It's a singular period that is about to end on June 22, the date of return to training for PSG players. Whatever the rest of the season, especially if the Champions League final phase continues in August, this year 2020 will remain marked by two months of strict confinement, from March 17 to May 11. Especially since for some, who left outside Europe (Brazil, Costa Rica, Uruguay), this continues.
If during all these weeks the Parisian group continued to live, notably through multiple and intense exchanges on WhatsApp messaging, each one went through confinement in their own way, in particular according to their place of residence. Overview of the main occupations of each other.
Home
Like Angel Di Maria, the majority of Parisians wisely stayed at home during the confinement. As the Argentinian midfielder explained in L'Équipe: “I knew that if I had any problems, I would call the club and within ten minutes we would find a solution. If we had a problem, there was the doctor, the hospital. […] And then, Paris is my city today, so it was natural to go through this period here. "
But the sudden and unusual change of pace was not easy to deal with. At the end of March, Di Maria's wife explained that her husband had started to count the hours and go around in circles at their home, mentioning a "zombie" about him in private conversations. "In two months, I only had to go out once or twice to go shopping," admits the interested party.
To change their minds and experience other thrills than those of a run on a carpet or the home trainer, some have shown creativity, especially on social networks. Many of them have multiplied the short video clips.
Presnel Kimpembe, the central defender, made an impression by mimicking the case of a coconut with one hand. Another defender was particularly illustrated: Layvin Kurzawa. With humor, he first staged his family. He also wanted to offer the talents of his community the opportunity to reveal himself through “visio-crochet” evenings, alongside his partner Mélissa.
The confinement allowed Abdou Diallo to make his debut on Instagram. He was the last Parisian absent from social networks. He also took advantage of the period to advance in the book project on his training years with former teammates. He spent many hours talking to them.
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Obviously, the players of the capital have never really stopped keeping themselves in physical shape. Marco Verratti said on the club website: “I work every day. I even think I do a little more than I did before. "
However, it was not his coach Thomas Tuchel who put such pressure on him. The latter, on the contrary, decided from the start to leave his players “a little quiet”. The German technician, on the other hand, increased exchanges with his staff to provide them with the most suitable programs possible. He also participated in discussions with club management which led to a redesign of the medical staff.
Outside
Kylian Mbappé did not leave France during the confinement but he took the direction of the South, as L'Équipe said. He multiplied the messages of solidarity on social networks but also the donations in a very discreet way, like that to the Fondation abbé Pierre. We also saw him show his satisfaction at having won a game of Monopoly online. For his part, Idrissa Gueye took the direction of the Southwest and Colin Dagba of the North where he is from.
PSG did not object to some of its players joining their countries of origin, whether in Spain, Germany or Italy. This is the case of Mauro Icardi, whose decision to join the shores of Lake Como, in Lombardy, an hour from the epidemic focus of Bergamo, angered footballer Maxi Lopez, previous companion and father of 3 children of Wanda Nara, wife of the Parisian striker.
To escape the draconian confinement established in France and escape an anxiety-provoking situation, some, such as Neymar and Thiago Silva, quickly made the choice to return to Brazil.
It was in his holiday home in Mangaratiba, near Rio de Janeiro, that Neymar thus undertook the most stringent athletic preparation, with the help of his personal trainer Ricardo Rosa and the midfielder from Palmeiras and friend Lucas Lima, who would have allowed him to lose up to 3 kg. The Brazilian also changed his ideas by playing music. We saw it on the piano but also with a guitar.
Having left the country with the hope that Brazil would be less affected by the coronavirus than France, Thiago Silva had to make up his mind in the face of the rapid growth of the epidemic in South America. As captain, he maintained contact with the rest of the group. “It is not a holiday period, but a period of conscience. We have responsibilities, "he said on PSG TV to summarize his state of mind.
It was also a time for some to change their minds and enjoy the outdoors. Thus, Edinson Cavani multiplies activities, lost in a nature he loves so much. On his last video, we see him scythe wild herbs on his Uruguayan lands.
While Marcin Bulka, the 3 rd goalkeeper of the club, smashed his Lamborghini on the roads of Poland, Keylor Navas, he used his time in Costa Rica to organize meetings on various subjects and in particular his foundation. The PSG goalkeeper joined his country at the end of March on a private plane, at a cost of 180,000 euros according to the South American press.
Marquinhos, him, will have waited for the official end of confinement to fly to Brazil. It was only on May 19 that the defender joined Caraguatatuba, with his wife and two children. He was finally the first to return to France on June 3. He is therefore also the first to start a fortnight, for the time being still on a voluntary basis, which will allow him to be ready to respond to the call of June 22.
