Alba Berlin
Alba Berlin returns to team training
Quarantine and isolation are over at Alba Berlin. The preparation for Barcelona begins this Monday.
New start after four games: Alba coach Aito Garcia Reneses (r.) And playmaker Peyton Siva.
Photo: Andreas Gora / dpa
Berlin. It has been 15 days since the first positive test for Covid-19 at Alba Berlin became public. In the following week, the number of infected people increased to seven people in the 20-person travel group who took part in the surprising 93:88 victory at CSKA Moscow in the Euroleague basketball. Now isolation and quarantine are over, the German double winner of the preseason is trying to get back to sports. On Thursday (8 p.m., Magentasport), FC Barcelona will be guests in the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Symptoms varied among Alba Berlin’s players
A longed-for moment, but also a somewhat unreal feeling for everyone involved, whether infected or not. “Some noticed next to nothing of their infection, with others it was more intense,” says Alba managing director Marco Baldi, describing the situation during the forced break, which was accompanied by constant tests. Which should be completed this Monday, during the first joint team training with all coaches and players. That’s the plan. Everyone had already worked individually as far as possible.
Economically, there will be a “struggle for survival” for Alba this season due to Corona and the associated restrictions, as the manager puts it unequivocally. But he doesn’t want to complain “because it doesn’t help anyone” and because many people find it at least as difficult to get through the current situation.
Nobody at Alba Berlin knows who is in shape and how
From a sporting point of view, there is also the uncertainty that it is even less predictable than usual. “There is a variable there that we would not otherwise have,” says Baldi, “who does it affect and when, at what point in time? It’s a matter of luck or bad luck. ”In Alba’s case, after 14 days of quarantine, it would first be necessary to find out what fitness looks like:“ Nobody really knows who is in shape and how. ”The athletic coaches are faced with the great challenge of To dose the exercises correctly, not to under-, but also not to overwhelm.
The most important thing is now to grow together better as a team. Nobody can predict what’s left of the sensational performance in Moscow, where the Berliners performed almost in the old Alba style for the first time this season. “We were just about to stabilize our game, and then you’ll be torn out like that,” says Baldi. An opponent like FC Barcelona may not even come at the worst time. Nobody expects miracles against one of the favorites of the Euroleague. That takes the pressure off the situation a little more than, for example, Asvel Villeurbanne would now compete here.
Alba now has nine games in 22 days
But winning and losing is certainly less of a priority for the moment. It is not just economically a question of perseverance. This is also a physical challenge for the players, regardless of the individual’s condition. The tight schedule has become even tighter, from Thursday it will be Barcelona, Frankfurt, Bonn (Cup), Piraeus, Oldenburg, Villeurbanne, St. Petersburg, again Bonn (Bundesliga) and Khimki Moscow in 22 days. That’s nine games in a good three weeks. After the test phase comes the stress phase.
Read more about Alba Berlin here.
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