Zdenek Zeman’s Road to Recovery: A Coach’s Unwavering Commitment

When the doctors went to Zdenek Zeman’s hospital room to tell him the results of the tests after the ischemia that struck him, they found the Pescara coach intent on writing on a piece of paper, leaving them in disbelief.

Zdenek Zeman he’s fine:transient ischemia that hit him two days ago did not leave behind significant consequences and there will not even be a need for carotid artery cleaning. Actually no, it had a consequence, not related to the health of the 76-year-old Bohemian coach but very unpleasant for him: the absolute ban on continuing to smoke cigarettes. When yesterday the doctors from the Pierangeli clinic in Pescara went to his room to tell him that he was fine and the tests had not shown anything serious, they found themselves faced with a surreal scene: Zeman in bed writing something on a piece of paper. They couldn’t believe what he was doing.

“I’m preparing tonight’s lineup“, the coach told them Pescarabusy a few hours later in the house of Catania in the Serie C Italian Cup: an unlucky match for the Abruzzo team, beaten 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the competition. The anecdote told by the Gazzetta dello Sport explains very well Zeman’s desire to return to the bench as soon as possible, to do what he has been doing for over half a century, having started coaching Sicilian amateur teams at the beginning of the 1970s.

Zdenek Zeman sits on the Pescara bench for the third time in his career

But obviously, despite having overcome the difficult moment, the Bohemian will have to observe absolute rest until after New Year’s Eve: only in the new year will he be able to start training again. It goes without saying that Zeman tried to oppose the doctors’ diktat: if it were up to him, he would already be present next Sunday in the away match in Ancona, to follow up on the excellent moment that sees Pescara returning from three consecutive victories and third in the standings in Group B of the C Series.

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Taking stock of the situation, reported by Corriere della Sera, is the head of cardiology of the clinic Stefano Guarracini: “Absolute smoking ban, not only for this period of hospitalization but also afterwards. The coach does not agree but will have to adapt. For the rest, the MRI on December 13th confirmed that it was a small cerebral ischemia. We will repeat it in 48 hours and only then will we understand when you can leave the clinic“. The date of Zeman’s possible return to the bench could be January 7, when Pescara will face Juventus Next Gen away.

“This is his house, that is his bench. He has an excellent staff that can replace him in this period. He shouldn’t worry, he should understand he just needs a little rest“, try to make him understand the president Daniele Sebastiani. Moreover, in the absence of the Bohemian, the Abruzzo team will be led by his trusted second Gianni Bucaro: an extension of it, rather than a deputy.