• Direct. Last minute about the coronavirus

La Conca d'Òdena has been the zero zone of the coronavirus in Spain. The high incidence of COVID-19 caused its confinement even before the state of alarm. Igualada has taken a very hard blow. Marc Cabestany (Sant Cugat, 1983), the coach of his football team, has had to face an unprecedented situation, in which the future friendly with Barça has become an extra motivation to hold on to.

“Barça have had brutal behavior and predisposition. We look forward to this great event, although it is clear that it will not be imminent, "he points out. It's been a long time, but remember well how you felt when confinement was decreed. « The perimeter closure surprised us , although it was coming. So we still did not know exactly the seriousness of the Igualada Hospital, because we also had no cases in the locker room or within the club, "he says.

“Reality gave us a good slap. We thought it would be a matter of a couple of weeks , although the most daring already said that we would not play again or that we would do it after a month and a half or two months, "explains Cabestany. "Neither the players, the coaching staff, nor the managers have experienced serious cases up close. We have been lucky », he highlights. Igualada plays in the Third Division. The lives of its players have little to do with that of elite footballers. Therefore, training at home, for many, is complicated.

«If you see the end of the tunnel, if you have a deadline, that motivates you. In this case, everything has been delayed. Some of the players have land, others a parking lot, others a community area in which, according to what hours, they have been able to work, but there are also others who live in a small apartment and have had to manage, "explains the Igulada coach. "When ten or twelve days go by, obviously, performance and physical level decrease a lot, so we made another type of preparation, much more general, knowing that the confinement was absolute and that the players, despite the fact that some of them are essential worker, they were at home, "he says.

Coaching

On a physical level, when it can finally be played, it will be as if everyone had been injured for several months. We will have to be careful. This is how Cabestany approaches the situation. On an emotional level, your training as a coach will be of great help. «Coaching tries to look inside for the resources, the weapons and the answers to each one's challenges and dreams. The coronavirus has been unexpected for everyone, but coaching gives you a slightly more positive outlook on everything. In the end, confinement is an opportunity to achieve other things and you have to look for them all, "he says. "We are lucky that no one has suffered a loss due to the coronavirus and we have not had to act in this regard," he emphasizes.

From his point of view, the fairest thing would be to finish the league , as much as there is already talk of the possibility of declaring the championship void and that this fact could benefit an Igualada who was fighting hard to avoid relegation. All in all, he is very aware that it is very difficult to play or train again soon. "In the end, we must not lose sight of the issue of health, we are where we are and we play what we play," he says.

The harshness of the current situation contrasts with the experience he had a few months ago during his time at Atlético de Kolkata , in the Indian league. Here, he works as a physical education teacher. There he knew what it means to live only from football. «It was an interesting proposal, short, I could afford it. I arrived as a physical trainer, but ended up as an assistant. The coach is Steve Coppell, a former Manchester United and international player with England. A myth. Everything went very well, it was a great learning ”, he remembers. Now, like his players, he can't wait to regain contact with the ball. "Everyone is wanting to return to the green, to meet again in the locker room and to get the ball rolling again," he says.

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