Evaristo Beccalossi: From Coma to Return to Life, Celebrates 69th Birthday

Now that the worst is over, the 47 days of coma due to a cerebral hemorrhage are a distant memory and that finally the light at the end of the tunnel of fear can be seen, Evaristo Beccalossi can finally celebrate. The return to life and also his sixty-ninth birthday. For the former talented number 10 of theInter “scudettata“ (1979-1980 season) led by the “iron sergeant“ Eugenio Bersellini is a special Monday. Because he will find himself next to, when he has to blow out the candles, not only his dearest ones like his wife Danila and daughter Nagaja, but also the guardian angels who have been by his side since that cursed 9th January, saving his life. Doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. A long and obstacle-filled journey before returning to normal, but step by step the “Becca“ continues to make progress. And to give hope and smiles to his family. "Dad is still in Brescia but in a little while we will change the structure - says his daughter Nagaja, who has been working in the communications office of Inter for a few years -. We don't know when we will be able to bring him home because the re-education period is still long, and every time he has to go to the gym he grumbles and snorts. He would like to go back to work. But his desire is to stay in Brescia, in the family home". Today more than ever, the refrain that Inter fans used to sing when everyone's eyes sparkled admiring the footballer with the curls and that ball glued to his feet is valid: 'I'm Evaristo, sorry to insist'. People bought tickets just to see him play.

But the last four months have been terrible, full of anguish, anxiety and then of hope. For weeks there was maximum secrecy, as requested by the family, but since mid-January the news had been circulating among the experts. The illness at home on January 9, the immediate hospitalization at Fondazione Poliambulanza in Brescia, the worsening of the conditions in a few hours, the coma that lasted 47 days. And the beginning of a very hard battle, on a double track: that to save Evaristo's life, but also that to "protect" him from the outside world since initially the doctors had given the family very little hope. As the weeks passed that small flame became something brighter.

And on February 27, Evaristo woke up, to the point that even his closest friends were able to visit him, starting with Spillo Altobelli, a historic teammate (first at Brescia and then at Inter). The two formed a formidable attacking duo. “Becca“ was the power of imagination, the classic number 10 that ignited the enthusiasm of a young boy. "When I found out, my world fell apart," Spillo confessed. "I kept the illness a secret, but when he looked at me, he understood everything." From one former teammate to another: "The dream of children who play on the pitches is to become footballers like “Becca“," says Aldo Serena, who made his debut at a very young age on November 19, 1978 in that Inter where his friend Evaristo was. "Number 10s that ignite the imagination, that invent unfindable plays. Come on Evaristo, we love you." All the teammates of that historic Nerazzurri group, from Bordon to Canuti to Oriali, ask for updates every day on the chat that after forty-six years keeps them united. Everyone is very close, everyone has breathed a sigh of relief after the latest comforting news. The man with the unpredictable dribbling has managed to jump over the most difficult obstacle and is ready to embrace life again: "We have overcome the most delicate moment, we are still in a phase of exercises with the speech therapists - says his daughter Nagaja - but he watches Inter and manages to make himself understood and this is already important. We Brescians never give up...".