Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels had a terrible season in 2014/15, and so did the rest of his team. Good teams have slow starts all of the time, so it was hard to take their slide seriously at first. Then the team was in the relegation zone in week 10, and then dead last all the way into week 19, and it was impossible to call what was happening at Dortmund just a slow start; it was a full blown crisis.
Injuries and a loss of confidence once they conceded a goal have been sighted as two of the main problems that sent the 2013 Champions League finalists into a tailspin. Whatever the causes, it was a frustrating time for everyone on the team, and apparently Hummels took proceedings especially badly.
In a recent interview with Kicker, the defender came clean about a season that was “the worst [he had] ever played in [his] life.” One that saw him lose control of his weight.
"I was carrying the weight of eating out of frustration, and since the first half of the season was so frustrating, I got myself caught in a bit of a vicious circle."
A vicious circle indeed. The defender ate so much, so early, and so often (Dortmund lost 7 of its first 10 games) that he was doomed from the start. The World Cup winning defender and one of the best center-backs in the world was reduced to a fraction of his powers.
"It felt hefty, and it looked hefty. It was catastrophic for me in terms of my weight.”
Now the defender has learned his lesson, and gained control over his weight.
"I actually do weigh less now," he added. "I'm coming back in a totally different condition to 2014.”
"I've eaten well and probably run a bit more during my holidays this summer than I did in all the last years added together."
As shocking as it is to hear of a world-class athlete struggling with their weight, it is more encouraging to hear of one overcoming such adversity. The “vicious cycle” that Hummels talks about is one that affects people all over the world, and hopefully after hearing his story those people can understand that they are not alone, or failures, because even the “best” of us succumb to frustrations and hardship.
Follow me on Twitter: @yetly
