What are the psychological effects of the constant struggle for distinction? How difficult is it to manage the emotions before and after a great sporting appointment? What happens when headlights go out to the most productive age and how is the transition to the next day?

THE Giannis Souliotis and his camera Prime time They present the invisible aspect of the championship through the shocking testimonies of its protagonists.

“The hardest to me was the first year of recognition from the world. A kid from Piraeus, from Hadjikyriakio … Suddenly to become, because Olympiacos took the first year, when I played after ten years, becoming so recognizable, stopping you everywhere. There I was a lot of trouble, I went through agoraphobia, I was hard to get out of the house beyond going to workout‘, Tells the Dimitris Eleftheropouloswho has been a key goalkeeper for the Olympics for years. Along with football he studied psychology & now deals with athletes’ counseling.

THE Demis Nikolaidis He competed for 2 years in Apollo Athens, 7 years at AEK and a year in Atletico Madrid, before returning to Greece – in 2004 – to take over the presidency of the yellows. When his circle in the team closed and after a brief experiment in organizing concerts, he was confronted with depression. He is even one of the first athletes to dare to speak publicly about his battle with depression.

Today, 20 years after his retirement from active action, Demis Nikolaidis maintains his relationship with football as a commentator on Sport – FM radio and Nova.

A few years ago, Dimitris Eleftheropoulos published on his social media account a text about depression in which he saw his athletes sink when they retired from active action. It was titled: ‘You’re not everything, you’re not anything’.

“You can’t then stop sports, whether you’re an amateur or a professional. Suddenly to find at home and do nothing. You must have learned what you have learned, the experience you have, all this to channel it into something else that you get satisfied with it. ” says the Niki Bakoyannis.

“When you are an active athlete, all the lights are there. There is an environment that calls you every day or if we talk about sports and sports, such as football, basketball, etc. There is a daily friction with journalists, people, managers, people around you. And all of a sudden all this stops, they turn off, they are over. And if you’re not prepared for that, what you feel is a huge gap, a huge cancellation“, Says Froso Patsuformer track and field athlete – athletic psychologist.

“There have been my athletes, people I appreciated and loved, who have rang my bell in very bad condition, for 100 euros“, Says Dimitris Eleftheropoulos. “There are too many cases of athletes who have been financially destroyed. All the money is struck. There is no what they say has so much that not … all the money is struck“He says and continues”Everyone, the whole surroundings have learned at other pace, either at another level of life, financial or everything.‘

THE Panagiotis Pelekoudas He was one of the great stars of Greek volleyball. While fighting at Olympiacos, at the age of 23, he left for three months from active action to fight with the panic attacks he suffered. After his return, he competed in PAOK and Panathinaikos, winning the first championship of his career in 2020.

THE Theodoris Iakovidis He is a weightlifting champion. 10 months ago he decided to retire from active action. To this day he is struggling to accept the decision he made.

Speaking about depression, Demis Nikolaidis recounts: ‘I didn’t notice myself. I got pounds. I drank without like alcohol. I was closed more to myself while I was closed anyway … I had no social contacts … only some friends” “At first you didn’t understand it. When you get into it. You couldn’t understand where you were … or at least I didn’t understand it …‘

THE Giannis Simosiis one of the great talents of Greek football. At the age of 17 he played at the Center 4 in the Panionios team, along with Rekoba and Stojianov. Unfortunately for him, he developed an addiction to gambling, leaving his career in the end.

Often athletes, even world -renowned, lose their gait, not when they leave active action but at the height of their career. Those who bend over the pressure of championships are lost in the dark. Those who manage it effectively return to the pitch stronger.

A few years earlier was American swimmer Michael Pelps, the most successful Olympic athlete, who had spoken publicly about his battle with depression.

In 2021, American athlete Simon Bells, with tears in her eyes, had announced at a press conference that she was leaving the Tokyo Olympics in which she was fighting to “not put her mental health at risk”.

In June 2021, world -renowned tennis player Naomi Osaka, at the age of 23, announced her withdrawal from Cortes to confront the depression monster. He returned 15 months later, competing in the Australian Open Tournament.