SC Paderborn, bottom of the Bundesliga after matchday 25, is currently the most severely affected by the spread of the corona virus among all first division teams. When the Friday evening game against Fortuna Düsseldorf was to take place, defender Uwe Hünemeier and trainer Steffen Baumgart initially showed suspicious symptoms, both tests were negative. After the cancellation of the match day, however, defender Luca Kilian, who is currently pausing due to a thigh injury, was tested positively. Several players and employees are now in quarantine. Sports manager Martin Przondziono speaks in an interview about the past few days – and how to proceed.
Mr. Przondziono, where are we currently reaching you? At home, in quarantine?
No, I’m in the car. I had no direct contact with Luca Kilian, I only saw him walking by once, had no conversations or spent time in a room with him.
How many SC Paderborn players are in quarantine?
There are some players and members of the function team. Please understand that we also do not provide any information regarding the number, individual players and employees with regard to personal rights. Those who have to stay at home are doing well, so we have no health problems except for Luca. I hope it stays like this.
How is Luca Kilian, who was the first first division professional to test positive for the corona virus on Friday?
He really had problems with fever and chills for two days, but he’s feeling better now.
On Thursday you still had to assume that you would be playing a Bundesliga game in front of empty ranks in Düsseldorf on Friday evening. Can you describe what has happened since then?
Yesterday (Friday, editor’s note) seemed like a thriller. We left for Düsseldorf on Thursday. The coach was already feeling bad in the evening, so of course we came up with the topic: Corona. We thought: Now let’s wait overnight. Then he got a fever, then everything went its way.
Steffen Baumgart showed the typical symptoms and was tested on Friday morning.
It was an odyssey, I must have made a hundred calls. We have set up a crisis team. The players stood before us with wide eyes. They were afraid that we would have to stay in the hotel in Düsseldorf for two weeks. Fortunately, that calmed down a bit with the negative test of the trainer. But it was still not clear whether we were playing or not.
There was great criticism of the DFL’s decision-making because the 26th matchday was only canceled late on Friday afternoon.
The DFL actually did a very good job. She is now demonized, according to the motto: you just wanted to play football, you only see the money. But the DFL has a duty of care towards the clubs. We are also affected by financial losses. It’s just soccer, but there are jobs in the game. But of course the pressure got too big at some point.
Paderborn defender Uwe Hünemer also tweeted towards the DFL on Friday afternoon: “It is not the time to lose time !! The priority is solely the health of everyone.” Can you understand the criticism?
Naturally. But there has never been a situation like this, and such far-reaching decisions must be carefully considered. I am glad that the DFL has stayed calm for a long time – and made the right decision. In the end, health always faces financial issues. The DFL rightly decided to put football aside.
What happened to you after the match day was canceled?
We thought okay, the game was canceled, the coach is fit. And then the call from the doctor came to me in the car on the way home shortly before Paderborn: Luca Kilian has tested positive. When the team arrived in Paderborn, the machinery only got going: a crisis team, calls to all employees, calls to the health department. We sat in the office until late at night trying to find out who had been in contact with Luca in the past ten days.
45 people were tested on Saturday.
Exactly: Everyone we think has to do with the professional team in the immediate vicinity, whether it’s the cook or whoever. We asked who shook Luca, who spoke to him for a longer time, who ate with him.
When do you get the test results?
During the week, we don’t really know that either.
What’s next, what are the instructions to the players?
Everyone took a few dumbbells and fitness equipment. The spinning bikes will be delivered to the boys at home on Monday. Two weeks is also a tough time from the head. But at least they have the opportunity to keep fit. And they will be tested again in two weeks.
Were you prepared for the scenario in any way?
Of course we talked about it. But no one could count on the force that has gotten into the matter for the past two to three days. I think we have now done everything possible. But maybe we’ll sit back together in two days and say: We didn’t expect the situation.
On Monday, the 36 first and second division teams will decide in an extraordinary DFL general meeting how the season will continue in German professional football. What is the position of SC Paderborn there?
We are as open as most, I think. I am not advocating immediate termination. But I’m sure we won’t be talking about football again in two weeks. I also don’t expect to play again in four weeks. We are just beginning.
What could a solution look like? There are various scenarios, from the complete cancellation of the current season to the increase in the Bundesliga to 20 teams in the next season.
We have to see that we find a decent solution that not everyone will be happy with, but most. Of course, the third or fourth in the second division have different views from us on how to deal with the situation. But I think we will get out of it the way we got in.
Is there a scenario that you would rule out for yourself?
We end it now and the last two descend, that would be unthinkable for me. I have to think for the club.
According to the “German Press Agency”, if the current season is canceled, the league should expect damage of around three quarters of a billion euros, and the league is not insured. Can you confirm that?
Yes, the sum is roughly correct, you expect around 80 million per game.
“For some, it could be very tough to avoid bankruptcy,” says Dortmund managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke. Does this also apply to the SC Paderborn?
We are also concerned, we are directly affected. I am sure that we have to suffer from it. But we’ll get through it somehow. We have been doing well in the last six months since the climb, maybe we have a month or two more air. It also depends on the situation with our sponsors: Do companies have to close? These are all topics that are just beginning to roll towards us. Every time we win moves us forward. Because we keep gaining new insights.
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