Andi44 - Untitled

This is so good, thank you for the translation.

Viv wrote a very interstring column. Thought the whole piece was interesting, so i just quickly translated the whole thing for anyone who wants to read it! ‘I have been using a psychologist for years, I am not ashamed of that’ Mental help? I brushed it off in my early years as a footballer. I was a teenager and didn’t believe in it.  I just kept going. Talking about your feelings? Not something i’m going going I thought at the time. 

And look now. Now I think it’s ridiculous if a club doesn’t employ a psychologist. I have been using a regular psychologist for years now. I met her at my club Arsenal and we kept in touch after she left. And no, I’m not ashamed of that. In fact, I would recommend it to everyone. We need to get rid of the idea that you shouldn’t show your weaknesses. It’s not something to be emberassed about.  People say: isn’t dealing with pressure part of the job when you’re a top athlete? Oh yes, sure. To a certain extent, absolutely. But we top athletes are also human beings. With our own problems. You should be able to feel free to be honest about that. Without the outside world seeing it as weak.

When Ricardo Kishna and Gregory van der Wiel were open about their anxiety attacks, they received a lot of negative comments on social media. We now live in a world where anyone can say anything. But people don’t know what’s going on in the life of a top athlete. They know nothing.

I’m adressing this topic now because the Winter Olympic Games are just around the corner. I always look forward to the Olympics. I grew up with it. But now I am also thinking about the feelings of the athletes. A major tournament always brings pressure to perform. Add the current covid situation to that. One positive test and the goal is gone. Living with that thought is mentally very tough. That also applied to us, of course, last summer during the Olympics in Tokyo. There were days where we couldn’t even go outside. That really kills you. Still, I was very relaxed that tournament, partly because of the help I get.

In hindsight getting help would have helped me a lot when I went to the 2015 World Cup in Canada as an 18-year-old girl. Out of nowhere i suddenly was the hope of the country. I can act all tough, but the pressure just became too much for me. I was already exhausted before the tournament started. I had just finished my first year at Bayern Munich. I left the Netherlands when I was sixteen, alone. I was definitely homesick in the beginning. From four to eight trainings a week. From that moment on I just kept going. On to the next game. On to the next tournament.

Later I discussed this extensively with my psychologist. I had to grow up very quickly. It’s not easy, even if you think it is. And so everyone has their own story. Give everyone, also outside the sports world, the space to deal with this. Anyone can judge  it’s not that difficult. Putting  yourself in someone else’s shoes is  apparently. But you can also just call that decency.

Jenni Hermoso, puro amor, y nada más

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