More and more openly and frequently, top athletes reveal and even talk about their flaws. Stade Toulousain winger and Italian international (21 caps), Ange Capuozzo confided in an interview with L’Equipe that he went through a psychologically delicate moment, which he describes as “depression” (although it was not diagnosed by a doctor and did not follow treatment), last season after the 2023 World Cup.
In a season where he had to deal with several injuries (scapula, thigh, etc.), his career at the World Cup was stopped short in the group stage, and he suffered a concussion against France. This period of spleen, he says, he kept it inside, above all: “Deep down, I knew it, but I said nothing. I didn’t allow myself to experience this kind of thing. I didn’t have the right (…) It was a form of humility towards those who struggle more than me, who have health and money problems. I didn’t want to complain when I had just experienced a World Cup and I was playing for the best club in the world. »
“The exit door exists! »
“Nothing gave me any emotion anymore,” he says. Even the positive no longer made me happy. I was no longer enjoying life. » He says he owes his salvation to his loved ones, his partner and his parents, who accompanied him during this delicate period. He also says he is psychologically supported, which can remain a taboo in sport: “Our generation is informed on the subject. The problem? No one really says we do it. However, we know that many surround themselves and get help. You have to take responsibility for it. »
“We may say that we are armored, that is the characteristic of these periods,” he says. Depression does not prevent. It’s hard to put it into words. This is why they are difficult to understand. However, knowing these periods allows you to know that there is a way out. (…) We must get this message across: the way out exists! »
