Premier League season has to be finished – Fuchs

Christian Fuchs is hoping the footballing authorities find a way to complete the current season amid the coronavirus outbreak which sees football suspended in almost every country across the world.

The Premier League has set an earliest possible return date of April 30 with Her Majesty’s Government leading the fightback against the highly contagious Covid-19 virus.

Before the break in play, Fuchs’ Leicester had earned an important win over Aston Villa in their bid to finish in the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League.

With so much riding on this season, for not just Leicester but the rest of the league, Fuchs is keen to see the fairest outcome play out.

“Whatever the decision, it will be probably justified so there will be no questions asked and everyone will have to accept it,” Fuchs told Goal, noting the seriousness of the public health implications.

“Of course, it would be great, having nine or 10 games left to play, to finish the season in some kind of way.

“Otherwise, I think football would then suffer next year and the year to follow because there’s a lot of work to be done to get this time back. You see the Euros is cancelled which is crazy and that has never happened before.

“So, it would be great at least to finish the season and give everyone a fair chance to get what they deserve whether it be winning the Premier League, the Champions League or fighting against relegation. I think it is necessary to finish the season no matter when it is.

“I do my home runs and home workout that’s nothing different from what we normally do during an international break. It is just a little longer, which is the weird thing about it. I have it in my mind that I could be called back at any time in the near future.

“That’s why you have to stay fit, do you work and be prepared for whenever the season starts again.”

Loan players and out of contract stars face an uncertain future in the current unprecedented crisis as the football season could possibly go on beyond June 30, when many deals expire.

The 33-year-old Fuchs is one of 92 Premier League players in this position, a list which includes the likes of Manchester City‘s David Silva, Chelsea‘s Willian and Manchester United‘s Odion Ighalo.

Fuchs says it isn’t an easy situation for those players, but with five years completed at Leicester and assurances from his manager Brendan Rodgers, he feels more secure than most.

“It is a very difficult situation and I am in talks with Leicester on how to deal with that,” he said.

“The time to restart the season is supposed to be April 30 but with all this development going on worldwide, I don’t think it will go ahead, we will see.

“Since there has been no precise time for the season to continue for certain, you end up in a cloud of doubt. I am very sure Leicester will do the right thing for any player in a similar situation to what I am. They will handle it the right way with me.

“I have been here for five years and we have gone through a lot of highs and lows. The past has shown me that Leicester is not dropping any player just like that. They take care of their players who have been good servants to the club.

“It means a lot to me that Brendan Rodgers is keen on keeping me for another season and maybe even longer. He has given me a lot of game time which shows that he trusts me. The feedback has been good from the manager and coaches. I want to pay it back with good performances.

“I am pretty relaxed even if we can’t be too relaxed about this stressful period that everyone is going through at the moment.”

The retired Austria international, who boasts a host of off-field interests, has also had to make moves to ensure his businesses keep running. They range from the No Fuchs Given eSports and fashion brand, to a football academy that trains over 700 kids across the United States, United Kingdom and Austria.

He admits that the period has represented a challenge but he is using both his eSports brand and coaching organisation to entertain youngsters at this difficult time.

“That’s kind of boring but there’s a lot of football going on over here with my academy. We are trying to keep the kids busy through online training, which includes Instagram lives for 30-40 minutes a time. Like myself, I think you can use the time to improve your weaknesses even in isolation,” Fuchs said. 

“The academy started five years ago in New York with a one-week training summer camp from a gut feeling that I wasn’t happy with the training at all these other academies that I signed my son up for. My interests come most of the time from our kids.

“In eSports, we are hosting tournaments throughout the whole of April and May. However long it lasts, to simply also have people do something from home. We are doing online tournaments on Fifa and we are starting in other titles.

“We are doing our own FIifa tournament and this is ongoing on a weekly basis and we have tournaments in the US and UK with over 200 people signed up.”