Former Fiorentina coach Beppe Iachini reveals the extent of his COVID-19 nightmare that lasted 64 days. ‘I was struggling to breathe, had a fever and pain down to my bones.’
The coach explained his experience in a new book called ‘Un Calcio al Virus’ about the first lockdown in March 2020.
“I was in Florence at home and didn’t feel well. After a week of the country shutting down, some positive cases emerged in the squad,” wrote Iachini.
“I found myself suffering from a fever, cough and pain down to my bones, without knowing if it was flu or COVID. They told me to take some aspirin and cough drops, but the symptoms continued every day.
“As the days went by, I was struggling to breathe. Some in the squad and staff had managed to get swabs and they were positive. I still didn’t know what I had.
“I carried on like that for 45 days. I couldn’t breathe and would open the window to try and get some air in my lungs. I couldn’t even sleep properly, I had to lie in a certain way face down to get a little relief.
“I finally had a test after 45 days and it came back positive. Another 10 days after that, still positive. At the 64th day, I had another test and finally the result I had hoped for: negative.”