LONDON - One in four professional footballers said they suffer symptoms of anxiety and depression in a new study into the sports largely unexplored "dark side" of mental illness. Air Jordan 10 Wholesale . The mental health of recently retired professional footballers was even more worrisome, with one in three reporting signs of anxiety and depression. Some 300 current and former professionals — from the Netherlands, Major League Soccer, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand — took part in the study for the players union, FIFPro. While football can draw on reams of scientific study about players physical injuries, little research has previously been done into their mental health, and mental health problems have remained very much taboo in the sport, FIFPro chief medical officer Vincent Gouttebarge said. "There is definitely some dark side of professional football," he said in an interview. "We dont talk about mental health issues in football, or we didnt talk about this issue," he added. "Its quite a macho culture so people do not talk about it." Gouttebarge said the studys findings suggest that professional footballers are no less prone to mental illness than other younger people in the general population. He said that might surprise fans who believe footballers live comfortable, worry-free lives, with media attention often focusing on the wealth of the most successful players. "Contrary to what people think, professional footballers experience psychological problems just like other groups in the population," Gouttebarge said. Among the 180 active footballers who responded to the lengthy questionnaire, 10 per cent reported symptoms of distress, five per cent reported signs of burnout and three per cent said they suffered from low self-esteem. Nearly 20 per cent reported problems with alcohol, which Gouttebarge said could include binge drinking and regularly drinking too much, and seven per cent said they smoked. The 121 former professionals who responded on average had 12-year playing careers and have been retired for five years. Fifteen per cent showed signs of burnout and 18 per cent signs of distress. One in three reported drinking problems, 12 per cent smoked, and 39 per cent reported suffering from depression and anxiety. Gouttebarge said that could include worrying, mood swings, difficulties sleeping, feeling stressed, not being sociable or a combination of symptoms. "Mental illness seems to occur among former professional footballers more often than in current players, and more often than in other populations. Consequently, mental illness among former professional footballers cannot be underestimated and should be a subject of interest for all stakeholders in football," the study said. Retirement was "really a critical period," with players abruptly losing the structure of regular training and the support of being in a club, Gouttebarge said. "You have to find a new life," he said. "It can put you under a lot of stress." Long-term injuries and surgeries that take players out of the game and away from close, regular contact with teammates can also be factors in mental health problems. Being forced to stop playing professionally because of injury or because clubs wont offer another contract can be particularly hard to cope with, Gouttebarge noted. "This has been recognized in other sports as a huge cause of mental health issues," he said. "The guy who is willing to retire or to stop his career is really (in) a different kind of situation to the one who is forced to retire." He called the study "a good first step" toward identifying the scope of mental health issues in football. The survey is expanding to players in France and from French-speaking nations in Africa, with plans to also study players in Spanish-speaking countries and Japan, Gouttebarge said. Air Jordan 10 For Sale .com) - Whew! North Dakota States reign as the three-time FCS national champion was pushed to the limit by South Dakota State on Saturday, but freshman R. Air Jordan 10 China . -- Canadian mens rugby coach Kieran Crowley has made four changes to his starting roster for Saturdays Pacific Nations Cup clash against the United States. http://www.cheapairjordan10.com/ . Cleveland released the troubled wide receiver on Wednesday, an expected ending after Bess was arrested in January for assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport and other bizarre behaviour.PHILADELPHIA -- If the Flyers continue to play as well as they did on Saturday, theyll have little trouble making the playoffs. Matt Read scored a pair of goals to lift the Flyers to a convincing 4-0 victory over the short-handed Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. "We were looking for a game like that a long time ago where we make sure that everybody follows the game plan and everybody plays 60 minutes," said Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who had a pair of assists. "It feels pretty good." Scott Hartnell and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for Philadelphia, which is in the middle of a tightly bunched pack of teams battling for a playoff spot. The Penguins, who are comfortably atop the Metropolitan Division, were shut out for the fourth time this season. Pittsburgh played without its third- and fourth-leading scorers, Chris Kunitz (lower body) and James Neal (concussion). The Flyers neutralized Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. "They did a lot of what we expected," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "We werent able to handle it, and in all aspects of the game we werent good." Besides Kunitz and Neal, the Penguins continued to be without top winger Pascal Dupuis (knee) and defencemen Kris Letang (stroke) and Paul Martin (hand). But Bylsma wouldnt use injuries as an excuse. "We have capable guys, guys who have done well for us before," he said. "We have to find ways to win within our roles regardless of whos in there. We werent able and ready to do that today." Philadelphia played like the first-place team in a matchup between two the leagues top rivals. "We want to finish higher and want home-ice advantage," Giroux said. "Its there for us to take but we have to keep playing like this." The Flyers came out with a high-energy attack from the opening faceoff in one of their best efforts of the season. Steve Mason made 25 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 23rd of his career. "Everything felt very under control," Mason said. Leading 2-0 after one period, Philadelphia made it 4-0 with a pair of second-period goals. Lecavalier made it 3-0 when he scored on a breakaway after taking a stelllar pass from Luke Schenn. Cheap Jordan 10 For Sale. Then, Read tallied his second of the game by finishing a beautifully executed 3-on-1 with Giroux and Sean Couturier with 17 seconds remaining in the period to give Philadelphia a 4-0 advantage. Couturier passed to Giroux in the slot and Giroux faked the shot before going back to Couturier, who whipped it across the ice to a wide-open Read. Read tapped home the goal past a sprawling Fleury, who was fooled by Girouxs fake. "Its hard to miss those when theyre right on your stick," Read said. "I benefited from those two making a great play." Mason kept Pittsburgh scoreless with a strong second period that included a point-blank stop of Jayson Megna six minutes into the period and a solid save on Simon Despres try from the left circle with 33 seconds left. The Flyers jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two nice goals in the first period. Hartnell opened the scoring with a power-play goal 3:50 into the game by one-timing Girouxs pass from the slot. The shot changed directions when hitting Brooks Orpiks stick and went off Fleurys left shoulder and in. A little more than four minutes later, Read scored a short-handed tally on a one-timer from close range after taking a deft pass from Couturier from behind the net and firing it over Fleurys left shoulder. The Flyers unveiled an 8-foot, 1,300-pound statue of Hall of Fame coach Fred Shero prior to the game on the former site of the Spectrum, which is adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center. Shero coached the Flyers for seven seasons and won a pair of Stanley Cups, in 1974 and 75. Sheros son, Ray, who is the Penguins general manager, was among those who attended the pregame ceremony. Notes: Kunitz, who has 59 points on the season, warmed up but didnt play. Kunitz crashed into the goal post in the third period of Tuesdays game against Washington. Bylsma was noncommittal when asked whether Kunitz would play Sunday. ... G Ray Emery returned to his role backing up Mason. Emery hadnt dressed since suffering a lower body injury Feb. 27 against San Jose. ... Crosby, who leads the NHL with 88 points, entered with 75 points in 30 career games against Philadelphia. ... The teams will play a rematch at 12:30 Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. 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