Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini admitted he had overcome the coronavirus, and he was sick just before the Champions League’s first game against Valencia.
By mid-March, when Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini was dealing with the coronavirus, the thought of joining Bergamo ‘s hospital — which at the time was filled with COVID-19 patients — made him fear for his life.
Fortunately for Gasperini, he recovered quickly and did not have to check into the hospital of Pope John XXIII. The coach just recently confirmed that he had the virus when the whole team was tested 10 days ago, he said in an interview published on Sunday with the Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Gasperini, 62, began feeling sick on March 9, a day before Atalanta played in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 at Valencia.
When he returned to Bergamo, which soon became the epicenter of the pandemic, he said, “I didn’t have a fever but I felt devastated and as if I had a fever of 40 degrees.”
Milan is considered as the place where a large part of Italy’s coronavirus infection originated, and one of the culprits is the duel between Atalanta and Valencia. And on the eve of the match, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini felt the signs.
“I felt ill just before the game with Valencia, and the situation got worse on the day of the game. I didn’t look good on the bench if you look at the pictures. It was March 10 and I didn’t sleep well for the next two nights. I didn’t have a fever, but I felt like I had it. Ambulances were heard every two minutes, it sounded like a war zone that I was dreaming at night about what would happen to me if I went to the hospital because I realized I couldn’t leave now, I had a lot more to do, so I was kidding with myself, but I was really worried about it. I was on the treadmill for an hour and ran about ten miles, I felt powerful and good, “Gasperini told La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Loss of taste and smell is one of the key symptoms of an infection with COVID-19 and Gasperini has been through it.
