Volland demands sensitisation to fears and pressure

Striker Kevin Volland of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen would like to see greater awareness of pressure and fears in football.

“We should talk about fears more often when it gets too much for us. No one should lose the fun of soccer,” Volland said in an interview with the news portal “t-online.de”.

More than ten years after the suicide of national goalkeeper Robert Enke, Volland is hoping for more communication. “In football today, everyone is eating fear into themselves. That is not good,” said the 27-year-old.

With increasing experience, the pressure is even greater, Volland reported. “I perceived it differently at a young age because I didn’t feel I could lose much. When things went badly, it was more likely that the older ones were confronted with the criticism. Now I’m one of those older people and I’m more in charge”, he said: “So the pressure has increased and accordingly it’s harder for me”.