A former Orlando Pirates star has now opened up about his emotional state that led to his alcohol indulgence during his playing days.
Brighton Mhlongo featured on the third episode of the Bettor Pod with Lorenz Kohler and highlighted some negative experiences during his career, and also revealed that he reached a point where he realised that he had a problem and decided to figure out a way to deal with it.
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Despite the glitz and the glam that comes with being a professional footballer, it is quite easy to forget that they are also humans with emotions, that matter, when one looks beyond the fog of fancy cars, luxurious house and expensive vacations overseas.
After touching on the unfortunate and abrupt way his career was forced to come to an end because of a problem he had with his eye, Mhlongo reflected on a time in his life and how it caused him to suffer from depression.
The goalkeeper parted ways with Orlando Pirates in July 2017 and revealed that a build up of grief led him to the addiction problem, which subsequently led to his departure from the Buccaneers.
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me. It really did like in a big, big massive way because I remember at some point I was very depressed, to a point that there were many instances where I was happy only on the field for a certain period then as soon as I step out of that field I couldn't find myself anymore. I'd look in the mirror and be like 'who is this guy?' That's when I started now indulging too much in alcohol and everything.
"It was a build up of the grief because it's no secret that my first Soweto derby as part of the team I lost my dad, then a couple of years down the line we lost Senzo (Meyiwa), then after that we lost coach Alex who was a good mentor to me. He was like a father to me.
"Then everything that kept happening, I'd park everything and had to show up because that's what you're expected to do in this world especially when you're playing for a massive club like Orlando Pirates. We don't care about what you're going through at that moment, its all about as soon as you don the jersey and step into the field of play you have to wear it with pride, with that smile.
"So, it's all good when you guys are grinding out results or winning, going to the national team, it's all good. But as soon as you start losing, you start facing a whole lot of backlash. Now you start having these conversations to say, 'Do these people even understand what we're going through as a team or individually?'
"You start building up some form of resentment towards almost everyone that's associated to the club, or anything that's got to do with football. I lost the desire, I lost the passion; I lost the hunger.
"I think that's when I was really in a very dark place, and that's when I had an honest conversation with the chairman to say: 'look, I really need help'.
"The team did assist me [with the drinking] — rehab, this and that and what not — I said 'it's got nothing to do with that; it's deeper than that'.
"It's just a sense of I have to acknowledge first that I have a problem and how do I deal with it. Then when I realised that the environment was not conducive for me to start that healing process, that's when I realised I need a change of scenery."
Mhlongo went on to play for Chippa United, Bidvest Wits, Tshakhuma, and Marumo Gallants before calling an end to his career in 2021.
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