Torino defender Saul Coco has opened up to the club’s official channels, revealing intimate and hidden aspects of his life. The center-back, who arrived in the summer and quickly won the hearts of fans, has confessed to episodes between 2019 and 2020 that changed his life.
Coco revealed he came very close to death on two occasions. In 2019, after a trip with the national team, he contracted malaria: “I had to stay in the hospital for three weeks, bedridden, and for two days I was practically unconscious. It was very hard, but after some time I managed to recover despite having lost a lot of weight.”
Then, on his birthday in 2020, he had another incident: “A collision during a game, I broke both wrists and took a strong blow to the head. In both cases, I was very close to death. These were two very important situations for me, which were very hard at the time, but they made me grow a lot as a person and as a player.”
Torino signed Coco to replace Buongiorno, and his adaptation was immediate: “My adaptation has been excellent, I must say I sincerely hoped for it: I’m a very ambitious person, I like to aim high, and that’s why I intend to have an excellent season. I’m happy that everything has worked out.”
Coco has noticed the great passion of the fans: “They told me about their warmth and sentiment. And from the very beginning on social media and on the city streets, I felt this affection. The relationship with the fans is beautiful, they always treat me with great respect.”
Surprisingly, Coco has already scored two goals in six matches. He commented on his unexpected scoring prowess: “I didn’t think I would score so much right away. I’m a defender who can help the team in attack as well, I believe I have a good aerial game, I have a good long-range shot.” He even made a playful vow: “If I score more than five goals, I’ll cut my hair.”
Coco is adapting to the new working methods under coach Vanoli: “We’re getting used to the new coach with very long training sessions to work on many aspects. In Spain, we focused a lot on ball possession and all exercises were centered on that. Here, instead, we do a slightly different work, everyone has their own exercises.”
