Yet homesickness still threatened to hamper her sporting career. Copleand had moved just a few hundred miles she lived in the same country and could be home by train in a few hours. I moved away, I wasn't happy, but then I came home and had all my friends with me and I started to love training again," she recalled in 2012. Having already earned a Premier League winner's medal, Navas' story seems to have a happy ending.Ĭopeland and Hosking struggle to come to terms with their gold medal success
He was already 27 by this stage, making the move at least a few years later than expected for a player of his calibre. Navas finally left Seville in 2013, joining Manchester City for an initial fee of £17m. The following year he was part of the squad that won the World Cup, then helped the Spanish retain their European Championship title in 2012. In 2009 he ended his international exile. "I had reached a point that made me realise I needed to put up a fight from my side," said Navas about his attempts to overcome the inability to travel. Having missed out on the 2008 European Championships – which Spain won – he was determined to make the squad for the 2010 World Cup, and so ended his premature international retirement. Navas received a call-up to the senior Spanish national side, but the thought of travelling far from home left him depressed, and he announced he was retiring from international football before he had even earned his first cap. International responsibilities continued to affect him. But with Navas' continuing homesickness and anxiety, this seemed impossible. Under normal circumstances he'd have left the club, either for Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona, or a top-four side in England. By 2007 he had helped Sevilla win two UEFA Cups, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Copa del Rey. He even struggled when Sevilla travelled away for training. On a subsequent occasion, he pulled out of the team before even leaving for the camp. He lasted only a few days at his first training camp before a severe bout of homesickness saw him depart early. But when he was selected for the Spanish under-21 side, his problems began to manifest. Navas joined the club as a youth and broke into the first team while still in his teens. Until the relatively late age of 27, he played for his local club in this respect he was fortunate to be born in Los Palacios y Villafranca, a town half an hour up the road from La Liga heavyweights Sevilla. Clearly his problems went further than simply missing home at one stage it looked like severely restricting his career potential.Īnd Navas did not develop homesickness after spending a few seasons abroad. Though seemingly over the worst of his problems now, in the past Navas has suffered chronic homesickness that caused anxiety and even seizures. However, to simplify the Spanish winger's issues to 'homesickness' would be reductive. Perhaps the most famous homesick sports star is the World Cup-winning footballer Jesus Navas. It's disappointing that it has come to this but reluctantly we have accepted there is no option but to allow Sam to return to England." "While we have talked with him and tried to work through it he has now come back to us to ask for a release at the end of the season. "He came here excited about testing himself in the NRL and also experiencing living in a new country but, in the end, Sam has found it too much of a challenge being away from home," NZ Warriors managing director Jeff Doyle told the club's official website. However, it would also seem that it created extremely strong ties that Tomkins has struggled to cope without.
His family moved from Chorley to Wigan to support his career, a decision that bore fruit as he became a regular in the senior team and the national side. Tomkins has close links with the English town of Wigan and its rugby league club, also named the Warriors, having first joined their feeder side as a nine-year-old. I love being with the lads and it's a brilliant country to live in."īut that was not enough. "This is a great club and I can't say enough about the coaching staff. "I never imagined it would reach this point. "I miss home in ways I never thought I would," admitted Tomkins after his impending split with the Warriors was announced. They have to adjust, but they're doing so in the public eye. But when they are sportsmen or women, the challenges are different. Often, the adjustment to a new life can be extremely difficult not all of them stay the course.
More young people than ever are leaving their homes for work and education.
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