Apart from the eight Spaniards (Carvajal, Nacho, Ramos, Isco, Lucas Vázquez, Asensio, Brahim and Mariano), the dominant nationality in the Real Madrid squad is Brazilian. No less than six (Marcelo, Militao, Casemiro, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Reinier), who are ahead of the French (Varane, Mendy, Areola and Benzema) or Belgians (Courtois and Hazard), Balkans (Modric and Jovic). Well, the group of Brazilians is usually the great animator of daily coexistence in Valdebebas, with that extroverted character that always makes them dynamizers of the group environment. But in recent days the usual jokes are giving way to gestures and faces of concern. The reason is in the coronavirus pandemic.
In Brazil, the pandemic has unleashed in recent hours, to the point that it has already It is the second country in the world with the most affected by COVID-19, with 498,000 infected, leaving behind Russia (406,000) and Great Britain (273,000). And in the count of victims, Brazil is already in fourth place on the world map, with 28,834 deaths, leaving behind the 27,125 of Spain and the 28,771 of France, and only behind the 105,000 of the United States, the 38,376 of Great Britain and the 33,340 from Italy.
This brutal escalation (it should not be forgotten that a month ago the virus was beginning to appear in Brazil when the worst had happened in Spain) has made The group of Brazilians spend a good part of the day hanging on the phone to have information about the drama that is taking place in their country. It should not be forgotten that Marcelo, Militao, Casemiro, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Reinier have many friends and family there, and their restlessness is normal. Their hope is that, as they have seen what happened in Spain, the contagion peak will soon be reached and the curve can start to go down as soon as possible. Something that, unfortunately, has not happened nor does it appear to do so in the short term.
Vinicius already sent a few weeks ago food for the humble neighborhood in which he grew up and Casemiro is in several organizations that fight against child hunger. They now live more relaxed in Madrid due to the de-escalation that is gradually normalizing the situation in the capital and the rest of Spain, but they are no strangers to what the country that saw them born is suffering.