Sunday, August 15, 2021 at 12:35 pm• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 12:55

Edson Braafheid has opened a book about the mental toughness of football players. The former player of Bayern Munich and FC Twente, among others, says he does not understand why clubs spend a lot of money on the physical condition of players, while mental resilience is just as important. Braafheid had to contend with psychological complaints throughout his career and is now sounding the alarm as an experience expert.

“It’s a shame that clubs would rather put money into a personal trainer for the body than a personal trainer for the mind,” the former defender said in an extensive interview with the club. NRC. “Both are important, because young talents in particular often have no idea what kind of world they are entering. What do you do if you lose a match, if a trainer yells at you, if the audience rages at you? And why not a real being a guy when you talk about your feelings? Bottle up your feelings and sooner or later it will explode. Nobody benefits from that, not even the club.”

The problems started for Braafheid when he was taken over by Bayern from FC Twente in 2009. “That was seen as a big step, by some as too big”, the ten-time the Dutch international continues. “There was doubt whether I was ‘BM-worthy’ and that created pressure. I wanted to show that I was worth it at all costs. When I was on the bench a match, there was a negative vibe around me. I took that negativity home with me. People always look first at the football player Edson Braafheid and only then at the human being. I carried on with it for a long time. I lived the way a footballer is expected to live. I was so busy positioning myself that I lost sight of Edson the human being.”

The ‘noises from outside’ made Braafheid especially insecure. “And as a football player you should not give the impression that you are insecure. Then teammates will no longer give the ball and opponents will humiliate you. A bad grade in the VI hits you extra hard. This way you end up in a downward spiral. For a while I felt very lost. I sought distraction from beautiful women, risked my marriage. Incredibly stupid of course, but that seemed the only way to regain my confidence and fill the void. Now I know that void can only be filled if you look in the mirror.”