Clubs and federations try to avoid another football stoppage in the Old Continent
Covid-19 cases in Europe spiked again in the second week of December 2021, after a period when the pandemic looked to be fading. On Christmas Eve, for example, the United Kingdom and France both topped the 100,000-case mark, while Italy and Spain each day surpassed 50,000 and 70,000 new cases.
The virus’s fifth “wave” on the Old Continent is linked to the transmission of the omicron variant, which was first found in South Africa in November. Thankfully, omicron has been discovered to be less severe, particularly in persons who have had two or more vaccine doses.
Considering the top Brazilian players who have lately been infected with the Covid-19 virus and have been forced to miss some national championship matches. It’s crucial to emphasize that they’re all healthy and ready to help their respective clubs.
Brazilian players infected by Covid-19 in Europe
Six players from major European clubs have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks. Discover who was involved, when they tested positive, number of games missed, and when they returned.
Marcelo
The Real Madrid left-back tested positive for Covid-19 on December 15. He was left out of Cádiz’s (12/19) and Athletic Bilbao’s (12/22) Spanish League matches. Although, on January 2nd, he was called up to the game against Getafe.
Daniel Alves
After testing positive for Covid-19 on December 28, Barcelona postponed the veteran right-back’s debut. As a result, on January 2nd, he was ruled out of the Spanish League match against Mallorca. However, he was cleared three days later to play in the Copa del Rey match against Linares.
Vinícius Júnior
The Real Madrid attacker, who has been the team’s standout performance this season, was struck with the virus on December 29th and missed the Spanish League and Copa del Rey matches against Getafe (2/1) and Alcoyano (5/1). He has, however, cleared to participate in the league match against Valencia on January 8th.
Philippe Coutinho
The Brazilian midfielder tested positive with the virus on December 30 and missed two games for Barcelona: the Spanish League match on January 2 against Mallorca and the Copa del Rey on January 5 against Linares.
Alisson and Roberto Firmino
A bunch of Liverpool players tested positive for Covid-19 on January 2. They were vetoed for matches against Chelsea (1/2), Arsenal (1/6) and Shrewsbury (1/09), respectively, in the Premier League, League Cup, and FA Cup. The return date is scheduled to take place on January 13th against Arsenal.
European clubs want to avoid another stoppage
European federations and clubs are doing everything they can to keep football alive on the continent, despite coach protests and spectator limitations. The attempt is driven by the possibility of losing billions of euros.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the continent’s leading football organization, reported in May 2021 that the pandemic had cost the continent’s big teams €7.2 billion (R$45.6 billion).
The emergence of the new Covid-19 wave has been slowed by some European governments. Germany, for example, opted to reopen stadiums in December while barring fans from entering. Italy, like Spain, reduced the audience capacity to 75 percent. England, on the other hand, keeps announcing the maximum seating capacity of stadiums on a regular basis.
