Inside story of the coronavirus and football: How players and coaches are coping with lockdown

From plenty of Zoom meetings and home workouts to learning Spanish, professionals in the game are keeping busy

Vissel Kobe players Sergi Samper, centre, David Villa, left, and Andres Iniesta, right, pose with the Emperor's Cup. Getty Images

Football has been in lockdown for six weeks, like much of society.

It presents different in the different areas of the game.

Here, Andy Mitten talks to four professionals about what life is like without football and with the coronavirus pandemic.

Dean Holden, assistant coach, Bristol City, English Championship

Bristol City manager Lee Johnson with Bristol City assistant manager Dean Holden. Getty Images

“Our season was going well and we were one point off the playoffs for the Premier League with nine games left. It was full on.

"The head coach Lee Johnson, assistant head coach Jamie McCallister and myself are in our fourth year here. The league position has improved each season, we’re developing young players and the club is in a good place. The stadium has been redeveloped, average crowds are 22,000, the highest for 40 years, and we have a new training ground on the way.

“We want to get into the Premier League but the Championship is a brutal league, with 46 matches. It’s two games a week every week and you have to be smart with your recovery after games. We debrief the players after matches and move quickly on to focusing for the next game.

“Six weeks ago, we were going through set pieces for our game at Blackburn Rovers. Big game, they’re two points behind us. That’s when the chief executive called all the staff and players in, explained the situation about Covid-19 and made everything about what was happening clear. That was the last we saw of each other face to face.

“Seeing more of my wife and family has been nice but I’m still working and in touch with the club every day. I’d never heard of Zoom before the lockdown but we have three or four Zoom meetings every day.

“The day starts with a staff meeting where we plan the day ahead, then we’ll be with the players as they stay fit. All of them have an exercise bike from the club and we also have quizzes, bingo and maintain that face to face contact.

“We keep a structure as we’re used to structure. Our players are elite athletes, they’re used to being very fit and competitive every day. They have personalised fitness programmes and position specific ones too, but nothing can beat match practice or training practice.

“Mental health is important so communication is key. We have a mental skills coach, we want players coming out of this situation in a better, not worse, frame of mind.

"Players might worry about their families, they’ll hear rumours, they speak to friends at other clubs. We don’t want scaremongering and the club needs to be as clear as possible - and they are. They stick to the facts.

"A lack of a fixed date for a return that we can plan for is difficult for everyone but the most important thing is people’s safety and wellbeing. We would need a period of time to get the players match fit, a bit like a pre-season, but we’ll be ready for whenever that is.

“With no games, we’re trying to get ahead. We’re watching opponents, our recruitment ideas are advanced. I’ve also spoken to others outside the club.

"I spoke to Chris Coleman, who took underdogs Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016. I also spoke to Paul Simpson, whose England under-20s won the World Cup three years ago. And Stuart Lancaster, former head coach of the England rugby team and is now at Leinster.

"They were all generous with their time and it's really important for us to learn and improve. We're three young coaches up against the likes of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United.

"I’m also reading a book called ‘Football Hackers: the science and art of a data revolution’. I want to learn as much as I can to make myself better and the club I work for better. I miss my job as it was before the pandemic, but I want to be better prepared when we’re properly back.”

Tom Broadbent, defender, Swindon Town, English League Two

“We’ve been top of the league for much of the season and could be promoted by now. Crowds were around 10,000, the club and Swindon was buzzing.

“My last game was a 2-0 win just before the lockdown. Though I’ve been in and out of the team and had too many niggling injuries, I was getting more opportunities when football stopped. It has been a good season for the team, but things could have gone better for me.

“I’ve worked hard, ready to be called upon, all season. I just want to play football every week but at least I have a contract until 2021. I speak to lads at other clubs and they’re out of contract in a month. There’s a lot of worry about.

“I was in the armed forces until I was 25 and that has helped me prepare for the situation we are in now. For one, the uncertainty. You don’t know what or when the outcome will be when you’re at war. I was in Afghanistan in the Royal Artillery and also on exercises around the world. My rank was lance bombardier and I served for six years before becoming a professional footballer.

“You learn to get on with things in the army and maybe that works against me as a footballer. I’m used to structure and hierarchy, with not arguing with my superiors. I follow orders, I don’t challenge the bosses or question their decisions – even though there’s no rank structure in football.

“You get used to standards, too. You respect those around you. I still do – I never leave my kit on the floor for the kit man to pick up.

“I wanted to be a footballer as a kid and was at Portsmouth when they were in the Premier League. I was on trial for five months and felt I was getting nowhere – I had to pay my own train fare each day and wasn’t getting paid. They suggested that I went to nearby Bournemouth, who were a lower league team. Bournemouth wanted to sign me, but then went into administration and only signed one player – Danny Ings.

“I came to terms with not becoming a professional footballer and joined the army. I wasn’t allowed to play football while I did my basic training, but I played a lot of football after that.

First, I played for my regiment. Then for the Royal Artillery, then the Army and finally the Armed Forces - all the best players across the forces. It was brilliant and we played around the world. The British Army against the German Army is played every Christmas to mark the truce on the western front in the First World War. It’s a big deal.

"I was also allowed to play semi-professionally for Hayes & Yeading, where I was captain but it was my coach for the Armed Forces who helped me to go professional through a contact at Bristol Rovers in League One. I joined Swindon in 2019.

“I’m in lockdown with my girlfriend Ashley, who has been furloughed, and our dog. I’m training every day and in constant touch through WhatsApp. We do 5km runs and screenshot our times. I’m not near the top but we have some very fast lads at the club doing 17 minutes. My aim is to go under 20. We also use Strava to track our bike rides and runs. We interact a lot.

“It’s getting a bit boring now and I want to get on the ball and train with the others. I miss that, especially this time of the year when the sun is out, we’re going for promotion and looking forward to summer. I have played two-touch with Ashley. It’s useful because she’s not the best and you don’t know where the ball is coming to you. It could go anywhere!”

Sergi Samper, midfielder, Vissel Kobe, J1 League, Japan

Vissel Kobe players Sergi Samper, centre, David Villa, left, and Andres Iniesta, right, pose with the Emperor's Cup. Getty Images

“We started this year by winning the Emperor’s Cup, the first ever trophy for Vissel Kobe. That was the final game of the season, an incredible day.

"I’ve won trophies with Barca, but I was playing every week with Vissel. I like it here in Japan. We play in front of big crowds, the people are friendly. My family (his brother is a professional tennis player) have been out to see me, but I couldn’t go back home to Barcelona until after the season finished. That was the first time in a year and I had three weeks back in Barcelona in January before returning to Japan.

“David Villa and Luka Podolski, two important players, left but we were looking forward to this season which started in February. We won the Japanese Super Cup and 50,000 people watched that.

“Andres Iniesta, my friend from when we were at Barca, is captain and we signed a very good Brazilian striker, Douglas. We were motivated ahead of this season with Champions League football to look forward to.

“We stopped playing in February but trained all March and played four friendlies behind closed doors. There was no virus in Kobe, but then it arrived and some of our players caught it. They’re OK now, thankfully.

“I’m in Japan and my family are in Barcelona. I’m using Zoom a lot and I train at home. We’re allowed out to run outside. I live in the same building as Andres but we have to social distance from everyone. I did watch the new film about him last week, which I enjoyed. He’s a great guy.

“Life isn’t normal, but I try to stay positive. I have to be and I’ve had time to think. I feel motivated and can’t wait for football to restart again. I’m fit and after years of suffering from serious injuries, I don’t take that for granted. It’s a privilege to play football for a living.”

Adam Webster, defender, Brighton & Hove Albion, English Premier League

Adam Webster of Brighton & Hove Albion. Getty Images

“I joined Brighton (for a club record £20 million) at the start of this season from Bristol City. It was a dream move for me. I couldn’t believe it when it all came off. I train at a superb training ground and play in a wonderful stadium.

“We were playing well but not getting results before the lockdown. That’s why Brighton are in this position, two points above the relegation zone.

"It's my first season in the Premier League and it hasn't been plain sailing for me. It's tough – it's the Premier League after all and you're up against some of the best players in the world – but I felt I'd turned a corner and was finding form. We drew away at Wolves in the last game, our first clean sheet of the year.

"That was a good result and I was playing 90 minutes almost every game. I'd scored away at Arsenal and Spurs too. We won at Arsenal, the first time for Brighton. All my mates came to that game; lads from back home in Chichester. They'd seen me score before but never be on a winning side, so that was a great night for us.

“We were preparing for Arsenal at home when football stopped. Now, I’m at home with my fiance and our dog. The dog is really happy because it's getting walked all the time.

“We speak on Zoom calls three times a week. The club gave us a spinning bike and kettle bells for home. I’m doing a lot of running too, but it’s all completely different to actual training. You can’t replicate running around a pitch and the agility which comes from that.

“I feel it’s important that I’m in a routine. The Zoom calls with the players and coaches help and I run at the same time each day when we don’t Zoom.

“I watched a few box sets and would walk around mumbling phrases in Spanish. My fiance asked me why I didn’t learn Spanish rather than mumbling nonsense from Narcos so I’ve been doing that.

“I’m really missing football, though. It was a nice break to be at home for the first two weeks but you can’t beat that feeling of playing and winning a game. I can’t wait to get back."