Magdeburg – Hardly any Magdeburg team was hit as hard by the corona pandemic as the American footballers of the Virgin Guards. It is now almost two years since the last appearance for the team of head coach Harald Voelkel. But now you can see light at the end of the tunnel: On September 11th, the shortened regional league season 2021 is to begin with the Erfurt Indigos.
“This is extremely important for us,” emphasizes Voelkel with a view to the scheduled start of the season. “For us, the competition is the reward for the long period of perseverance.” The fact that the season is only played in one simple round and therefore only consists of four games is irrelevant. “The main thing is that we can play football again.”
Redesign of everyday training
But just playing is not enough for Voelkel – he also wants to play successfully with his team. That is why the training intensity was recently increased. “We have redesigned our units a bit,” says the head coach. “Now it’s not just about training the boys tactically and technically, but also about building up their stamina.” That is why the Virgin Guards simulate game situations more intensively in their two weekly units and place great emphasis on rehearsing moves.
Because in the four games in autumn, the guard will have to concentrate all the more on themselves. “I can’t judge the opponents at all,” says Voelkel, who is actually very well networked in the football scene, and explains: “We don’t know what to expect from the line-ups alone.”
Familiar names, unfamiliar tasks
With the Erfurt Indigos, the Leipzig Lions and the Jenaer Hanfrieds, three well-known opponents from the Regionalliga season 2019, who were all beaten twice at the time, are waiting, but Voelkel does not have any information about their squads and playing styles. In addition, the Dresden Monarchs’ Bundesliga reserve, which receives the guard for the season finale in the Heinrich-Germer-Stadion, is a completely unknown newcomer from the league.
“The good thing is that a lot has changed here too,” says Voelkel with a smile. “So every team should start the new season with similar excitement.” The guard coach is also excited to see what his squad will look like on match days. “We have 54 men on paper, but there will probably only be around 30 on the game days,” estimates Voelkel. The reason is obvious: “Our season would normally be over by autumn, some boys are on vacation, many students at home.”
“Successful football” is the goal
And yet Voelkel has high expectations of his team. “We want to play successful football,” he explains about the season’s goal and specifies: “In Magdeburg that means: winning every game.” In the 2019 Regional League season, this was successful, the Virgin Guards marched through the regular season with eight wins and no defeat . Promotion is not an issue today, as it was then: “First of all, we’re happy to be able to play football again at all.”
– .
