Leaving Andalucia: Jesus Navas and the gamble of the summer

What if he isn’t truly over his home sickness?

Guillem Balague, a Sky Sports columnists and one of the most respected La Liga journalists around, tweeted recently that Navas’ homes sickness was a thing of the past. But even he admits that “not everybody adapts abroad”:

This is a whole different ball game to spending six weeks in South Africa with 22 other Spanish players who speak the same language and enjoy the very same home comforts that Navas does. This isn’t a training camp surrounded by Spanish-speaking friends after which he has the mental assurance that he will be returning to his beloved Seville. This is a full time relocation, 1120 miles away, to an entirely different country.

I’ve been lucky enough to have travelled to Seville, and I have spent time living in Manchester, so I know both cities. I feel confident telling you that there won’t be a whole lot of home comforts for the Spaniard in the drizzly North West of England. Manchester is a cold, grey city with rain that seemingly never stops from September to June. The people are very English, with thick accents and a penchant for lager and fish and chips.

Seville, on the other hand, is a beautiful city full of beautiful people. The colours of the spectacular buildings shimmer off the always shining sun, and the smell of spices and paella fill the air. The city is teeming with beautiful churches and bridges stretching out over a clear blue river. The canal in Manchester, by comparison, is a sickly brown.

Given the drastic contrast of the two cities, it will be a tremendous struggle for Navas to adapt to his new home. Fitting in to a new environment, all while trying to perform for his new team, will take a great deal of mental strength.

Leading sports psychologist Daniel Abrahams agrees that Navas’ past means he still represents something of a risk to City, despite the confidence that he has successful beaten his condition. In an interview with Goal he said:

“… it is a risk if someone has had these problems. It is a risk for Manchester City…Common triggers [for psychological issues] for footballers are poor performances or team-mates he doesn’t get on with. If he starts off poorly, he will have to show a lot of mental strength…If he doesn’t perform well they could replace him or he’ll stay on the bench. Any of that kind of stress can trigger anxiety, mild depression or even severe depression.”

It will not be easy for Navas to prevent the demons of his past from resurfacing. Playing for Manchester City carries with it enough pressure on its own. The constant expectation of excellence is a heavy weight for a player to bear, especially for a player like Navas who comes from a club that worshipped him as a legend.

He will have to win over the crowd and his teammates, and he will have to do this all while combating his own anxiety issues living in a new country for the first time in his entire life. He has to adapt to a completely new culture both on and off the field, and they will both be as challenging, stressful and demanding as each other. The pressure is really on Navas to make this work because if the move doesn’t work out, the huge step forward Navas took in his career by moving to City will be followed by an even greater step back.

At this point nobody, not even Navas himself, knows whether he will be able to take on this challenge successfully. If he can overcome his fears, though, and adapt to life both as a citizen and a Citizen of Manchester, Jesus Navas will be the success story of the 2013/14 season.

For his sake, and for Manchester City’s, let’s hope he will be just that.

Navas homesickness,thing of the past!! But not evrybdy adapts abroad.He’ll B looked after by Latin players.His 1st season will b super ull c

— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) June 4, 2013