Second division soccer team FC St. Pauli is traveling to Mallorca in the middle of the season. The reason is the poor condition of their own training ground after the rainfall of the past few weeks. A decision that also provokes criticism.
The action is sometimes heavily criticized in the comment columns on social media, precisely because the brown and whites stand for sustainability in football. Coach Fabian Hürzeler can understand that, but emphasizes: “We know what values the club stands for and what message we convey to the public. Nevertheless, another argument prevails: the protection of the players. Everyone’s health comes above all else.”
“We know what values the club stands for. Nevertheless, another argument prevails: the protection of the players.”
— St. Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler
And press spokesman Patrick Gensing added: “We didn’t expect that everyone would stand up and there would be thunderous applause. It is clear to us that we are moving in a field in which there are contradictions. That’s why we say: We have to get better and try “To act as sustainably as possible within the framework of what we do.”
Training areas marked by “rain, snow and ice”.
In January, around 90 liters of precipitation per square meter fell in Hamburg. That is almost half more than the long-term average. In December there were 137 liters per square meter, the highest in years – too much for the space at the training center in the Niendorf district.
“A lot of rain, plus snow and ice – all of that made the pitches very difficult,” said sports director Andreas Bornemann. “I would like to thank our greenkeepers for their tireless efforts. But at some point they reach their limits.”
Braunschweig preparation in the sunny south
After the game at 1. FC Magdeburg (Saturday, 1 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter), the St. Pauli entourage will be heading to Mallorca next Monday to complete the training week there. The return is planned for Friday, by then one of the two places on Kollaustrasse should have been renewed. The home game against Eintracht Braunschweig is on the program on Sunday (February 18th).
Hürzeler would have “preferred to stay here”, but…
“I would have preferred to stay here,” said Fabian Hürzeler on Thursday. “Everything else is an additional burden. But other clubs also have these problems. When we see the Mainz game, in some situations it had little to do with football. And the Saarbrücken game was canceled because of the weather conditions,” the coach pointed out the Bundesliga game between FSV Mainz 05 and Union Berlin as well as the canceled DFB Cup quarter-final between 1. FC Saarbrücken and Borussia Mönchengladbach due to rain.
“Anyone who has seen our pitch understands the measure. There was little green on the pitch, it had little to do with a football pitch,” added the native Texan. According to the 30-year-old, the risk of injury was too high on the field and the normal processes cannot be trained like that.
Hürzeler’s squad is almost complete
Hürzeler can probably tackle the trip with his entire squad. Captain Jackson Irvine missed the start of the current training week after returning from the Asian Cup, but he only has a cold. Simon Zoller is also likely to be on board towards the sun, the attacker has recovered from his back problems.
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Hamburg Journal | Feb 7, 2024 | 19:30 o’clock
