FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.02.2010 17:50

Guardiola donates fine money to ALS foundation

Marc Guillén

Josep Guardiola represented FC Barcelona as money collected by the squad for fines last season was delivered to the Catalan Foundation for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS.

All the Barça players chose to give the money raised last term to the organisation as well as contributing some more to the investigation of Rett's Syndrome.

An honour

The Barça coach knows how hard ALS can be and showed how caring he is when he met some sufferes of the disease at the even in Calella on Tuesday afternoon. "It is an honour to be here and to be able to carry out this small gesture to give the money that players were find last term," he said. "it is so hard for relatives and I have great admiration for them. It is just something small to help to see light at the end of the tunnel. We have to fight this."

First meeting

The president of the Catalan ALS Foundation, Enric María Valls, met Guardiola for the first time when he was coaching the B team. "We immediately connected because he had been in Italy where the disease is being researched the most and he quickly offered his services," he said of the trainer.

Symptoms of ALS

ALS is a form of motor neuron disease, sometimes known as Lou Gherig's disease in the United States and also maladie de Charcot, that quickly sees the sufferer deteriorate and is fatal. ALS does not affect brani function or the senses as it only affects bodily movements. The current treatment available can only slow the symptoms and research is ongoing to try and find a cure.