• Covid-19.Renan Lodi, positive; nine other Atlético footballers were also in contact with the disease

A day before flying to Liverpool (March 10), Atlético's players trotted for the last time on Cerro del Espino de Majadahonda. Who (we) was going to tell them that, due to the coronavirus, it would take them two months to do something that was then the most normal thing: training. This morning, as happened on the day of the tests, Stefan Savic was the earliest to park his car there. A first step in trying to get back to normal.

All the players, except Renan Lodi, who is waiting at his home, until he turns negative in two PCR tests, put on the training clothes at home and arrived with gloves and a mask, as the LaLiga protocol points out, explained with posters in the corners of the rojiblanca sports city.

From left to right: Joao Félix, Correa and Morata.AFP

"More than nervous, I was a little anxious to get there at once, to be able to train, see the teammates, the ball on the green ... It was very anxious," admitted the Uruguayan defender in statements to the club. "After so long it shows in the legs, but it was really enjoyed," he added.

The five training fields were divided by tapes to establish the space that corresponded to each player, with a maximum of six in each field of play. Thus, with Diego Pablo Simeone supervising the session, dressed in gloves and a mask, Atlético's first training phase began.

"At least we get out of the routine"

Physical exercises with and without the ball. Sneakers and cleats. A few looks (like Saul's) very different from what they looked before the Covid-19 crisis. Morata , Correa and Joao Félix , for example, shared a plot in that first session that they had been waiting for so long.

For almost two months, they have trained at home, with Professor Ortega's script. But another thing is to step on the grass again. "It will be all the more special when we go back to training together. At least we get out of the routine of training in our homes, from the burden of the running of the bulls."

Felipe, before starting the training ATLETICO DE MADRID / HOEFE

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Soccer Renan Lodi, positive; nine other Atlético footballers were also in contact with the disease