A witch doctor from Serbia treats football stars. “They call my therapy 'Serbian voodoo' and my grandfather is an Indian from Peru, but this is where the mysticism ends. I do not perform miracles. Well, maybe a little bit."
In 2009, the Serbian police put the healer Maryana Kovacevic on the wanted list … by an identikit, since they never found a single photograph of her in the archive. Nobody knew this woman by sight. Kovacevich became famous for having developed a unique method of treating footballers' injuries, using a homemade ointment that heals wounds and muscle tears in record time. There were rumors that the basis of the miracle drug was the horse placenta.
It looks like charlatanism, so the police decided to check the activities of Kovachevich. But it turned out that everything is not so simple. Mariana's clients include Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, Robin van Persie now for Manchester United, Liverpool player Glen Johnson, and everyone is more than happy with Mariana's therapy.
Pain cannot be removed by "chemistry"
Maryana's office is located in an elite residential complex in the center of the Serbian capital. Downstairs - security and concierge. Her bodyguard meets me and escorts me to the office. Kovachevich warmly shakes my hand and smiles. A witch doctor in a denim suit, high-heeled boots, belted with a heavy metal belt, but with crosses. “I do not perform miracles,” she announces on the fly. - Well, maybe just a little.
Is it true that you treat with equine placenta?
M. K.: - No. This nonsense was launched by British newspapers, and I was shocked. Equine placenta can be harmful to health, I have never used it. There is indeed a placenta in my ointment, but it is … human. Calm down, I do not steal it from maternity hospitals under cover of the night, but legally buy it at cosmetic factories in Italy.
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And what happens next?
M. K.: - I am preparing a special ointment. In addition to the human placenta, it contains vitamins and minerals. The recipe is my secret, I can only tell you that all the ingredients are natural. I do not do internal injections, but rub the ointment through the skin into the damaged area with the help of massage and turn on the device, which passes weak electrical discharges through the football player's wound. By the way, this is not my invention - it was the doctors of the Soviet Union who were the first to discover that electromagnetic fields can restore damaged tissues of the human body much faster. I just mastered their theory.
Why do you work exclusively with football players?
M. K.: “My therapy heals their wounds the best. Severe bruises, muscle tears, cramps, pains in the legs - a football player's career is short, he cannot take long pauses. Many players are addicted to pain relievers, and this affects their game. My method allows tissues to regenerate, which eliminates pain. Have you ever wondered why, when pain occurs, we immediately suppress it with drugs? The sensation of pain is a defense mechanism, therefore, it should be “removed” by natural things, and not by any “chemistry”.
How long does it take for you to heal your leg injuries?
M. K.: - Five hours of massage for three days. Sometimes I revive the player just before the game. I remember how Alexis Sanchez, a Barcelona footballer, injured his leg: he had problems with his knee, muscles, his foot was a continuous bruise. I recovered it in seven hours, although normally it would take the patient a month and a half for treatment. The next day, Sanchez could already play.
It's hard to believe …
M. K.: - Do you really think that doctors of the leading football clubs in Europe refer players to me for treatment just because I tell tales about miraculous healing? My method is called "Serbian voodoo", and my grandfather is an Indian from Peru, but this is where the mystery ends. Sometimes patients are even disappointed: "Do you not light candles, pray, dance or sing?" But I am a master of pharmacy by education, not a grandmother from the village. I have cured dozens of football players, and this is the best proof.
Businessmen and politicians also have leg injuries. Do they come to you?
M. K.: - Of course. But I immediately ask them: "Are you ready to run around the stadium ten times after the electromagnetic therapy session?" This instantly confuses everyone. Training after massage is of great importance, otherwise there will be no muscle recovery. Even basketball players can't do this, but football players have strong legs. You need to run a lot - in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening, only then the healed injuries will not make themselves felt again. Only the person who has been actively involved in sports for a long time can become my patient.
The body is like a car
Besides the placenta and electricity, what else do you use?
M. K.: - Own hands. It is very important for me to concentrate when I rub the ointment into my leg. Sometimes the patient himself gives me an impulse, and then I heal the injury much faster. If I can't concentrate, I don't work that day.
Maryana takes me to the room where the massage sessions take place. An ordinary couch, as in any doctor's office, a device for electromagnetic pulses, bottles of ointment. And a can with a ball, as for deodorant, - with its help she rubs the ointment on the players. In appearance, everything is completely normal, although the mysticism is pumped up by the Mayan calendar on the wall, and also a dried snake - gifts from grateful patients from South America.
How legal is your practice? Why were you put on the wanted list?
M. K.: - I work legally and pay all taxes. Yes, I had problems with doctors who don't like my method, and they turned the police on me. If I am a charlatan, then why every year more and more footballers turn to me for help? After the European Football Championship, my phone was ringing.
The human body has a lot of possibilities, the body is like a car: not only physics is important there, but also mechanics. I do not perform miracles, but only accelerate the process of tissue and muscle regeneration. Most importantly, my treatment leaves no scars on my body.
Then why hide your face from the press?
M. K.: - Why do I need popularity? I am not an actress or a singer: I want to go on vacation and appear on the street without signing autographs. My treatment is important, not my appearance.
Did Russian footballers also contact you?
M. K.: - Of course.
And what, Arshavin came right here?
M. K.: - (Laughs.) No, he was not here. But I talked, for example, with Denis Kolodin from Dynamo Moscow, Yuri Mamaev (now in favor of Luch-Energia Vladivostok. - Ed.). And not only with them! I have worked with Ukrainian, Kazakh and Azerbaijani clubs. By the way, I would love to open a whole clinic, teaching doctors my method. But it takes money. Do you think it is possible to persuade Gazprom to become my sponsor?
- Only if their management injures their legs while playing football
M. K.: - God grant them health, but if anything - let them come. I understand, both you and many others find it difficult to believe: here a woman took and invented a miraculous ointment from the human placenta. However, I managed to cure 100% of the football players who turned to me for help. Without such a result, I would have quit my job.