Sax: ‘It was great to see everyone again’

Austria Wien masks are worn in the dressing room, the distance between the players is strictly observed on the pitch, ‘It's a bit strange, but otherwise it’s as if nothing ever happened, we all got along perfectly, we have a really great group’, says Max Sax after the first small group training and speaks among other things about the Bundesliga & his time at home.

In his group with the other wingers Manprit Sarkaria, Benedikt Pichler and Patrick Wimmer, as well as the two central defender Maudo Jarjué and Johannes Handl, everything revolved around the football after mobilization and a few runs.

‘We did various pass exercises and then played the ball over the net - that was perfect to get started and was really fun,’ says Max Sax, who is impressed by how well Austria Wien is positioned during this situation. Each of the four groups of six has its own coach, soccer field, physiotherapist and separate cabin. Sax, Sarkaria and Co. are coached by assistant coach Uwe Hölzl and supervised by Christoph Lichtenecker.

Squad density important for the end of the season

Sax is aware of his privileged position at Austria Wien, ‘I'm happy that we can play again - it's great that we have this opportunity. The situation is difficult for many clubs and players in Austria because it is more complicated for them due to the infrastructure. We are really lucky with the many dressing rooms, training grounds, trainers and physiotherapists.’

The specific date for the restart of the Bundesliga will not be set at the club conference on Friday, but is expected to be at the beginning of May. The first game is to take place in around a month at the earliest. ‘We will then definitely have many “English” weeks. Since the clubs will need every man, the squad density will play an important role. I think we are well positioned in terms of quality,’ says the creative offensive player.

Extra training & working on the house

Max Sax used the five weeks of home training to work on his adductor complaints that repeatedly hit him in the fall. In consultation with physiotherapist Florian Metz, the 27-year-old completed an additional program. ‘I am doing well physically; I had a lot of time to work on myself and my fitness and was in constant contact with Florian Metz.’

He also didn’t get bored in the house that he had just moved into with his wife three months ago. Between the walks with the dog after getting up and before going to bed there was plenty to do in the house. ‘Since we have only recently moved in, we had enough work in the house and in the garden. Otherwise I went for runs and did the home program, played PlayStation every now and then and watched TV-shows.’