Tributes are being paid as the world of football mourns Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke, who died after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide. Read the full story here
Professional footballers seem to have it all. They play a couple of matches a week, get paid vast sums of money for doing something they love, drive fast cars and marry beautiful women. In exchange for these things they are watched by millions of people every year, in stadiums and on T.V. as they strive to achieve success for club & country.
Its a short career, sometimes only 10 years and for most, usually far less at the highest level. The pressure is immense!
I have no idea what measures are in place within football to assess the mental state of players who are under extreme pressure to perform and achieve, but i know that fans and critics will rarely take that into consideration! I don’t! Do you?
I recently heard a discussion about mental health issues within professional sport on Radio 5 Live and the thing i could not get out of my head is that “they are just ordinary people.”
You and i have placed such an expectation on money & ‘stuff’ that we believe, wrongly, it has to the power to fix everything. We don’t think a footballer earning £100,000 a week should be depressed or suicidal because we tend to think that money is God! Sadly we are wrong!
The fame, money and accolades do not solve the problems. My recent fascination with Robbie Williams and the blog posts about celebrities have been on my mind. We do not see the criticism of Robbie Williams and consider his spiritual struggles or mental stability. We do not see the harsh treatment of a professional sportsperson or celebrity and wonder how it could be affecting their mental state.
In that Radio discussion someone quoted a football manger who had ‘managed’ a player suffering from depression. He said “what does a professional footballer have to be depressed about?”
This story has made me sad today, take a moment to remember a wife who has lost her husband, an 8month old who has lost her dad…………
It’s also devastating as they lost their 2 year old daughter a couple of years ago. His poor wife…
It’s true, we never know what’s going on in the lives of celebs -we only see the made up, the exaggerated, the sensationalist and the mistakes they’ve apparently made. The public makes a value judgement on what’s perpetuated in the tabloids and project their hatred or adoration based on the persona, not realising that often their emotion may have little basis on the PERSON.
It’s the old adage – money really can’t buy happiness.
A considered and sensitive blog.
Unlike most I don’t follow football or have any empathy for it however the apparent suicide of Robert Enke should be a matter of huge regret to everyone.
Unfortunately however, I believe there’s a growing dis-ease, across a wide spectrum of society, which can be attributed in many instances, to wealth and associated materialism, which does not necessarily nurture the soul.
A new car, new television or exotic holiday might feel empowering and give you a lift for a short time however, ultimately, you have to live with yourself and be honest about your aspirations.