Alessandro Gentile he told himself in a long interview granted to The Sheettalked about his career. A career that saw him go from great expectations at a young age, to a declining end, also thanks to many physical misfortunes that limited his enormous potential.
Here are Alessandro Gentile’s most significant statements.
A summary of his career
I have certainly had ups and downs, many great successes and many difficult moments. If I have to say if I’m happy with where I am and who I am now, I say yes, because I’m happy with the path, even if, being an ambitious guy, I know that more can always be done. But even the negative setbacks helped me improve as a person and I am happy with what I have become. Between the ages of twenty and thirty there is an abyss. There are things I wouldn’t do again, but I think this is true for many people, because ten years ago I didn’t have the head I have today. At twenty you are more instinctive, as you grow you manage certain situations better.
On Milan and the NBA
In Milan I think I had a wonderful journey, even if it didn’t end the way I wanted. However, winning the first championship of the Armani era as captain, winning four trophies at the age of twenty… I can’t help but be satisfied. Then of course, the end of the relationship in that way created imbalances and there were more downs than ups in my career. NBA? I was super happy in Milan. I can’t say if I would make the same choice again, but in that moment and with that state of mind I was happy to have stayed.
Depression
It was a succession of events on and off the pitch. I was thrown into an adult world very early, right into the spotlight, and I didn’t have time to grow and mature enough to handle certain things and handle the pressure. It was nice to start so young, already in my sixteenth year as a professional, but then there was the other side of the coin. I went into depression. It’s a very important topic, and many people, even outside the industry, have written to me to talk about it. I began a journey that I’m still on to get to know myself better, improve myself as a person and be better with myself. I have always been demanding, I have always had high expectations since I started playing in the wake of my father, who was a great player. I should be a little more merciful with myself, although maybe that’s not the right word, I think you get the idea.
I overcame the depression that I had harbored inside me for a while, but which exploded during the Covid period, with the help of my family and a professional to whom I entrusted myself and who still follows me now, because I believe it is right to continue work on your mind and don’t get help only when you are at the height of the crisis, like when I had anxiety and panic attacks. You have to work day after day.
