Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we have all had turbulent months.
Exceptional kicker Marko Arnautovic also stands out from the crowd on this point. The ÖFB team striker and China legionnaire has had quite an odyssey behind him, as he reveals in an interview with tennis ace Jürgen Melzer on Saturday evening in “JM * pions TALK”.
In the meantime, Arnautovic is finally staying with his family in Germany, but before that he had to overcome some hurdles.
At the beginning of December, the 31-year-old contracted by Shanghai SIPG had come into contact with the corona topic for the first time.
Many flights, two quarantines
“That was when the qualifying games in the Asian Champions League started. The Thai came to us after long discussions and we played without spectators. After that we didn’t know what to do next, ”said Arnautovic.
“The president and club then decided to continue training in Dubai. We were there for two weeks. Then I flew home to Germany and then back to Dubai for ten days. We should have continued in Australia, but since the Australians also closed the borders, we couldn’t do that. So I went back to Germany, then they told me to go to Dubai better because there should be fewer cases there. Then the virus was in Dubai and I had to spend two weeks in quarantine there. ”
Only then could Arnautovic return to Germany, where another two weeks of home quarantine followed. “Now I’m waiting for instructions on when to go back to China.”
China will start at full rank on June 20
Because time is short. In contrast to the European leagues, there is already a fixed plan in China: The league is set to start again on June 20. According to Arnautovic, there will be no ghost games.
“With us, the clubs have been in team training for three or four weeks. As unlikely as it sounds right now, life in China is completely normal. Everything is open, everyone goes to work. “
Keep fit in the “home office”
Accordingly, Arnautovic tries to keep fit as much as possible. The two weeks in the home quarantine were particularly tough. “All the strength and endurance exercises get boring at some point. After 5, 6 days you only see the walls. I am currently running in the forest or in the park to keep fit. That’s the only thing I can do anyway. “
Almost all players are now back in China. “15, 16 foreign players are still outside,” said Arnautovic, who missed the jump to Asia due to the quarantine in Dubai. “I wasn’t allowed to get out of my room.”
Arnautovic is not yet seriously worried. As soon as he was back in China, he would be matchfit in three weeks and ready for 90 minutes.
Arnautovic wants to stay fit for the ÖFB team
It is particularly important for the ÖFB team kicker that he stays physically up to date. “I think I’m the only one in the whole league who still plays in a national team. That’s why I have to make sure that I keep fit and continue to perform, ”he promises team manager Franco Foda.
The fact that the EURO was postponed to the coming year was “of course painful for Arnautovic. After the two opening defeats in qualifying, we played great and deservedly qualified. But what can you do. The EURO and no football are important right now. People have to stay healthy, ”Arnautovic’s priorities have also shifted.
Announcement to Andreas Herzog
Nevertheless, the anticipation of the second major football event of his career after the failed EURO 2016 is of course great. Arnautovic hopes to have learned the right lessons from the premiere four years ago.
“We were highly motivated at the time, but we were certainly extremely nervous. We weren’t so lucky with the group draw and everything went against us. When David (Alaba) shoots in the opening game against Hungary, everything looks very different. “
“We just have to act differently in 2021 than in France and we have to deal better with the nervousness. Then it will not look bad for the next EURO, ”Arnautovic is convinced.
Incidentally, he does not think of an end to his team career. With meanwhile 85 international matches, “Arnie” is only 18 games short of record player Andreas Herzog.
“I can make the Duke. Andi probably hopes that I can’t do it, but I can do it 100 percent, ”he says in a clear declaration of war, which team boss Foda will also be happy to hear.
Text source: © LAOLA1.at
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