Do football teams also need a psychotherapist?

In 2018 Per Mertesacker was one of the first footballers to raise the issue of mental health in football, despite trophies, emblazoned clubs and hefty salaries the former defender claimed he was only well and living his life to the full when he stopped playing. This summer, gymnast Simone Biles was forced to retire due to problems beyond her sporting performance. The withdrawal of the American gymnast from the Olympics has reopened the debate on mental health in sport and how to talk about it, especially in the world of football and to address it better Liverpool has decided to hire a psychotherapist to deal with this problem. The Reds will rely in fact on the psychiatrist and therapist Ishbel Straker, who will hold private interviews with players, not only those of the Academy but also of the first team. The psychiatrist will be responsible in particular for helping the players to overcome racial and other insults from the world of social media, but also to know how to deal with any problems that may be generated by the sudden and unexpected fame, with which every sportsman must be able to deal.

Ishbel Straker will mainly work alongside those established and non-established players who have received racial insults and therefore have nothing to do with the world of football. An unfortunately widespread problem that does not only concern Liverpool, Arsenal last season were one of the first clubs, after Thierry Henry's warning, to threaten their fans to delete all their social accounts to stop racial insults. An unpleasant situation that was repeated this summer when Rashford and Saka missed two of the penalties in the EURO2020 final and were also heavily insulted for the colour of their skin. 

Events and gestures that should make us reflect and independently change, trying to always find the right balance between fans and passion, always remembering that any footballer removed that shirt remains a person and as such should be respected regardless of the merits or demerits achieved on the field. And perhaps given the recent problems in which all players have run into over time, Josip Ilicic is one of the latest examples, the psychotherapist is perhaps a possible solution and a perfect figure to be included in the staff, at the level of masseurs and physiotherapists. Who knows, maybe the choice of Liverpool can be a trailblazer and convince all clubs to hire these professionals with the sole purpose of helping their players to overcome the tension coming from outside.