Alberto Cei

There are athletes who seem like world champions during training: every move is executed with perfect precision, they break personal records, and dominate every drill as if it were second nature. They leave coaches in awe, inspire teammates, and spark dreams of victory. But then comes the competition, the moment of truth, and something changes.

In competition, the fluidity they display in training seems to vanish. They may freeze, underperform, or simply fail to meet expectations. The contrast is striking, almost inexplicable.

Often, their issue isn’t physical: they are well-trained, technically flawless. The battle is in their mind. Pressure, performance anxiety, or the fear of falling short creep into their thoughts, slowing them down and making them second-guess themselves. The competitive environment—with its audience, judgments, and high expectations—becomes an emotional maze they struggle to navigate.

Sometimes, it’s an excess of perfectionism: they’re so focused on doing everything perfectly that they end up sabotaging themselves. The natural flow they exhibit in training turns into rigidity when their mind is consumed by the outcome.

Yet, these athletes embody the true complexity and allure of sports. They are living proof that performance isn’t just about muscles or technical skills—it’s about balancing mind, body, and emotions. They deserve admiration, not for what they achieve in competition, but for their determination, for the constant pursuit of overcoming that invisible barrier separating them from their full potential.

After all, every great athlete has faced a moment like this at some point. It’s not always about victories, but about the journey to finding peace within themselves, even under the spotlight.

10 questions the coaches should ask themselves to evaluate their ability to train athletes:

1. Do I have a thorough understanding of the theoretical and practical fundamentals of the sport I am coaching?
   • (Techniques, tactics, rules, and core principles).
2. Am I able to create a structured and personalized training plan for each athlete or team?
3. Do I understand the basics of physiology and biomechanics applied to sports training?
   • (Especially to prevent injuries and optimize performance).
4. Do I have effective communication skills to motivate, instruct, and correct athletes clearly and constructively?
5. Do I know how to manage the psychological aspects of athletes, such as stress, self-confidence, and mental focus?
6. Can I monitor and evaluate athletes’ progress in terms of physical and technical performance?
7. Am I knowledgeable about the principles of sports nutrition to guide my athletes (or refer them to specialists)?
8. Am I able to collaborate with other professionals (sports doctors, physiotherapists, nutritionists) to support my athletes?
9. Have I developed a clear coaching philosophy consistent with my personal and sporting values?
10. Do I maintain ongoing education by regularly updating myself on best practices, scientific research, and innovations in the field?

By honestly answering these questions, a coach can identify their strengths and areas where improvement is needed.

It’s not hard to understand that playing many matches creates a condition of difficulty that soccer teams engaged in both domestic leagues and international competitions must face. Often, this situation is the main explanation for underwhelming performances in national league matches.

I searched online for scientific articles on this topic but couldn’t find any, nor did I find media articles that went beyond an explanation rooted in physical and mental fatigue. In summary, we’re talking about professional athletes who run approximately 10/11 km per match, who are undoubtedly under competitive pressure, and who have access to the most modern and adequate physiological recovery methods. Yet, they still can’t play two consecutive matches in a week at a level deemed acceptable.

I wonder what the recovery program is like between matches. Everyone writes about how difficult it is to play too many matches, but no one explains what teams do to address this situation.

What I know is that when coaches are interviewed, they provide nonsensical explanations rooted in clichés, and in any case, the topic doesn’t seem to genuinely interest the media. Right now, Atalanta is being celebrated because they manage to win in the league as well, while most of the other Champions League contenders didn’t succeed this week. The explanation for all this is left to wizards, who don’t exist, while no one investigates the real reasons behind these differences.

Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R, et al. (2023). Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57, 1203-1209.

This is the first ever study to compile the extensive base of evidence regarding the effects of PA on depression, anxiety and psychological distress. We identified 97 systematic reviews, reporting the findings of 1039 unique RCTs, involving 128 119 participants. Findings suggest that PA interventions are effective in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety.

PA is effective for managing symptoms of depression and anxiety across numerous populations, including the general population, people with mental illnesses and various other clinical populations. While the benefit of exercise for depression and anxiety is generally recognised, it is often overlooked in the management of these conditions. Furthermore, many people with depression and anxiety have comorbidities, and PA is beneficial for their mental health and disease management. This underscores the need for PA to be a mainstay approach for managing depression and anxiety.

All modes of PA are effective, with moderate-to-high intensities more effective than low intensity. Larger benefits are achieved from shorter interventions, which has health service delivery cost implications–suggesting that benefits can be obtained following short-term interventions, and intensive long-term interventions are not necessarily required to achieve therapeutic benefit. The effect size reductions in symptoms of depression and anxiety  are comparable to or slightly greater than the effects observed for psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. Future research to understand the relative effectiveness of PA compared with (and in combination with) other treatments is needed to confirm these findings.

In conclusion, PA is effective for improving depression and anxiety across a very wide range of populations. All PA modes are effective, and higher intensity is associated with greater benefit. The findings from this umbrella review underscore the need for PA, including structured exercise interventions, as a mainstay approach for managing depression and anxiety.