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Regretful Reus ready to rescue Dortmund

Marco Reus is relishing his return from injury to help pull Borussia Dortmund out of the German league's relegation places.

Published: 19 January 2015 14:05 CET

Regretful Reus ready to rescue Dortmund

Photo: DPA

After missing the last two months with torn ankle ligaments, the 25-year-old played 45 minutes of struggling Dortmund's 1-0 friendly win over Romania's Steaua Bucharest on Saturday in Alicante at the end of their Spanish training camp.

"I'm very pleased with the way the injury has healed, I can do everything I did before it happened," Reus, who missed Germany's World Cup triumph last June with an ankle injury, told German broadcaster ARD.

"It's important that I can look ahead, be fit to help the team move up the table," said Reus.

"It's important that we now pick up the points to boost our confidence again."

He says he bitterly regrets the scandal he caused in December when it was revealed he had never passed a driving test, despite having driven for years, which led to a record €540,000 fine.

"If I could undo this, I would, but I can't and therefore I have to stand up and take it on the chin," he said.

There was some bad news for Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp as both midfielders Sebastian Kehl and Kevin Grosskreutz picked up injuries against Steaua.

Dortmund are away to fellow Champions League side Bayer Leverkusen when the Bundesliga resumes on January 31 and are desperate to pull themselves up from 17th in the table after a disastrous first-half of the season.

Despite winning their Champions League group, Borussia lost 10 of their first 17 league matches – the worst record in Germany's top flight.

They face Italian league leaders Juventus away in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash on February 24 with the return leg in Dortmund on March 18.

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EXPLAINED: The Covid rules for attending German football matches

Crowds cheer at a match between FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Mönchengladbach, on August 9th, 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Uwe Anspach

All eyes will be on Mönchengladbach this evening as the Bundesliga season kicks off with a match against reigning champions Bayern Munich – and this time, a crowd will be present in the stadium.

READ ALSO: German football fans get green light to return to stadiums next season

With several states liberalising their rules for public gatherings in recent months, many football fans are looking forward to enjoying a lively atmosphere at football matches once more.

There’s just one problem: there are different rules for different stadiums. Here’s what you need to know about the Covid rules before you book your ticket for any of the upcoming fixtures.

How many fans are allowed in the stadiums?

According to a recent decision by the federal and state governments, football stadiums around the country are allowed to fill half of their seats and sell up to 25,000 tickets to fans.

Of course, how much this limit affects the overall atmosphere – and the football clubs’ bottoms lines – depends on the capacity of the stadium. In Borussia Dortmund this weekend, the full 25,000 tickets have been sold – but that only equates to 30 percent of the stadium’s full capacity.

READ ALSO: German football: Which Bundesliga club should I support?

Meanwhile, in the stadium owned by Berlin’s FC Union, selling just 11,000 tickets is enough to fill half of the available seats.

What do I need to show to get in?

That really depends on the stadium in question, although in general anyone over the age of six will need to show a negative test or proof of vaccination or recovery – the so-called ‘3G’ rule – to enter the grounds. But other clubs, such as FC Cologne, have decided to only permit people who are vaccinated or recovered to attend matches from August 28th onwards – with exceptions for people who can’t get vaccinated, like children and pregnant woman.

At Mönchengladbach’s Borussia Park stadium, however, unvaccinated fans can enter with a negative test, though visitors who’ve stayed in a high-risk or virus variant area over the past two weeks will be unable to enter – along with people who’ve had recent contact with someone who has Covid.

If you want to see action like this at FC Cologne’s stadium, you’ll need to get your Covid jabs sorted first. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Robert Michael

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund has taken a middle ground. While the 3G rule applies in principle, only 1,000 of the available 25,000 tickets will be sold to people who are providing a negative test. The remaining 24,000 seats will only be available for those who are vaccinated against – or recently recovered from – Covid.

If you’re not vaccinated and are keen to see a match, it’s worth checking on your local club’s website beforehand or sending them an email to double-check whether you will be allowed in.

What else do I need to know about?

You’ll need to bring a FPP2 mask with you to matches to wear in your seat and while heading to the bathroom or bar, and also observe social distancing rules – meaning staying 1.5 metres apart from your fellow fans.

In most states, you’ll also need to provide your contact details, which will be saved by the club and potentially passed on to local health authorities in order to monitor a potential Covid outbreak.

Will these rules continue throughout the season?

That’s still an open question. If infection rates in Germany continue to rise or high-profile superspreading events occur at future matches, the government could potentially crack down further on sports events in autumn.

This could involve limiting the seat numbers even further, or (more controversially), introducing a ‘vaccinated-only’ rule for entering stadiums.

READ ALSO: Should Germany bring in Covid restrictions for unvaccinated people only?

A recent outbreak of Covid in the Mainz football team has also dampened celebrations slightly in the run-up to the start of the Bundesliga – leaving club owners urgently calling for both fans and footballers to get vaccinated.

Speaking to WDR ahead of the season’s start, FC Cologne’s managing director Alexander Wehrle said widespread vaccination was the best route back to normality – a message reiterated by Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann.

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