven games when England won the Under-20s World Cup in 2017, but made only 10 Premier League appearances for Everton last season. He has already played 26 times on loan for Schalke boss David Wagner (above).
“I knew of the coach – I played against him when he was at Huddersfield – and as soon I spoke to him, he gave me belief. There is no better feeling.”
AUGSBURG
Die Fuggerstadter (‘From the town of the Fuggers’)
No major trophies Florian Niederlechner A small, historic and picturesque town 40 miles west of Munich may be an unlikely place for a top-flight club, but hard work and team spirit have kept them in the Bundesliga since they earned promotion in 2010/11. BAYER LEVERKUSEN
Die Werkself (The
Factory 11)
DFB Cup winners
(1993), UEFA Cup winners (1988)
Kai Havertz
Formed by workers at pharmaceutical giant Bayer, the club still retains its original ethos as a team of the people. They suffered heartbreak in 2001/02, finishing second in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Champions League. BAYERN MUNICH
Die Roten (The Reds) 28 Bundesliga titles Robert Lewandowski Bayern are a juggernaut of the global game. The Bavarians’ unprecedented domestic and European success in the 1970s laid the foundations for their current obsession with winning. BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Die Schwarzgelben/bvb (The Black-and-yellows)
5 Bundesliga titles Jadon Sancho
Located in the industrial heartland of the Ruhr, the whole city lives and breathes Borussia. New striker Erling Haaland (right) is an exciting talent and they regularly have the biggest crowds in Europe with more than 80,000 supporters.
BORUSSIA
MONCHENGLADBACH
Die
Fohlen (The Foals)
5
Bundesliga titles
Denis Zakaria
Gladbach earned the moniker of the Foals during their 1970s heyday, when they won all five of their Bundesliga titles, thanks to their swashbuckling attacking play. They have been a formidable unit under head coach Marco Rose this term, beating Bayern and Leverkusen. COLOGNE
Die Geißbocker (The
Billy Goats) 2 Bundesliga titles
Jhon Cordoba
Cologne lifted the inaugural Bundesliga title in 1963/64, but have only won it once since then, in 1978. Since the turn of the century, they have been relegated to and promoted from the second division five times. EINTRACHT FRANKFURT Die Adler (The Eagles) 5-time DFB Cup winners Filip Kostic
Frankfurt were one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in the 1960s and have since played in the top flight for 51 seasons. FORTUNA DUSSELDORF
Die Flingeraner (From the town of Flingen)
2-time DFB Cup winners Rouwen Hennings Promoted as Bundesliga 2 champions at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, Fortuna have suffered a touch of second-season syndrome. FREIBURG
Die Breisgauer (From the region of Breisgau)
No major trophies
Nils Petersen
Nestled near the Black Forest, the