Germany´s Bundesliga will be the first European league to resume next weekend, and they will do it highly plagued by new rules that all players will be required to stand by.
The league has set a very strict safety protocol which includes measures such as not shaking hands both between any players or officials, as well as not allowing members from the same team to hug each other or shake hands after scoring a goal. Regarding game regulations, the IFAB (International Football Association Board) has approved a new rule that will permit each team´s coaches to make up to five substitutions as well as calling up a maximum number of 23 players per match.
Football will still be a contact sport, where players will push each other, hold their opponents shirts on set pieces and corners, jump for headers, or fight on 50/50 situations, but even though every single one of them will be tested before the match and not allowed to play unless the results are negative, no one can shake hands. If zero risk does not exist, this must be the most similar thing. In the end, the beautiful game has to return at some point.
Needless to say, matches will be played behind closed doors. However, some clubs such the Borussia Monchengladbach have come up with the original idea of making thousands of cardboard fans in order to fill their stands. There is no doubt that football fans around the globe will be excited to finally watch live games after two months without football. The Bundesliga will feel like a blow of fresh air for all those who love the game.
Meanwhile in Spain, teams have return to individual training sessions after being tested for the virus. LaLiga plans to resume in the end of June, compacting the schedule so the national league can be finished in July and leaving the month of August free for both the Champions and Europa League to complete. The new football is already here.
