Prandelli tests positive for COVID-19

Fiorentina announced this morning that manager Cesare Prandelli has tested positive for coronavirus and has self-isolated. The players and staff immediately entered a bubble ahead of the match with Genoa on Monday and will remain quarantined until then. This episode just reminds us exactly how dangerous the job is for these athletes and everyone around them right now.

Prandelli, 63, is likely taking this very seriously after having “lost friends” to the pandemic, as he told Lady Radio back in May. However, given that he works in close proximity with his squad and fellow coaches, it’s no surprise that rumors immediately sprang up that there were other positive cases at the club as well, although Fiorentina has firmly denied that no other tests have turned up positive and expressed dismay that someone was spreading false information.

In the immediate future, this means that Prandelli’s top lieutenant Gabriele Pin will take the wheel against the Grifoni, which will likely sink an already confused-looking squad even further into the pit of mediocrity. It’s also worth mentioning that people can remain asymptomatic for over 10 days, so there is a risk for the Genoa players here as well, even though their Viola counterparts will be getting tested daily; don’t forget that Genoa had the largest outbreak in Serie A thus far just a couple months ago.

What’s way more important than any of that, though, is that Prandelli get healthy as soon as possible. Nobody is more familiar with the devastating effects of a serious illness than San Cesare, and at 63, he falls into one of the higher-risk categories. We wish him the safest and speediest of recoveries.

Forza Cesare!