THE CASE OF AS ROMA’S GENNARO NIGRO
PURPOSE OF THE CASE STUDY
Your environment influences your state of mind and utilizes your natural resources. A challenging environment can shift your emotions from happiness to stress, leaving you feeling fatigued as a consequence. When our state of mind or emotions undergo a "negative" change, our energy levels, health during that time, and the quality of our decisions decline. This deterioration can lead to feuds, social exclusion, and a dip in performance.
In football, players, like the rest of society, experience this phenomenon. They also bear the burden of managing what I refer to as the alternative world—a world where they possess another identity, an additional set of experiences, and a distinct set of laws, consistently being placed on trial. This alternative reality serves as an emotional furnace, and I have witnessed players fail to navigate this environment over the last two decades—not due to a lack of talent, but because of a sense of overwhelm.
Given this scenario, I opted to conduct a case study with one of the players I have been working with. The objective is to illuminate the experiences of a professional player, their processes, and the essential elements required. This initiative aims to assist players in articulating themselves, help parents understand the rollercoaster ride of football and how their child manages the experience, and enable coaches to perceive how the environment they create impacts the player.
MEET GENNARO
Gennaro Nigro is a 20 year old young man who is a Professional Football Player for AS Roma, in Italy.
I have conducted 10 one-on-one sessions with Gennaro on a weekly basis. With his permission, I have opted to write a case study about the process. Confidentiality is maintained regarding the details of our sessions, with only the emotional journey being shared.
WHAT’S COVERED
1. Gennaro's Relationship with His Emotions
2. How His Emotions Affected His Performance
3. The Professional Relationship Between Gennaro and Myself
4. The Complexity of the Process
“Football makes me feel alive, gives me purpose, and my love for this game allows me to grow everyday.”
FINDING GENNARO’S OBJECTIVE
Gennaro shared the problems he was facing at Roma. While recounting his experiences, I observed that he didn't articulate his emotions. Despite undergoing a challenging period, his primary focus was on football, believing that once his football situation improved, everything would be okay emotionally.
In his specific situation, this belief proved accurate. However, if Gennaro were to persist with this strategy in the future, his emotional well-being would become contingent on external factors. This would result in him assuming the position of a victim when confronted with future challenges—a strategy reminiscent of former Manchester City player Michael Johnson, albeit at a more extreme level.
This strategy is prevalent in the world of football, as players, knowingly or unknowingly, seek solace in performing well. The fear of risks poses a threat to both creative play on the pitch and personal growth off the pitch, resulting in a stagnation of progression.
Engaging in football provides an escape from off-field issues, and when confronted with challenges within the sport, avoiding risks on the pitch becomes a way to steer clear of potential on-field problems, such as losing possession. Both actions are undertaken in the name of survival. Considering football is fundamentally a game of problem-solving, players who consistently shy away from risks also evade solving problems, thereby diminishing the value they bring to the team.
We initiated efforts to help Gennaro build a stronger relationship with his emotions, aiming to enhance his resilience in managing external factors. The content he brought to our sessions revolved around football, but the underlying context was emotional, and that's where our focus remained. As a byproduct of his emotional development, we witnessed an improvement in his performances over time. This marked the inception of a new approach for Gennaro.
“Expressing my emotion is foreign, I try to give a short answer to move past it.”
LOOKING AT GENNARO’S PROGRAMS
Initially, Gennaro utilized the sessions to express his concerns. Subsequently, we delved into the reasons and ways in which his football career was impacting him, working towards operating more effectively within it. The conversation shifted from merely discussing what was happening to him to examining his responses and exploring the most effective ones.
This process presented a challenge because Gennaro's approach was logical; at times, the way he conveyed information made it seem as though an external person were reporting on him. For Gennaro to comprehend his responses, he needed to connect with the emotions underlying them. This proved to be a struggle as I discovered that Gennaro had employed this strategy throughout his life. When confronted with adversity, he habitually suppressed emotion, allowing logic to take the lead. We discussed the history of this strategy and its impact on both health and performance. Gennaro also shared how it was linked to his childhood.
“Kevin helped me to develop ideas and not put words in my mouth.”
COMMUNICATING IN HIS LANGUAGE & CATERING TO HIS PREFERENCE
As I reviewed previous notes, I discerned a pattern in Gennaro's communication—he frequently employed metaphors. To better connect with him, I decided to adopt the use of metaphors myself, entering into his conceptual world. It wasn't clear whether he used metaphors out of habit or to avoid confronting the direct intensity of a situation, but I followed his lead.
Gennaro is an individual who takes action, and individuals like him resonate with practical and embodied forms of intervention. He solidified this preference through his proactive approach. He purchased the Soccology book, read it swiftly, took notes, inserted visual markers, and prepared questions to discuss with me. A dedicated learner, he enjoyed engaging in practical tasks, thinking logically, and, in his words (referring to the CBT activities I assigned him), "liked having something to reference instead of relying on memory."
Unsurprisingly, he actively participated in the assigned tasks. In addition to our sessions, I assigned homework that Gennaro eagerly discussed at the beginning of our follow-up sessions.
He was in his head, relying on logic to discuss aspects of his experience that would typically elicit an emotional response. Given this situation, it was crucial for me to meet him at that intellectual level (using logic) and guide him towards reconnecting with his body (to enhance rapport with his emotions).
“Kevin prepared me for the future, even the things I was unwilling to hear and that’s one of the most import skills in life. Empowering me.”
ON THE PITCH
During Gennaro’s games, finding someone who covered more ground than he did was a challenge. What he was experiencing didn't impact his effort, but it did influence his attitude towards calculated risks, leading him to avoid shouldering the burden of risk in various ways.
OUTCOMES
After completing the 10-week program, Gennaro developed an awareness of how skillfully he tends to choose logic over emotion. This heightened awareness facilitated the capacity to analyze current behaviors, delve into the associated emotions, and trace them back to their roots.
For instance, during one of my post-program check-in calls, Gennaro extended a conversation about managing emotions within one context to identify the historical pattern of his emotional behavior in another context. Not only did he discern a pattern in his behavior, but he also traced it back to two pivotal moments and a key person in his childhood.
His growth was evident in a conversation we had about the emotional state of football players and the condition of the football system (below). This content is now integrated into my work with football clubs.
Please note: The clips are not from my one-to-one sessions with Gennaro. This is an open conversation involving Gennaro, Roma, Belgian U19 international Keres Masangu and myself.
“I found the sessions powerful. Kevin’s approach was a key role in developing my understanding of myself.”
WHAT NEXT?
Now that football has resumed, and the world returns to its pre-COVID schedule, we will witness the paths Gennaro takes.
I've provided Gennaro with some methods to further develop his outcomes. Although our sessions have concluded, we still maintain contact through "check-in" sessions. Since our sessions, he has transitioned from Roma to Potenza in Serie C, then to Real Salt Lake in the MLS, and now to ADO Den Haag in the Eerste Divisie.
A MESSAGE FOR PLAYERS…
As you know, football is a career of ups and downs, and the best way to survive is to prepare and develop emotionally. While you train hard for years to enhance your physical abilities, subjecting your body to considerable stress to meet the demands of the game, it's equally essential to consider what you do emotionally to navigate those demands.
The reality of football is that you will face a loss of form, be dropped, experience rejection, encounter managers who don't communicate, deal with coaches abusing their power, go through a dip in form, struggle to adapt to different environments, get injured, feel isolated, and more. Developing emotional literacy will empower you to manage these challenges more effectively.
Numerous players do not reach the highest level not because they lack physical capabilities, but because they encounter psychological struggles. Don't be that person; you can enhance your capacity to thrive within the emotionally intense space.
I hope you enjoyed reading this case study.