Bundesliga

The Bundesliga returned to action Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic with no fans in attendance, which made for a unique scene at Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion.

After Dortmund recorded a dominant 4-0 victory over rivals Schalke 04, the players celebrated in front of the Yellow Wall, which is customary after they win at home.

The celebration had a decidedly different feel Saturday, though, since there were no fans present to cheer on their team:

Westfalenstadion has a capacity of over 80,000, and the Yellow Wall is an especially iconic part of the stadium, as the fans in that section can be an intimidating presence to the opposition.

The lack of fans didn't adversely affect Dortmund's performance, however, as they took a 2-0 lead into halftime thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Raphael Guerreiro. Thorgan Hazard put them up 3-0 early in the second half, and Guerreiro finished the scoring with his second goal in the 63rd minute.

Dortmund closed the gap on leaders Bayern Munich with the win, now trailing by just one point, although Bayern are scheduled to face Union Berlin on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Schalke sit all the way down in eighth with 37 points, though sixth-place Wolfsburg are only two points ahead of them.

RB Leipzig's home game against Freiburg on Saturday is likely to attract more interest than usual, and not just because it will be among the first football matches to be broadcast live around the world after two months of stasis in Europe's five major leagues.

With Leipzig forward Timo Werner reportedly inching closer to a move to Liverpool by the day, Freiburg's trip to Red Bull Arena will be an opportunity for fans of the European champions—and his other reported suitors—to take a closer look at him.

Having found the net 27 times in all competitions this term, Werner is already enjoying his most prolific season. And at 24, the rocket-propelled former Stuttgart prodigy appears ready for the next phase of his career. But despite the rapid speed at which his career has moved since he joined Leipzig in 2016, the road towards the top has not been without its bumps.

Born in Bad Cannstatt, the Stuttgart district where the city's major football club plays, and with football in his genes courtesy of his father, Gunter Schuh, who had played for local sides Ludwigsburg and Stuttgarter Kickers, Werner always seemed destined to become a footballer. Schuh was a right-winger in his playing days, and he helped the young Werner to hone his athleticism by taking him on punishing training runs around the vineyards that cover the hillsides to the east of the city.

Werner joined Stuttgart from local amateur team TSV Steinhaldenfeld at the age of six and came through the ranks at the club's academy at the same time as his future Germany team-mates Joshua Kimmich (with whom he attended high school) and Serge Gnabry. His goalscoring exploits in Stuttgart's youth teams were the talk of the club.

"Every weekend, the youth department at VfB would produce internal bulletins on the performances of our various teams," Frieder Schrof, Stuttgart's former head of youth development, told Kicker (h/t World Soccer). "Next to Timo's name, there invariably would be a three, a four or a six in brackets. Even as a little boy, he was the one who scored the most goals."

Werner's emergence inevitably kindled memories at Stuttgart of Die Jungen Wilden (The Young Wild Ones), which was the nickname given to the band of homegrown youngsters—Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira, Serdar Tasci, Christian Gentner and Andreas Beck—who helped to propel VfB to the Bundesliga title in 2006/07.

Werner made his first-team debut in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Bulgarian side Botev Plovdiv in August 2013 at the age of 17 years and 148 days, making him the youngest player in the club's history. While he was inevitably rough around the edges, his searing pace (he has been clocked running 100 metres in 11.1 seconds) immediately caught the eye.

"You could see from the beginning that he was extremely fast over the first few metres," says Oliver Trust, a German football journalist and author of VfB ein Leben lang (VfB a Lifetime Affair). "Of course, he wasn't on the same level as today because he sometimes couldn't put his speed and his finishing together. But you could see that he had a gift in terms of his speed. Expectations were high."

Werner made 34 first-team appearances in his first season as a professional and the records continued to fall. The teenager became Stuttgart's youngest goalscorer, the youngest player to score two goals in a German top-flight game and the youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances (a record that has since been broken by Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz).

But while Werner could scarcely have asked for more first-team experience over his three seasons at Mercedes-Benz Arena, the wider context was problematic. Stuttgart were going through a period of instability that would see Werner play under six head coaches during his time at the club. Die Roten flirted with relegation in each of his first two seasons before succumbing to the drop in 2015/16.

Werner may have been Stuttgart's golden boy, but his status did not protect him from criticism during his final campaign at the club. After heading in a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim early in the season, he was accused by head coach Alexander Zorniger of being "so busy blowing kisses to the crowd...that he forgot to focus on scoring a winner."

He finished the campaign having scored only six goals in 33 league appearances, but where such inconsistency on the part of a young player might have been pardoned in a more settled environment, there was no room for such indulgences at struggling Stuttgart.

"He was 17 when he started to play for the pro team, and they were in big trouble," Trust says. "He was the wonder boy, and they put all their expectations and hopes on his shoulders. It was too heavy for him. He needed stability and consistency, but Stuttgart couldn't give him that. After a while, he knew he had to leave in order to survive as a footballer."

Enter Leipzig. Freshly promoted from the 2. Bundesliga and flush with owner Red Bull's cash, the club spent €10 million to secure Werner's services in June 2016. With a fellow Swabian, Ralf Rangnick, as sporting director and a commitment to fast, aggressive, counter-attacking football already in place, the club was a perfect fit for Werner, who scored 21 goals across all competitions in his first season, tripling his previous best tally.

Werner's goals helped Leipzig to finish second in the Bundesliga, enabling them to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time. But on a personal level it was an immensely challenging campaign.

Red Bull's role in Leipzig's rise up the German leagues encountered ferocious resistance from opposition fans, and when Werner blatantly dived to win a penalty—which he then scored—in a 2-1 win over Schalke, it turned him into Public Enemy No. 1. He eventually issued a mea culpa but not before initially trying to dodge responsibility for his actions in a mealy-mouthed post-match interview. Opposition fans were in no mood to forgive.

"His performances suffered in the weeks after that because he was booed in every opposing stadium," recalls Andreas Hunzinger, who reports on Leipzig for Kicker. "Loudly booed. It affected him mentally."

International duty provided no respite, with Werner roundly and continuously jeered by fans in Nuremberg after coming on to make his competitive senior debut for Germany in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against San Marino in June 2017. But he proved his value to the national cause later that summer at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, teeing up Lars Stindl for Germany's winning goal in the final against Chile and coming home with the Golden Boot.

Despite being an ever-present in Germany's group-stage debacle at the FIFA World Cup, Werner continues to enjoy the trust of head coach Joachim Low and has become a central figure in his attempts to shift the team on to more of a counter-attacking footing.

After failing to reach 20 Bundesliga goals in his second and third campaigns at Leipzig, Werner has gone up a level this season under new coach Julian Nagelsmann. He had already equalled his best figures for goals (21) and assists (seven) in the league when the season was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic and had become a much more rounded player, as demonstrated by his display in Leipzig's 8-0 demolition of Mainz in November, when he scored three goals, made three goals and had a hand in two more.

"He had to learn to combine," says Hunzinger. "He's got better tactically and technically, and he's improved his understanding of the game. I think the biggest improvement has been seeing where the space on the field is for him to run into."

Two-footed and a nerveless finisher, Werner has also benefited from playing in a new position under Nagelsmann. Having spent the bulk of his career prior to this season playing either wide on the left or at the point of the attack, he has often been deployed as a support striker behind either Yussuf Poulsen or Patrik Schick. The role affords him the freedom to stray into his preferred territory on the left flank and in the inside-left channel while also enabling him to get into goalscoring positions in the penalty area.

"I'm playing in a slightly different position as a kind of No. 10," Werner said. "That helps me a lot. I've got a lot of freedom. You often have to wait a long time for your chance and stay patient. But I've developed in that regard."

Away from the pitch, Werner avoids the cameras and is regarded as an educated and level-headed character, having completed high school during his time at Stuttgart on the insistence of his mother, Sabine Werner, whose maiden name he adopted. Teetotal and tattoo-free, his only documented vice is a weakness for doner kebabs.

He might just have to get used to the limelight, though. Because although the stadium will be empty when he walks out to face Freiburg on Saturday, he will be the centre of attention.

Two months after suspending play because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bundesliga is preparing to resume its season at some point in May.

Per Amitai Winehouse of the Daily Mail, German chancellor Angela Merkel gave the league clearance to start playing games possibly as soon as May 15. 

On March 13, the Bundesliga announced it was suspending all matches through at least April 2 because of growing concerns about the pandemic. The league later extended that suspension through the end of April as the virus continued to spread across Europe.

Per CNN's Henrik Pettersson, Byron Manley and Sergio Hernandez, Germany's 167,239 confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses are the sixth-highest total of any country.

Despite that, Billy Perrigo of Time noted on March 30 the country's mortality rate of 0.9 percent was among the lowest in the world. The speculated reason: widespread testing that allowed the country to identify infected patients and get them in quarantine.

When the Bundesliga season was suspended, there were still nine weeks remaining, with relegation matches scheduled to begin on May 21.

Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.

Robert Lewandowski says he is content at Bayern Munich and revealed Cristiano Ronaldo tried to lure him to Real Madrid several years ago.

He told Sport (h/t AS' Mario Cortegana): "I am at one of the best clubs in the world, and I know I can be happy here. We are at a very high level, from the playing squad to the sporting facilities. It's all much easier when playing for a club like this."

The striker was also asked if it was true that Real duo Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos spoke to him about joining Los Blancos after they faced off in the UEFA Champions League. 

Lewandowski confirmed it was true but explained why he did not move to the Santiago Bernabeu:

"Yes [it's true]. You can go to the Spanish league or to one in another country, another great club. But for me, it was not the most important thing.

"Where I am, I have been able to reach my maximum level, and I want to continue doing well."

Real knocked Bayern out of the Champions League on the way to lifting the trophy in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns.

Lewandowski has been linked with a move to the Spanish capital in the past, and his former agent, Cezary Kucharski, told Polish publication Pilka Nozna (h/t AS) in January 2019 he would have only left Bayern for Real.

The Pole left quite the impression on Los Blancos during his time at Borussia Dortmund (U.S. only):

He joined Bayern in 2014 and has scored 230 goals in 275 appearances since, making him one of Europe's deadliest forwards.

His impact on the Bundesliga has been enormous:

Lewandowski has hit at least 40 goals in all competitions in each of the last four seasons.

Data analyst Dan Kennett put his recent goalscoring exploits in perspective:

This season, he sits on 39 after just 33 games, as well as contributing five assists. He needs just four more strikes to equal the most prolific campaign of his career.

He'd have been a huge asset at Madrid following Ronaldo's departure in 2018, because the Portugal superstar averaged exactly 50 goals per season at the Bernabeu.

His attacking contributions have helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title every season he's been there, as well as the DFB-Pokal twice.

This season, the Bavarians are four points clear of his former side Dortmund with nine league fixtures remaining, but the league has been suspended until at least April 2 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Red Bull Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch has hailed Borussia Dortmund starlet Erling Haaland as already being one of the top talents in world football. 

Marsch managed the 19-year-old before he moved to BVB in January. The coach told the Planet Futbol Podcast (h/t Goal's Sean Wilson):

"He's a special personality. He's clearly an incredible talent. I mean, his athleticism, his speed, it right away puts him in the upper echelon of talents in our sport.

"And then you add his desire to be successful, his mentality every day, the way he works at his technical ability, the way he works at his finishing every day, how much he puts into trying to be the best footballer he can possibly be every day."

Marsch said the striker is "dealing with a little bit of fame" and pointed to Paris Saint-Germain's mocking of him after they knocked Dortmund out of the UEFA Champions League earlier in March:

"So he'll have his challenges, and he's only 19 years old, and he's going to make mistakes," he added. "But in the end, his desire to be the best is different than anything I've ever seen."

Haaland exploded on to the scene at Salzburg this season as he racked up an astonishing 28 goals and seven assists in 22 matches during the first half of the campaign.

That included eight goals in the Champions League group stage against Liverpool, Napoli and Genk.

The youngster not only possesses great pace, he also has the physicality to compete with defenders for the ball, too.

He hasn't slowed down since making the step up from the Austrian Bundesliga to the German Bundesliga, either:

Haaland has nine goals in eight league games for Dortmund, and his efforts were recognised in February:

The teenager also scored in his solitary DFB-Pokal appearance, and he netted a brace against PSG in the first leg of their last-16 tie (U.S. and UK only, respectively):

In total, he has scored 40 goals in 33 matches this season for Salzburg and Dortmund, as well as producing nine assists.

He has spent 2,200 minutes on the pitch, so that's a goal every 55 minutes on average. Including his assists, he's had a direct hand in a goal every 45 minutes he's played.

He'll play a key role in Dortmund's Bundesliga title push during the run-in, provided the season resumes from its hiatus amid the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Bundesliga has been suspended until at least April 2, but UEFA has committed to finishing the season by June 30.

Bayern Munich are four points clear of Dortmund with nine matches left to play, one of which is a trip for the Bavarians to BVB's Westfalenstadion.

Ajax full-back Sergino Dest has played down speculation linking him with a move to Bayern Munich, saying a recent visit to the Allianz Arena was not in relation to any future transfer. 

The United States international has been linked with the German champions previously and speculation intensified when he was pictured at Bayern's game with Hoffenheim in February, a match the Munich giants won 4-3 on home soil.

Dest was asked about the visit in a recent interview with Ajax Life (h/t Ryan Tomlich of Goal) and said he was curious to have a look around the Bavarian giants' home:

"I was there mainly because I have family there. I thought if Bayern is really going to get interested, I want to know a bit about how the club works. So I thought it would be nice to check it out. But it wasn’t that I was invited by Bayern, as suggested. There was nothing else behind it."

Dest is reportedly a major target for Bayern at the end of the season, and the 19-year-old looks set to be one of a number of Ajax starlets on the move in the summer:

Dest has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in Amsterdam, having made his debut at the start of the 2019-20 season.

The teenager has since been able to establish himself in the side, offering a marauding presence from right-back. Dest's industry, intelligence and composure when he gets into dangerous areas makes him a major threat to opposition defences.

WhoScored.com noted earlier in the campaign that the United States international is one of the most creative players in the Dutch top flight:

In addition to the Eredivisie, Dest showed what he is capable of on the UEFA Champions League stage too:

Bayern have options at right-back in the form of Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard, although the attacking spark Dest provides would bring a different dimension to the team's forward forays. Kimmich has played more frequently in midfield under the management of Hansi Flick too.

At Ajax, Dest has had an excellent footballing education, and he is benefitting from getting regular minutes in the team this season. With that in mind, another season at least in Amsterdam would do no harm to his overall development.

Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp has said a vaccine for COVID-19 could be ready by the autumn. 

Hopp is also the primary investor in German biopharmaceutical company CureVac, which is working on a vaccine for the coronavirus.

He was asked how long it could take to be available to the public and told Sport1's Reinhard Franke (h/t Goal's James Westwood): "That depends on the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute (the German institute for vaccines). It has to be tested first with animals and then with human beings. But I think it could be available in autumn at the time when possibly the next wave of infections will come."

On Sunday, German newspaper Die Welt (h/t the Guardian's Philip Oltermann) reported president Donald Trump had offered CureVac "large sums of money" for exclusive U.S. rights to the vaccine.

Per football commentator Derek Rae, Hopp rejected the notion that the vaccine could be distributed in such a way:

"If we succeed soon to develop an effective vaccine against the coronavirus then this vaccine should reach, protect and help people all over the world and not only in one region," he added.

There have been more than 169,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, with a death toll in excess of 6,500.

The Bundesliga, as well as Europe's other top five leagues, was suspended last week and is set to be on hiatus until at least April as a result of the pandemic.

Hopp has recently been a target of abuse by ultras in Germany regarding his ownership of Hoffenheim.

A week after Borussia Monchengladbach fans displayed an insulting banner aimed at him, Bayern Munich's 6-0 win at Hoffenheim on February 29 had to be halted after Bayern supporters made a similar display.

In solidarity with Hoffenheim, the two sides played out the final quarter of an hour of that match kicking the ball to one another.

Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick has done a "super job" since succeeding Niko Kovac in November, and his long-term future will be decided soon, according to former club president Uli Hoeness.

Kovac was sacked by Bayern after a 5-1 thrashing at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga that left them fourth in the table.

Flick originally took over Bayern on an interim basis, but it was then confirmed in December he would stay in charge until the end of the season.

The 55-year-old has now overseen 21 matches in all competitions, and Bayern have won 18 of them.

They sit top of the Bundesliga and are in the semi-finals of the German Cup:

Meanwhile, per Caesars Palace, they are among the favourites to win the UEFA Champions League after beating Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

After the victory in west London, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hinted Flick could remain as manager beyond the end of the season:

Hoeness has now said the decision will be made soon, per Sport1 (h/t Goal's Chris Burton):

"I can't say anything about that; the executive board decides that for us. I think Hansi Flick has done a super job thus far. At some point, the board will approach the supervisory board with a proposal. That will certainly now happen sometime in the near future."

The 68-year-old also confirmed talks are ongoing with several key senior players whose contracts will soon be entering their final year. Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, David Alaba and Thiago Alcantara all have deals that expire in 2021.

In order to ward off interest from potential suitors and discourage transfer rumours, Bayern will likely need to renew those deals before the summer transfer window opens.

On the matter, Hoeness said: "We have four or five important players whose contracts expire next year. I know that talks are happening currently with all of them, and I hope very much that everything goes successfully."

Bayer Leverkusen manager Peter Bosz has said academy graduate Kai Havertz can't be kept at the club much longer, but suitors will have to pay "more than €100 million" (£90.8 million) to sign him.

Havertz—who already has seven senior caps for Germany—became the youngest Bundesliga debutant when he made his first-team Leverkusen bow in October 2016 at 17 years and 126 days old. 

The 20-year-old has been linked with the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Juventus in recent transfer windows, and Bosz told Algemeen Dagblad (h/t Goal):

"Kai is 20 years old, but this is already his fourth season in the Bundesliga. That says a lot. Everyone in Germany sees him as a child prodigy. He is from Aachen, has been here since he was eight. Nice boy to work with. Intelligent. He also plays the piano.

"We sold his buddy, Julian Brandt, to Borussia Dortmund last summer. Havertz suddenly became even more of an eye-catcher."

Brandt emerged in Leverkusen's senior ranks several years before Havertz earned his first-team debut, and the latter has looked like he's missed his former comrade at times this season.

Bosz concluded: "He [Havertz] can't be held on to next summer. That will be a transfer of €100 million. What am I saying? More than 100 million!"

The youngster's contract situation is one major factor in why Leverkusen are so willing to discuss a departure, with Havertz's current deal set to expire in 2022.

He can play on the right wing but also tends to thrive as a No. 10. Statman Dave highlighted his return to form of late following a slow start to the 2019-20 campaign:

Bosz also provided insight into how Havertz had his mindset altered after the Leverkusen fans turned on him following a bad patch of form:

"A lot came to him before the winter break. We lost the derby at Koln and three days later also at home to Hertha Berlin. Suddenly the entire stadium whistled him off. He was devastated by that. 'Why do people hate me?' Then he's just another 20-year-old and you explain: 'They don't hate you, but this is how it goes'.

"During the winter break, we showed images that he did not reach the box enough. Now he does that more often. His share of goals and assists has skyrocketed."

DW Sports profiled Havertz—arguably the biggest attacking prospect in Germany—in early March after the player fired back to form with two goals and three assists in four league outings:

Any decision to sell Havertz this summer would be made in an effort to maximise the profit of his sale, with his fee certain to drop if he were to enter the final year of his agreement.

Bosz's estimated price seems appropriate when comparing the sales of Joao Felix or Ousmane Dembele from recent years. Benfica's Felix—19 at the time—joined Atletico Madrid for €126 million in July 2019, two years after a 20-year-old Ousmane Dembele left Dortmund to join Barcelona for €105 million plus add-ons.

Havertz has scored 38 goals and recorded 30 assists in 139 total appearances for Leverkusen, though it seems possible the 2019-20 campaign will be his last at the BayArena.

The Bundesliga is the latest high-profile football competition to have matches postponed because of the spread of the coronavirus.

A number of the biggest leagues in the game have had their calendar disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although the German top flight initially sanctioned matches to go ahead over the weekend of March 13 to 15.

However, the decision was made on Friday that upcoming matches will not go ahead because of concerns over the spread of infection, with play suspended until April 2:

The Bundesliga received criticism for continuing to play matches while so many other leagues shut down, including the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.

Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara made his dissatisfaction clear ahead of his side's trip to Union Berlin on Saturday:

Per DW Sports, Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge added:

As AS relayed, on Friday the Bundesliga committee released a statement ahead of the Week 26 matches, saying a suspension was being considered between March 17 and April 2.

"The goal is still to end the season by the summer—from a sporting point of view, but especially because premature ending of the season could have existential consequences for some clubs," the statement read. "The health of the entire population, and thus also of all football fans and all players in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, has top priority."

The decision leaves Bayern Munich four points clear at the summit of the table, with Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach occupying UEFA Champions League qualifying spots. Werder Bremen and Paderborn are in the relegation zone, while Fortuna Dusseldorf would ordinarily be required to play a two-legged relegation play-off with the second division's third-placed team.