The untold hardships in the life of a professional footballer

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar. A spectacle for all football fans. The fulfilment of a dream for all football players. But, in the limelight, it’s difficult to reveal all the effort, the hardships and the sacrifices that a person pursuing a career in the sport’s highest level is forced to make. What are things like in the team’s locker rooms? What are those crucial elements that a player needs to have to become a successful professional? What does it take to get there or potentially even higher?

The number of players who are able to make their dreams come true and earn a high-paying contract from a club which is enough to provide them and their families with a comfortable life may appear to be high, considering the large number of professional clubs that exist throughout the world, but in reality, they're only a bucket in the ocean of people who are out there, training every single day.

As for the life of those professionals who are able to reach the highest level, most of the time things a lot more impressive than they actually are. Especially in this day and age, with the rise of social media and the internet.

Joining us to discuss these issues today are UEFA Euro 2004 winner, Stelios Giannakopoulos (pictured above), Asian Cup 2015 winner with the Socceroos, James Troisi and sports psychologist from Brisbane's Mental Notes Psych, Dr. Matthew Ahlberg.