Shanghai (AFP) – Giovanni van Bronckhorst won the Champions League and captained his country to a World Cup final, but the Dutchman told AFP that he’s still learning — and never more so than during his coronavirus-hit start to life in China.
The 45-year-old took over at China’s Guangzhou R&F in early January, but what should have been an exciting new chapter in his fledgling coaching career was quickly turned upside down by the virus outbreak.
The Chinese Super League, which was supposed to kick off in February, was indefinitely postponed and the country largely shut down.
Van Bronckhorst, who as a player moved from Arsenal to Barcelona in 2003, spent time with his family back in Europe before returning to work. He has not seen them since.
“I haven’t seen my family since March 1, four-and-a-half months,” he told AFP in China by telephone ahead of the rescheduled CSL season, which will begin on July 25.
China, where coronavirus emerged late last year before spreading worldwide, closed its borders to most foreigners in late March because of fears over imported infections.
That means if he leaves the country, van Bronckhorst may not get back in. His family cannot come to China either.
“It’s really difficult. It’s something I have to deal with, it’s hard, but I’m coping well,” says the former Dutch international defender and midfielder.
Two weeks of quarantine, coupled with trying to coach a new team during seven months of uncertainty and upheaval, has tested van Bronckhorst as a person and manager.
Another challenge awaits, when the delayed season starts in the unprecedented conditions of a virus bubble.
The CSL’s 16 teams will be divided into two groups playing in two different cities. For the first two months, teams will be confined to a hotel except for training and matches.
“As a leader I’ve learnt to adjust to the situation and prepare the team, the planning, almost on a daily basis,” van Bronckhorst said.
“(I needed to) find a new rhythm, especially when you are at home alone and cannot get out of home because of quarantine, and especially now the two months in a hotel.
“You need to be very structured and mentally very stable.
“For me I learnt that about myself — to be strong mentally because of being away from my family for so long.
“I think that has made me a stronger person.”
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2W5ivHg
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