IN a new podcast titled The King's Speech – taken from Jari Litmanen's nickname in Finland – the former Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona star sits down with Unibet to discuss his career so far, his considerable achievements, and this week, his views on the Coronavirus outbreak.
Litmanen, Unibet's Resposnible Gaming Ambasador, himself contracted the COVID-19 virus. This week he discussed how it left him feeling weak, and how the last weeks have been all about recovery.
"I had a fever, headache, muscle pain, shortness of breath. The virus itself lasted for four weeks, and since then there have been a couple of weeks of recovery. Fortunately, the pain and shortness of breath were never so severe that I would’ve had to go to the hospital, and I was able to stay home. But it’s still been a very difficult few weeks", Litmanen describes.
"Physically, I’ve probably never been in a shape worse than this. And even now that I’ve been able to start some light physical exercises, I still run out of breath very easily", he adds.
"Uncertainty is the worst"
Litmanen also comments on the topical situation of European football leagues. He calls for an end to the current uncertainty regarding restarts. Talking from experience, Litmanen belives he number one criteria must be the well-being of everyone involved.
"It’s probably impossible to find a solution that’s good for everyone. Every decision has its positive and negative effects. But from a player’s perspective, the uncertainty is the worst thing. We are already in the middle of May, and players have already had a physically and mentally demanding season behind them.
"That’s why we need decisions: either we decide to continue the games, or end the seasons once and for all. The basis for everything needs to be the health of the players, coaches and staff around them".
Future episodes of the King’s speech will have Litmanen discussing the Premier League and his years in Ajax Amsterdam, among other things. You can listen to the podcast, spoken in Finnish, from Unibet Finland’s podcast channels in Spotify, Soundcloud and Apple podcasts.
