According the World Health Organisation’s website, more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression. Lately, we hear more and more athletes openly speak about the condition their are struggling with (Naomi Osaka, Kevin Love, Wilfried Zaha…). Depression is pulling a rising number of people downwards and it is affecting all aspects of life.Last year, the former Wales, Liverpool and Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy revealed that he had been diagnosed with depression. Now, after a period during which the Welshman managed to fight against the condition successfully, issue has resurfaced.Sun, 19/9, 19.30: (2.95) STANDARD (3.30) ANDERLECHT (2.45)Bellamy had to step away from being Anderlecht assistance manager and working with his former team-mate Vincent Kompany. Bellamy was appointed Under-21 boss is June 2019 when Kompany took the role of player-manager of the Belgian giants.Kompany said via Belgian outlet HLN that the 42-year-old Bellamy has now been given time to continue his fight with the issue. “Craig was a unique coach and person for us. He has been very important to us in the development of guys like Jeremy Doku, Yari Verschaeren, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and so on.”But now the monster of the depression is there again,” he sadly stated. “We need to give Craig time to make a full recovery. He set himself a date and did not meet it.”Health is above football. Our door will always be open to him.”Salah scores his 100th Premier League goal in Liverpool win over LeedsBellamy opened up on his battle with depression in 2020, when he revealed that he had been taking medication for the previous three years and discussed how his injury issues as a player had worsened his condition.”For the last three, four years I’ve been diagnosed with depression, I’m a man of depression,” he bravely admitted when speaking with Sky Sports.”I can’t get away from that. I’ve been medicated for three years and this is the first time I’ve ever spoken about it.”The Welshman also lifted the lid on how his mental health was during his playing career which ended in 2014 at hometown club Cardiff.”I’ve had ridiculous highs and massive lows.” Bellamy added. “The injuries didn’t help. The injuries were so, so difficult to try to overcome. I felt tortured. This wasn’t what I expected my football career to be like. I didn’t want to sprint, it hurt too much.”Wed, 15/9, 22.00: (1.60) LIVERPOOL (4.00) MILAN (5.70)”During my career my depression was worse, way worse, the emotional side… I’d come home and wouldn’t speak for three days,” he explained.”I had a wife, young family and I literally wouldn’t talk. I would shut myself away in a room and then I would go to bed on my own. That was the only way I could deal with depression.”Football’s only here a short time, that’s why you probably see a lot of footballers – more from our generation – do struggle with it.Bellamy played close to 300 Premier League games and played 78 times for Wales. He wore the Liverpool shirt in two spells along with Newcastle, Celtic, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham after breaking through the youth teams of Norwich and Coventry.
