Today is seven years on from a major sporting tragedy, and yet outside the confines of it’s home country, barely a word will be spoken or written about it. Yet there is plenty that both fans and professional athletes can learn from it, but sadly precious little lessons seemed to have. Who is Robert Enke you may ask? He was a German goalkeeper who outwardly from a fans perspective seemed to be living a dream life, until he did the unthinkable. He committed suicide at the height of his fame.

With the increasing amounts of money being pumped into professional sports such as football, it reinforces the view professional athletes are somehow not human. With the celebrity lifestyle of a professional athlete it’s assumed by the general public it’s acceptable to say almost anything about these players.

Professional sports are also a hugely macho environment, where any sign of weakness is pounced upon by everyone from team mates to the media. To admit to any symptoms of mental health would be seen as a weakness, something that would give everyone free access to question an athletes ability. In short it would be something that would negatively affect them for the rest of their career.

So how many professional athletes in major sports are currently suffering with symptoms of mental health in silence? Stats from a 2014 FIFPRO study found that one in four professional footballers suffer from depression or anxiety conditions,although the real figure could be much higher as many players may not want to admit to any symptoms for fear of damage to reputation or a perception of weakness amongst team mates. FIFPRO, the international players union, found that 26% of current footballers and 39% of retired footballers suffer from mental health issues.

Robert Enke with his daughter Lara, who tragically passed away aged two in 2006. Was this a factor in his second and final bout of depression. Photo copyright Daily Mail.

Within the U.K programs for players suffering with these issues are struggling to match other European nations. For example Germany have implemented wide ranging changes since the passing of Enke, with every club now required to provide psychiatric help for players and a 24 hour anonymous hotline for players to contact in case of emergency. The Robert Enke foundation also works to raise awareness of the condition amongst the general public.

In the high pressure world of football, it’s easy to players to become susceptible to mental health issues. A lot of professionals have been playing for club since a very young age, therefore a lot of their self worth is tied up in football. This becomes an issue with long periods between playing, such as injury or lack of form. For Enke his first bout of depression came in the summer of 2003, after a year spent largely on the sidelines. It was here that feelings of alienation and worthlessness developed, leading to a pronounced period of depression.

It’s likely this problem is larger than we think, with the incessant pressure from the media, coaches, team mates and fans not to make any mistakes on or off the pitch. With so much attention it’s easy to understand how players can develop mental health issues during or after their career.  Without support in place for these players, they are in danger of falling through the cracks of society, in a place for which they may not think they can get out of.

We as a society can learn a lot from the untimely death of Robert Enke,  his is a cautionary tale of how the perceptions of professional footballers are they’re living the dream, but on the inside they could be living with a pain very few people could see. Fame and fortune are no guarantee of a happy lifestyle, just ask the Enke family.

What are your views on this issue? Feel free to comment below with your thoughts. Find me on Twitter @brfcjordan95. 

 

 

The latest rumour gaining traction in the F1 community is that German Nico Hulkenberg will soon sign for the Renault F1 team. This on the surface seems a logical move as Hulkenberg is a very talented driver with a great reputation in the paddock, but hidden in this information is that they could potentially lose another highly rated driver, Dane Kevin Magnussen.

For anyone watching Formula One this season, the title may prove a struggling one to endorse. Kevin Magnussen has struggled this season with an uncompetitive Renault car in their much publicized return to F1. So why should the Danish driver retain his seat for next season? The answers lie in the details of his career up to this moment.

He has a stellar junior racing CV and has yet to get a fair shake at the highest level. Whilst this may seem strange to say considering he has only ever driven for top teams McLaren and Renault, this is sadly the case. In his very first race at the unfamiliar Albert Park circuit he finished in an eventual second place, the highest scoring debut since Jacques Villeneuve in 1996.

Jacques Villeneuve in the dominant Williams-Renault on route to second in his debut at the 1996 Australian GP. Magnussen was the first to match his feat 18 years later. Photo copyright Michael Cooper/Getty Images.

Magnussen and McLaren were unable to reach these heights again thanks to a less competitive car and the inevitable rookie mistakes. He did score points in eleven of nineteen races however, and narrowly lost out to world champion team mate Jenson Button 10-9 in the qualifying head to head.

From here the politics of Formula One began to rear their ugly head as not for the first time circumstances beyond his control went against him. After an impressive debut campaign in normal circumstances Magnussen would have been retained alongside Button for 2015. Unfortunately for him, the end of the season would prove anything but normal.

After a disagreements with new Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci, Spaniard and double world champion Fernando Alonso was suddenly on the driver market. With a new partnership with Honda starting in 2015, Alonso was quickly announced as having signed with McLaren for 2015.

Kevin Magnussen on the left at the presentation of the McLaren-Honda team for 2015. Alongside him is Fernando Alonso, the man who took his seat, and 2014 team mate Jenson Button. Photo copyright McLaren/Marca.

After difficult negotiation the decision was made that the experience of Button would be more beneficial in Honda’s first season back in F1 since 2008. Despite his enormous potential Magnussen was forced to step down from racing and accept a reserve driver role for 2015. Even a potential Indycar drive was vetoed by the team as he was called up to replace an injured Alonso for the opening Australian Grand Prix.

The weekend itself could be used as a metaphor for his F1 career so far. It promised much with a new era beginning with for McLaren, but ultimately delivered little. He qualified last in the unproven car and did not start the race thanks to an engine blow up on the way to the grid.

This would prove the most action Magnussen would see all season, confined to the third driver role for the rest of the year. As the season wore on it became more likely that Magnussen would leave the McLaren team. Despite being part of it’s young driver academy since the early years of his career, he simply found himself at the wrong team at the wrong time.

With the all star line up of Alonso and Button, it was very hard for the younger drivers to make their way into a full time drive with the team. Despite both reaching the end of their careers, Magnussen still found himself shut out of a race drive for 2016. To further complicate matters, now Magnussen had competition within the team for a race seat.

Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne was a part of the same McLaren driver academy, and a dominant GP2 title campaign in 2015 led many to believe he was ready for the step up to F1. Although he didn’t graduate to F1 full time in 2016, it was clear he would soon be promoted by the team.

Vandoorne appeared to have leap frogged Magnussen into the third driver reserve role, and now the proverbial writing was the on the wall for the Dane. The split was finally announced in early October, with it subsequently being revealed the harsh nature of his dismissal.

The Dane was sent an email notifying him he had dropped from the personal assistant of Ron Dennis on his birthday. The nature of his dismissal seemed to many to be in accordance with the ruthless nature team leader Dennis, who was known for within the paddock. With only several months before the 2016 pre-season testing began, could he find a race seat in time?

A major hindrance for the Dane was his lack of personal backing. In an era where F1 was in a financially unstable time, drivers were increasingly being relied on to bring a personal sponsor package to secure their drive. Despite having a high reputation as a promising young driver, it was clear securing a drive would be very hard for him.

Magnussen was strongly linked to the new Haas F1 team, although many believe he narrowly lost out on the drive to French driver Romain Grosjean. Talks with Manor racing proved fruitless, although salvation would soon be provided from an unlikely source. Reports emerged in late January that the new Renault F1 team were set to replace Pastor Maldonado, after his state sponsorship funding was not forthcoming.

In a matter of a few days, Magnussen was quickly announced as having replaced Maldonado at Renault for the coming season. With a late deal for the season and joining a new team, not a lot was expected of them this year. At the time of writing they have struggled to even match the lowly expectations of them this season.

Kevin Magnussen being presented along with from furthest left, reserve driver Esteban Ocon, team mate Jolyon Palmer and Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in February this year. Photo copyright GP Update/Sutton Images.

The year has been a long one for everyone involved, with Magnussen scoring only two points finishes from seventeen races at the time of writing, with four races remaining. He has managed to get on top of team mate Palmer, beating him 10-7 in qualifying and scoring the teams only points of the year.

Despite having the upper hand this year, it now appears increasingly likely the Renault line up for 2017 will not include Magnussen. Hulkenberg appears to be close to signing with the team, whereas the second seat has been strongly linked with Mercedes junior driver Esteban Ocon. He was on-loan with the team as reserve driver for the first half of the year, before taking on the second seat an Manor Racing.

Outside of Renault there are few remaining seats available, of which plenty of drivers are looking to fill. His most likely option may well be to effectively swap with Ocon at Manor, with other seats either requiring funding or they already have a driver close to signing.

Of course Magnussen does have options outside of F1 such as Indycar or sportscar racing, having contacts in both series from last year. It would be a huge shame however should be forced out of F1, for the problem would of been non-related to his driving. Elements such as politics and funding have almost always prevalent in Formula One, it’s a shame for many traditional fans when it forces a talented young driver out of the sport.

In my own opinion Kevin Magnussen is easily capable of being a grand prix winner given a car somewhat capable of it. Whilst the grand prix conveyor belt is always producing talented young drivers, it seems Magnussen has not been given a fair chance to show his full potential thanks to circumstances outside of his control.

If this is his last season in F1, he will unfortunately join a long list of very talented drivers who have found themselves unable to show their talent thanks to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like last winter, this one will be crucial to Magnussen and the future direction in his career. I for one hope it still involves F1.

Have you any thoughts on this article? Let me know your opinion in the comments section below, I would hugely appreciate it. Find me on Twitter @brfcjordan95.

 

 

Britain’s Mark Cavendish has already cemented himself in the history books as the most successful sprinter in professional cycling. After the 2015 Tour de France many however questioned whether his best days were behind him, after being outmatched by German rival Andre Greipel. Countryman Marcel Kittel was also anointed the fastest sprinter in the world, taken the title from Cavendish.

Despite the move to new team Dimension Data and the pairing with old team mates Mark Renshaw and Bernhard Eisel, Cavendish was an outside bet for stage victories behind the likes of Greipel and Kittel. In the space of three days the assumptions about Cavendish from the cycling media and insiders were blown wide open, as the Brit has claimed both the pure sprinters stages in the race, even managing a career first by earning the leaders yellow jersey after winning the opening stage.

Cavendish has once again proved his doubters wrong, something he is surely used to after being questioned at various stages of his professional career. The ‘Manx Missile’ has  already earned a major accolade this year with his day in the hallowed yellow jersey, can he do it again and win a gold medal in the upcoming Rio Olympics next month.

Mark Cavendish enjoying his day in the yellow jersey on stage 2 of this years Tour de France. Photo sourced from SkySports.com.

Much has been made about his track preparations this year, and many questioned whether it would hamper his road racing form going into the Tour. These worries and doubts have been blown away with his two stage wins already, with plenty of opportunities for Cavendish to add to his 2016 Tour tally.

After his success already in this years race Cav is now equal second with French hero and five time Tour winner Bernard Hinault  on 28 stage wins, now only six behind all time leader and cycling’s best ever rider, Eddy Merckx.  He will have plenty of opportunities to claim further victories, although the pressure is off the Isle of Man racer after already exceeding expectations in the opening days.

For fans of Mark Cavendish, the racing has already been thrilling. With a further two and a half weeks where he will have multiple further opportunities for stage victories, can he add to his impressive tally? Only time will tell.

Can Mark Cavendish claim further Tour de France stage victories this year? Let me know in the comments section and thank you for reading. Find me on Twitter @brfcjordan95.