Depression in Football

It’s been a turbulent couple of months for the sport of football.  The incredible exploits of historically great teams such as Spain and Barcelona have had to take a back seat to taboo subjects such as racism and depression.  Depression in particular has been handled poorly because very few people have sufficient knowledge of the subject.  These subjects have to be treated with caution.  Analysts must be careful not to misspeak; a difficult task when you know that any slip up will be magnified and dissected as a result of the immediacy of modern media.

However there is no getting away from the fact that these topics, which have been out of the public eye for so long in the football world, are still there and must be addressed. 

Depression is difficult to explain for even the most qualified doctor.  It is even more difficult to explain when you hear it in a footballer’s context.  These sportsmen are being paid more than average human to play the game they love.  They get the opportunity to visit exotic destinations, get invited to exclusive parties, and have their every need catered for and every problematic issue addressed to by their agent or another member of their personal staff.  Why would they be depressed?

That was the standard response, epitomized by John Gregory’s ill-advised remarks in a press conference in 1999 regarding Stan Collymore when he was diagnosed with the illness.  What a pity it is that 13 years on, footballers still have to be concerned about the way their mental state will be treated by the public.

The illness doesn’t have to affect your performance on the pitch.  Having something to concentrate on takes the minds of those affected off the pessimistic thoughts dominating all in their mind. During Robert Enke’s second battle with depression in 2009 he played his penultimate match in a Hannover shirt.  None of the Hannover managerial staff was aware of Enke’s turmoil.  Those who knew were forced to cover up his recovery by stating his absence from the side was down to a bacterial stomach infection.  The 2010 World Cup was on the horizon.  Enke knew that an admittance of his problems would see him with little hope of competing in the sports’ biggest tournament as Germany’s first team goalkeeper.  Conflicting thoughts ravaged in his head.  He knew that suspicion would increase with each match he missed, but he also believed that he was neither in adequate mental or physical shape to take part in the game.  

In that 1-0 win on Halloween night, Robert starred.  His wife Teresa was in tears when she hugged her husband as he came off the pitch.  They thought that he had turned a corner.  Ten days later, Robert committed suicide.  Who knows what would have happened if he had gone public with his problems.  It is just a shame that he was so fearful of doing so.

Enke found it difficult to come to terms with the professional game.  Press scrutiny and criticism from his coaches made him over-analyse every goal his team conceded and every minor mistake he made.  His move to Barcelona in 2002 was the opportunity he needed to showcase his talents at the highest level.  It looked as if he was a certainty to start the season as the Catalan club’s number one.  However at the last moment he was overtaken in the pecking order by a rookie called Victor Valdes.  His opportunity didn’t come until a Copa del Rey meeting with lowly Novelda.  This would be one of his very few opportunities to show the coach Louis Van Gaal his talent.  The pressure of the game showed.  Enke was a nervous wreck as Novelda knocked out the Spanish giants 3-2. 

Robert Enke showed after his first fight with depression in 2003 that it could be overcome.  We all need to become more knowledgeable about the subject and we can only do that through discussing the topic.  Stan Collymore has helped to bring the subject to light with his honest comments regarding his own problems with depression.  The announcement by retired footballer Dean Windass last week that he attempted suicide, due to his inability to come to terms with life off the field, should come as a final warning that more must be done to help those affected.

In Ronald Reng’s book A Life Too Short, Robert Enke’s battle with the illness is described for the reader with great care and knowledge from a close friend’s point of view.  I would recommend it for anybody who wants to obtain a greater knowledge of such a delicate subject.

A Life Too Short by Ronald Reng was the winner of the 2011 William Hill Sports Book of the Year.