Gianluca Pessotto was a decorated left-back / left-midfielder for Juventus, now the Team Manager of Juve.  Just a few days ago, he fell from the fourth floor balcony of the Juventus headquarters in Turin, apparently an attempted suicide bid.
Juventus are in the midst of “Calciopoli”, hearings about corruption in the Serie A where Juve allegedly arranged for referees to adjudicate over particular matches held by other teams. ¬†The outcome for Juventus is unclear, but the team may be relegated to Serie B or even Serie C1, which would be an unmitigated disaster, and would see the team lose most, if not all, of it’s players.
Pessotino‘s role in the saga is unclear, but the pressure he is under is clear. ¬†Suicide can never be justified, but Pessotino must have felt that his entire world was collapsing around him, at the very time when many of the players he played with and currently manages are beating the world’s best at the World Cup.
While suicide is never a solution, never an option and usually a far more destructive and negative act than the alternatives, there must be a strong empathy for anyone who even considers such an option. ¬†Contrasting the incredible joy enveloping the soccer world right at this moment must be the acknowledgement and sadness around Pessottino‘s dark, impossible state of mind.
That being said, this image brought a tear to my eye. ¬†Pessottino‘s former Juventus teammates holding up this banner on the field at the World Cup: PESSOTTINO – SIAMO CON TE (PESSOTTINO – WE ARE WITH YOU).
