The Atalanta coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, acknowledged that he was already infected with coronavirus the day before the celebration of the second leg of the knockout stage of the Champions League against Valencia, a match that was played behind closed doors in Mestalla and in which the Italians achieved the classification.
“The day before the Valencia game I was sick with coronavirus, the afternoon of the game was worse. I did not have a good face on the bench. It was March 10. The next two nights in Zingonia I slept little. I did not have a fever, but I felt he was in pieces and with 40º “, he declared in an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The 62-year-old Italian trainer said that the tests he underwent have confirmed that the disease has passed. “10 days ago, serological tests confirmed that I had Covid-19. I have antibodies, which does not mean that I am now immune,” he said.
In addition, he recalled the night when he had the worst time because of the Covid-19.
“An ambulance passed every two minutes, there is a hospital nearby. It seemed that we were at war. At night I thought: if I go there, what will happen to me? I can’t leave now, I have so many things to do …” , and assured that he had also lost his sense of taste.
Regarding the return of the competition, Gasperini stated that his players “are hungry”. “At home they have worked hard and well. He wanted to play soccer. The technique recovers quickly. Playing soccer is like riding a bicycle, you don’t forget it,” he stressed, although he dislikes the idea of playing without fans. “I don’t like it, but it is the only option we have,” he concluded.
“Surprise” in Valencia
Valencia CF wanted to convey their “surprise” this Sunday after statements by the Atalanta coach
“Given the statements by Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini, which appeared in the Italian press this Sunday, Valencia CF wishes to publicly express its surprise at the fact that the coach of the rival team in the 1/8 final tie of Uefa Champions League recognizes that both the day before and the day of the match played on March 10 in Mestalla he was aware of, at least himself, being suffering symptoms presumably compatible with the coronavirus, “says the club.
Valencia’s surprise is that the coach did not take “preventive measures, putting at risk, if that had been the case, many people during his trip and stay in Valencia.”
“This party was held behind closed doors, surrounded by strict measures in this regard, under the obligation of the Spanish health authorities to prevent the risk of contagion by Covid-19, precisely in the presence of people from an area already publicly qualified on that date risk, “he adds.
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