Quarantine Diaries – Alexander Romario Jesuraj

by Chittu Shetty October 25, 2020

In our new series “Quarantine Diaries” we spoke with FC Goa winger Alexander Romario Jesuraj on life during the quarantine period and the return to football.

The nationwide lockdown period over the last few months due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation has meant for a tough time for everyone in the country. And footballers are no different – forced to stay inside instead of training on open fields. Connecting with fellow players and coaches over virtual sessions and keeping workouts limited to personal training at home – life took a different turn.

However, with the ISL bubble in Goa set up now, the players are back in training ahead of the upcoming season and going about the ‘new normal’ day-by-day as we inch close to the start. We spoke to FC Goa winger Alexander Romario Jesuraj on life during the quarantine period and the return to football in our series, “Quarantine Diaries”.

Romario Jesuraj is a winger who hails from Tamil Nadu and has been a member of the FC Goa squad since 2019 when he signed a three-year deal with the Gaurs. The youngster started his professional footballing journey with Arrows FC in the Chennai Premier Division at the age of 17 after he had moved to Chennai in his eighth grade to pursue football seriously. 

He signed for Chennai City FC in 2017 and went on to win the I-League 2018-19 season impressing everyone with his explosive play on the wings catching the eyes of clubs around the nation.

After signing with the Gaurs in 2019, he was loaned out to I-League heavyweights Mohun Bagan, where he went on to win the I-League title – his second season in a row. Romario, who is named after the legendary Brazilian striker is back with FC Goa for the upcoming season and will be aiming to give his best to make a place in the starting XI for the season.

He spoke about his quarantine schedule and how he used to manage to train despite the lockdown restrictions. “Initially, it was tough because I could not go out to train on the field. But I had my own set of workout that was given to me by the Strength and Conditioning Coach which kept doing at home every day,” recalled Romario of his days in quarantine. “For the first few months, I was doing my workout in the evening, later on as the lockdown regulations eased I started to go to the local ground to train in the morning and continued to do my workout in the evenings.”

To keep himself occupied through the day, Romario watched some TV shows, old matches, Tamil Movies and sports documentaries as well through the lockdown period.

When asked about the first impressions of the bubble ecosystem in Goa, Romario spoke about the familiarity of Goa and is the best option for everyone for the league to proceed. “The bubble system did not surprise me as much. It was the best option for all of us to be safe during the pandemic. Also, since it is in Goa, it is already familiar conditions for us and so I did not feel anything different.“

Romario is very happy to be back with the FC Goa squad and getting back to training after a period of 6 months and looks forward to the upcoming ISL season. 

“I felt really good at getting back to full-contact training as these are my first proper training sessions after a period of nearly 6 months. The training is also a little high intensity which I haven’t done before. So I am feeling really happy and refreshed as we prepare for the season ahead.”

Also Read: Official: ISL 7 to start from November 2020

Also Read: FC Goa get back Kingfisher as the Club’s Official Sponsor

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest happenings in the world of Indian football