FCA come out on top in eFriendly
FC Augsburg beat Chinese second-division side Taizhou Yuanda FC
eSports
09.05.2020, 13:26
FC Augsburg has become the first Bundesliga side to play against a professional Chinese club in a virtual match-up, with Felix Götze and Marco Richter guiding us to victory over second-tier side Taizhou Yuanda FC in an eFriendly.
The final weekend before the Bundesliga returns next Saturday with a match against VfL Wolfsburg saw FC Augsburg play an eFriendly on the PlayStation 4 instead. First-team players Felix Götze and Marco Richter took to the console to represent FCA against our Chinese opposition.
Götze was first up in the two head-to-head matches, with the 22-year-old old winning his game against XU Jiajun 2-0 thanks to goals from the virtual André Hahn and Alfred Finnbogason. “The stats showed that I had far more chances, including a shot against the post, so I should have scored a couple more goals really,” said Götze. “Nevertheless, I’ll take a 2-0 win!”
Two red cards for Marco Richter
Richter was up next to try and wrap up the victory, looking to bring his FIFA 20 experience from the recent Bundesliga Home Challenge to the fore. His reputation as a risk-taking FIFA player rang true, with red cards for Daniel Baier and Eduard Löwen seeing the FCA number 23 reduced to nine men in his game. However, he still managed to earn a 2-1 win, with Florian Niederlechner scoring from the penalty spot and Richter also finding the net with his virtual self.
“I’m looking forward to hearing Daniel Baier and Edu Löwen’s reactions when they find out that they got sent off. It’s actually the third time that Edu’s got a red,” said a grinning Richter after the game. “Weirdly though, it’s been something of a lucky charm and I’ve still managed to win every game!”
FCA players to begin quarantine
The focus now switches from the console to the real-life Bundesliga, with Augsburg returning to competitive action against Wolfsburg on Saturday, 16th May after a more than two-month break. “It will certainly be an unfamiliar preparation period, as this next week is the first time we’ve been able to properly train and we haven’t had a warm-up friendly. Nevertheless, there can be no excuses. We want to show that we’re ready to go against Wolfsburg and put a smile back on our fans’ faces,” said Richter.
The FCA boys also have to undergo one week of quarantine. The team will move into a hotel on Saturday evening, only going between there and the training pitches up until next weekend’s meeting with the Wolves. “A week in a hotel following strict hygiene measures won’t be the most exciting of times, but it allows us to focus on the match even more,” Götze and Richter agreed.
