This Wednesday will be the day when the Barcelona footballers finally go to the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper after the time of confinement. After the League gave the go-ahead to the facilities after cleaning and disinfection, the members of the first team will undergo an exhaustive medical check-up that will include tests for the detection of the coronavirus (PCR and serological) . The plan is to resume training individually and according to the protocol of the Higher Sports Council later this week.

"I am wanting to return to normality. Until now I have gone little. My wife has not left me or take the dog, " said the coach of the Barcelona first team, Quique Setién, interviewed on Tuesday afternoon by the Barça club itself along with members of his technical team, Eder Sarabia (second coach), Fran Soto (physical trainer) and Jon Pascua (goalkeeping coach).

Setién did not hide the doubts generated by the guidelines for returning to training. Especially in what refers to the specificity of a sport of constant physical contact like soccer. "Until now our sport has always been contact. And now we are entering a stage where you are going to run and you cannot interact. Or for example, we, accustomed to rondos, will now arrive and we do not know if there will be fear or not . There are many uncertainties that will be resolved on the fly. Although these rules must be strictly observed. A door opens that no one has opened before. "

And Setién added: "It will be necessary to see once the group training starts if contact is going to be allowed. A player, to steal it from you, has to approach . These are the doubts that we have. You can prepare exercises without contact and communicate with through the ball. Or that new habit of running alone on a strip of the field. Or arriving in the car and not coinciding with anyone. This is a psychological burden. If they have 20 days doing this you do not know what it can mean. But they are unknowns that the authorities have to resolve for us. " And ironically: "Hopefully the ball does not turn into a rugby ball . "

It is also not clear to Setien how he will be able to conduct video sessions with all the staff members after having read the protocol back to training. " They will force us to have that distance. If we have to keep two meters, we either put the players outside or take them to a large cinema , because in the room we have [in Ciutat Esportiva] we cannot all be together seeing things prepared for the return to work. We will adapt to what we can do. "

As for certainties, Setién prioritized that the League can be concluded. " I would not like to win the championship without playing. Although it would be common sense for [the classification] to remain as it is [if it were suspended] . But we would all like to complete it and win as it should be won. Just like the Champions League." Although the coach also clarified: "There is the concern of what this round can entail. If it can be aggravated in any way [the pandemic], that there could be a flare-up or situations that could prolong the situation. I understand that the championship would have to end if reasonable health circumstances really exist for all of us who are going to be involved. "

Luis Suárez, meanwhile, will join training with the group as announced by Fran Soto, physical trainer. "His evolution is very good and he will join the rest normally as it is still an individual job. It will be one more." Suarez underwent surgery on the external meniscus of the right knee last January.

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