"Seven years ago Leo Scienza's life broke into a thousand small pieces. On his 20th birthday his father died and the young footballer locked himself in his room for two months, having lost the will to live. You know when everything is bad and nothing makes sense any more? the Southampton midfielder says. My life had no meaning any more. Look, everyone has a dark side and I'm not the best person to talk about depression or what depression is."
"After he died I just wanted to stay in my dark room doing nothing. I didn't want to see anyone, I didn't want to talk to anyone. The Brazilian can talk about it now but it is clear it remains a haunting period of his life. At the time, he was being rejected by most major Brazilian clubs and playing for 20-40 a game, thinking he would never make it as a footballer."
"A few months later he was convinced by unscrupulous agents to go to Sweden. They promised him a shot with a club in the top division, Allsvenskan, but he ended up at Fanna, in the fifth tier, about 80km north of Stockholm. My father's death was hard but then the opportunity arose to go to Sweden and start a new life, says Scienza, who joined Southampton from the Bundesliga side Heidenheim for about 8m last summer."
On his 20th birthday Leo Scienza's father died, leaving him suicidal and isolated for two months. He lost the will to live and secluded himself, refusing contact. He was being rejected by most major Brazilian clubs and earned only 20-40 a game, doubting a professional future. Unscrupulous agents convinced him to move to Sweden, where promised Allsvenskan opportunities collapsed and he ended up at Fanna in the fifth tier, struggling with salary problems, poor living conditions and working just to afford food. After Sweden he spent seven seasons in Germany and later joined Southampton from Heidenheim for about 8m.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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