"Pocho" Lavezzi on failed Rosario Central return and addiction treatment | OneFootball

The former Argentina national team forward spoke about what his recovery process was like and recalled his childhood and the social environment around him.

Ezequiel Lavezzi revealed details about one of the most delicate moments of his life: his hospitalization for mental health issues at the end of 2023 and the process he began from then on. “I was admitted, I spent time in a clinic with people I didn’t know, and I could tell they had nothing to do with my world. All of that also makes you realize how you kept making mistakes along the way, and you say: I don’t want this,” he said during an interview with Olga.

The former player explained that the process was not easy and that he is still recovering: “At first I was very resistant, but then it ended up doing me good. I was there for a month. It was a lot and at the same time not that much, because it’s still there today and I’m still fighting.”

One of the turning points in his decision to change was a conversation with his son Tomás: “One of the things that marked me was my son sitting me down and telling me a lot of things, and I said: ‘No, what am I doing?’”. In that sense, he stressed the impact that moment had: “He was noticing things that make you say: ‘I can’t ruin my son’s life.’”

Lavezzi also acknowledged the key role his inner circle played in his recovery: “I lived with anxiety. It hit me all of a sudden, but luckily I had my family and very good people by my side who helped me make decisions to get better.”

In another part of the conversation, the former footballer looked back on his childhood in Villa Gobernador Gálvez and the social context around him. “The truth is, the neighborhood swallowed up almost all my friends my age. I consider myself lucky, and that football saved me. But the truth is that a great many of my friends died.”

Finally, he recalled a conversation with Diego Maradona during his time with the Argentina national team that deeply affected him. “When I was with the mother of my first son, one day I was feeling kind of down, and since I messed around all day, he realized I wasn’t my usual self. He asked me what was wrong, and I said: ‘No, honestly, look, this is happening, this and this, and I think I’m losing my family.’ He told me: ‘Leave the training camp and go get your family. Don’t make the same mistake I made, because family is the most important thing.’ I told him: ‘Honestly, thank you, but I’m staying here.’”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.