"Essential to stay united to get through this"

News

Daniel Calvo, President of the PSG Fan Club Costa Rica and brother of Javier, one of the heroes on a daily basis that you'll have seen on the official Paris Saint-Germain Twitter account, tells us what lockdown is like in his country and the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on his daily life..

Daniel speaks to us from Costa Rica where the population is living with the COVID-19 health crisis: "Whether it's in Costa Rica or elsewhere in the world we're going through different sensations. We're surprised because nobody expected to be in this situation.

"We're dealing with it and we're preoccupied with health, the economy and social life with our family and friends. Confinement is a new way of living and you have to get used to it. At the start it was difficult to take everything on board but now we've managed to normalise the situation and to understand it better and better. But I'm missing normal daily life, especially getting together with the fn club in order to support Paris Saint-Germain."

Beyond his role as President of the fan club, Daniel wants to pay tribute to those proving themselves heroes on a daily basis, like his brother Javier, an endoctrinologist. 

"Within the fan club we're trying to stay up to date with the club news every day. I saw the club shared photos of my brother Javier and those proving themselves heroes on a daily basis. I want to take this chance to thank all those who must work during this health crisis, it's thanks to them that we don't lose hope. My brother represents all the Costa Ricans who are working for us."

"Javier is an endoctrinologist. He deals with the nutritional aspects of patients who have hormonal problems or are diabetic for example. But since the virus appeared his role has changed. He calls all his patients who can no longer come to hospital and keeps up to date with their condition. But he also deals with those struck by COVID-19. His role is very important because those hospitalised can lose weight and strength while they're in hospital and it's down to him to ensure they get what they're missing. Nutrition is very important because it can affect the respiratory system and we know this virus causes numerous respiratory problems", Daniel explained to us. 

In spite of this difficult time, the link hasn't been broken between the members of the Fan Club. The fervour and passion persist notably thanks to the Round of 16 return leg of the Champions League that's still present in the minds.

"When it comes to the Fan Club we stay in regular contact on Whatsapp. We're still publishing content on our social media accounts and we're putting in place a campaign at the moment in order to get essential items to the least advantaged.

It was crazy here at the Fan Club in Costa Rica for the return leg of the Champions League against Dortmund. It's a win we'd been hoping for for several years. There was immense joy and something unique happened that evening. We celebrated the victory like it was a small final. It was a big victory and the spirit of the Parisian fans in Costa Rica was felt that night. 

"Now Paris Saint-Germain is one of the biggest clubs in the world and they have numerous top level players. It's a good year to do something really good in the Champions League and the new recruits, notably Keylor Navas have done the team a lot of good."

The Costa Rican Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper is a real example of a success story in his country: "In Costa Rica, we admire and respect a lot Keylor Navas. All football fans in Costa Rica love Keylor. Above and beyond the fact that he's a fantastic player, it's the man we admire even more. He's generous, humble and does everything he can to help his country. Keylor represents Costa Rica worldwide and we're really proud of him."

Faced by this crisis, Daniel wanted to get a last message across: "We're going to get out of this crisis and it's essential to stay united to get through this together. That's exactly what the values of Paris Saint-Germain are with the slogan "All United". It's essential to think like that to get through this."