Gianluigi Buffon Speaks Out About Suffering With Depression

[Stan]

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In spite of the huge success that he has achieved throughout his career - including nine league titles in 17 years with the Italian giants - Buffon went through some difficult times, especially at the beginning of his career in Turin.

"For a few months, everything lost its meaning," the 40-year old said in an interview with Vanity Fair. "It seemed as though nobody cared about me; just the footballer who I represented.

"It was like everyone was asking about Buffon and nobody was asking about Gigi."

And this sense of uncertainty led to the goalkeeper missing a game for The Old Lady.

"I was 25 years old and I was in a wave of success. But one day, before a Serie A game, I went to Ivano Bordon, the goalkeeping coach, and said, 'Ivano, tell Chimenti [the second-choice keeper] to warm up and play'.

"I did not feel up to it. I had suffered a panic attack and was not in a position to play the game," he explained.

Looking back, Buffon was sure that this difficult time was an important stage in his career, allowing him to move forward.

"I knew that it was a decisive moment, between giving up or facing up to those insecurities that we all have. I was never afraid to show them or to cry; something that I am not ashamed of at all."

 

 

[Guest]

I think it is probably quite a common problem for footballer's. We sometimes forget there is a human behind the footballer with feellings. They get talked about like a faulty peice if equipment that needs replacing when they don't perform.  Some people feel that because they earn so much money they should be happy but it doesn't always work that way.