Mateus Caviccioli was one of the standouts of the 2021 Brazilian League wearing an América-MG shirt
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Goalkeeper Matthews Caviccioli overcame a complex heart surgery, which halted his rise in football in 2022, and with patience and medical care he returned to the field, standing out again and awaiting decisions regarding his future.
Goalkeeper Mateus Caviccioli, 39, enjoyed the peak of his career when he helped América-MG finish the 2021 Brazilian League in eighth place, securing an unprecedented place in the Copa Libertadores. However, the rise of the Santa Catarina native was paralyzed at the beginning of 2022: the discovery of a partially blocked artery led to an angioplasty on his heart.
From confirmation of the condition to surgery, everything happened very quickly, but the symptoms actually appeared silently. First, a collision in a match against Santos caused constant and strange pain in his arm. Because he thought the discomfort was just an effect, he didn’t worry.
The first clinical change was noticed in pre-season tests. With results “out of the ordinary”, Caviccioli was taken out of training to go to hospital and undergo a new set of tests.
“I went to have this scan and the CT scan had to show, if I’m not mistaken, (at most) 65% dark images. In my scan, it showed more than 80%. So, the doctor actually referred me for catheterization. I didn’t have the essentials so I could go to the room. The doctor Leandro Pena left my car at home and picked up some things for me for the weekend. The operation was on Monday, I lay on the gurney, they gave me that gas and I woke up only hours later,” he says in his interview. With land.
The operation was successful, but kept the goalkeeper out of action for almost six months, preventing him from participating in the Copa Libertadores. After about three months of training and some games on the bench, his return to the field came in a 3-1 win over Avai, on 31 July.
“I was upset by the fact that I had to do basic exercises after the operation. I had to stand, breathe and sit. I got used to the exhausting training. At first, I was very short of breath, but after a couple of days of doing it it became really easy. I went to the hospital to walk on a treadmill, but I asked if I could run. It was very fast, much better than expected (recovery). Of course it took some time, without a doubt, but it was close to what they said it could have been. “It was taken, it was taken,” he continues. “It was very fast.”
Despite his haste and determination to return to high-level training, Caviccioli was slowed by the care of America’s doctors, who warned him of the dangers of the first few months.
“There was an aggravating factor of getting hit and blood clotting and everything. I went to the field at first, but I didn’t work with the group. I was separated until the right time had passed to join the group, to be able to share the ball, to be able to take the hit. The club took such great care that they were completely sure that I could continue my daily training normally,” he recalls the resumption of activities.
After the procedure, the goalkeeper gradually regained his level and competed for the award for the best position in the 2022 tournament. Although the routine changed with taking heart medications daily, the return was as if it were with any other injury, as he put it.
With a heart problem in the past, Caviccioli awaits an introduction to the future after defending the colors of Ferroviario from Ceara this year. From his home, he watched the case of Oscar, who was suffering from heart changes and had to be hospitalized during the Sao Paulo pre-season tests.
Although he does not like to use the word “advice”, the goalkeeper indicated that the tricolor Paulista midfielder has the wisdom to filter the comments he will hear at this moment and, above all, to be patient for the future.
“In the same way that Brazil has millions of coaches who understand a lot about football, at a given moment there are millions of doctors who understand a lot about everything related to the problem that someone may have. He will read and hear a lot of things that will pass through his eyes, but they will disappear, they will go in one ear and out the other. He must mainly listen to those who follow him. If we do not have a good mind, it can get in the way. Something simple that ends up consuming a long time and is questionable because it adds the psychological aspect.
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