East Bengal coach Mario Rivera thinks life under lockdown is the same across the world.

“It’s not that in Calcutta you do something and in Madrid people are something different. It’s the same more or less,” he told The Telegraph.

India is under a coronavirus-forced 21-day lockdown from March 25 and the Spanish coach is cooped up in his flat at New Town ever since.

“In a perfect world, it would have been an action-packed 24x7 for me. Now it’s monotonous. I surf the net to keep myself abreast of what’s happening in Calcutta, rest of India and of course my country Spain. Sometimes I watch a little bit of football, then make my lunch, read a book, speak to my family back in Madrid and go to sleep.” he said.

Part 4 of the hit Spanish web series Money Heist is streaming now on one of the OTT platforms and, according to Mario, it could not have come at a better time. “I am enjoying it. It’s one of my favourite series and am watching one episode per day.”

Covid-19 has left Spain battered and bruised and Mario is worried about his family who are in Madrid. “The situation in Spain is grim and, in the bad times, you want to be with your family. My home city (Madrid) is one of the worst affected cities. I believe Madrid would be under lockdown till April 26,” a worried Mario said.

Mario’s wife and mother-in-law were supposed to fly down to Calcutta and stay for about a month.

“My wife and mother-in-law wanted to come and stay here for a month. But one day before they were supposed to take the flight, the Indian government cancelled all visas.”

Mario, Mohun Bagan coach Kibu Vicuna and other Spanish players like Joseba Beitia, Juan Mera, and Fran Gonzalez could have taken a flight, organised by the Spanish government, back to Madrid on April 4. But with the All India Football Federation yet to decide on the fate of I-League 2019-20, they had to stay back.

“Last Saturday, a flight left from Delhi to Madrid via Goa. For us, we need to know the fate of the I-League. We have a WhatsApp group where all the Spanish people stranded here are members. It’s been created by the Spanish embassy,” Mario said.

There is no guarantee that the lockdown would end on April 14 so the AIFF is also taking a wait-and-watch policy. Mario though said there was little chance of a restart. “I think it’s very difficult. When the League was stopped in mid-March, there were just 80 cases in India. And now there are over 5,000. You know, the most difficult part of this waiting is we do not know what will happen to the I-League. The foreign players are finding it difficult to cope with this uncertainty. They are human beings after all.”

Mario took over as East Bengal coach after his compatriot Alejandro Menendez Garcia decided to quit.

“Yes, it’s always difficult to take charge of a team in the middle of the season. When I took charge (in late January), I saw a sad team. But with time, the team’s morale improved. But just when things started falling in place, the I-League was stopped.”

Mario is game for another season with the red and gold brigade. “Why not? I love this club and I have proved myself despite coming at a time when East Bengal were in tatters.”

True, but talking about the next season is far fetched given the prevalent situation. “Yes, it’s bad. But normal service would resume sooner than later. And then I hope to see to a better world with friendlier people.”