Quarter-finals in the Berlin Cup: Viktoria 89 meets Berlin league teams – if Corona allows it – sport
Corona has been the dominant topic at the third division club Viktoria 89 this year so far. Two weeks ago, Berliners thought they no longer had to worry about it. In fact, she was still able to play the league game at 1. FC Kaiserslautern (0: 2), but after that it was quickly all about the virus again. The league games against Hallesche FC and FSV Zwickau had to be canceled at short notice due to renewed corona cases in the team.
Now, on Wednesday evening (7 p.m.), the quarter-finals of the Berlin Cup will take place on the Stubenrauchstraße sports field at the Berlin league team TSV Rudow. Whether it will actually kick off is again very uncertain. In the past week, only three healthy field players were available at times. How will Viktoria pull a competitive squad out of the hat to contest the cup duel?
By the time this issue went to press, it looked like the club were at least trying. But the question is whether the players who will play on Wednesday are healthy. A few will emerge from quarantine after surviving corona infection and are considered recovered, at least on paper. However, as was found in the past, when two players of the Berliner AK collapsed in a game at the beginning of December last year, who were considered to have recovered after surviving the corona infection, one can completely misjudge the resilience after an infection. Being recovered does not mean per se that you are regenerated and physically fit. Above all, fit enough for competitive sports.
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However, another cancellation would be extremely problematic for Viktoria, since the schedule of the Berliners with five competitive games in the next two and a half weeks is already tight. And the third division team must first of all hope to be spared further corona cases in order to avoid additional game failures and death not to endanger the health of its players.
Despite the difficult circumstances, Viktoria confidently goes into the quarter-finals
From a sporting point of view, things haven’t been going particularly well for Viktoria in the league recently, which can also be explained by the thinning of the workforce. On Tuesday afternoon, the club strengthened again and signed midfielder Martin Gambos. The 24-year-old comes from the Slovakian first division club Zlate Moravce.
In the cup, Viktoria has presented herself very confidently so far. However, with Eintracht Mahlsdorf (final score: 5:0) there was only one opponent who is located above the state league. Rudow has now hit the jackpot and has the chance to throw the battered favorite out of the cup. For Viktoria, it is likely to be the case that the task will not be as easy as the difference of three leagues would suggest.
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Coach Benedetto Muzzicato warns against underestimating your opponent: “Only the top eight make it to the quarter-finals. Getting that far as a Berlin league club is a clear statement,” he said, adding: “We’ve had difficult days and couldn’t celebrate. Nevertheless, we are trying to go into the quarter-finals with confidence and with anticipation.” And finally not only having to think about Corona.