Austrian soccer team LASK Linz first to re-start training
SHOWS: LINZ, AUSTRIA (APRIL 20, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1.
VARIOUS OF TRAINING GROUNDS WITH SPRINKLER ON 2.
PLAYERS GETTING READY FOR TRAINING 3.
LASK COACH, VALERIAN ISMAEL WALKING PAST 4.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) LASK HEAD COACH, VALERIAN ISMAEL, SAYING: "First of all we are just happy that we can get on with our work.
Of course, following government rules we are training in small groups.
Of course it is an adjustment but I think it's a good thing because you have to put a lot of thought into how you put this into practise, for example how to do decent football training with these distance rules and I think we have found a good solution so that the lads can still enjoy being back on the pitch." 5.
VARIOUS OF FEW PLAYERS TRAINING 6.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) LASK HEAD COACH, VALERIAN ISMAEL, SAYING: "It is such a sensitive situation.
I don't dare look into the future, just take a day at at time.
It is a completely new situation.
We are all starting from zero after 5 -and- a- half week's break and this is the first day and the first training, so we have to see what happens tomorrow with the testing.
We can influence what we are doing, but you don't know what measures the others are doing and different methods will of course affect the League.
UEFA and the League still have to make certain decisions, it is still all too complex.
For me it is just about today and this training with the lads in small groups." 7.
VARIOUS OF SMALL GROUP TRAINING 8.
MEDIA 9.
LASK TRAINER GERNOT TRAUNER TALKING TO MEDIA 10.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) LASK TRAINER GERNOT TRAUNER, SAYING: "It has of course been a difficult situation and the most difficult has been this very long break, five- and- a- half weeks I think, and trying to stay focused knowing that things could start up at any minute and trying not to lose the football focus.
The club and trainers had to come up with a plan to keep our heads in the game.
We got scenarios from our side and from other European teams which we had to analyse and I think trying to keep the focus during the everyday, especially when there is not even soccer on TV and soccer has generally been pushed to the background, so we had to work to keep our heads in the game," 11.
VARIOUS OF TRAINING 12.
LASK SOCCER PRESIDENT SIGMUND GRUBER ON PITCH 13.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) LASK SOCCER PRESIDENT SIGMUND GRUBER, SAYING: "No there is no standard that we are working to this week.
For us it was important to show that we are not doing nothing and have been preparing.
Of course we want to get the players training again as soon as possible, anything else would be irresponsible and as the coach said, I think.
The injury capacity is high if the training is too absent and at the moment they are coming too short." 14.
MEDIA 15.
PLAYERS TRAINING 16.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) LASK SOCCER PRESIDENT SIGMUND GRUBER, SAYING: "And now to the tests.
We carried out all the tests on Friday, they all came back negative except for two where a small amount of the virus was present.
These were the co-trainer Andy Wieland and João Klauss, they showed a small trace of the virus, On Sunday we tested again and both tests came back negative.
We only carry out one test and if it is negative twice then we can assume that you are not infectious anymore and that you have beaten the illness." 17.
PLAYERS TRAINING 18.
VARIOUS OF EMPTY STADIUM STORY: Austria's Lask soccer club were the first team to head back to the training pitch on Monday, albeit with only small groups of players allowed to train together at any one time.
Lask's head coach and trainer said they were taking things a day at the time and that the situation was proving difficult for the club.
Lask's coaches said the main problem had been trying to keep soccer focused at a time when the sport has taken a backseat to global corona events.
The Austrian government said on Wednesday that professional football teams could re-start training to prepare for the resumption of the season, which would be played without fans for the foreseeable future due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
It also added that, when play re-started, the league would be responsible for conducting coronavirus tests on players which would have to take place in the 48 hours before kickoff.
Austria has become one of the first countries in Europe to loosen a lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus and allowed thousands of shops to reopen on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the government's Vice Chancellor and Sports Minister Werner Kogler said the country's professional football teams could re-start training from Monday.
The league has been at a standstill since March 8.
He added that training should initially start with squads divided into small groups of six players each and the same players should always be in each group -- similar to guidelines issued in Germany where teams began training last week.
(Production: Matteo Witt, Ulrike Heil, Tanya Wood)