Footballers with alcoholism disorders

Footballers with alcoholism disorders

The amount of people drinking alcohol in the current society is said to be 6/10, which means almost 6 out of 10 people drink alcohol. So what is with footballers and athletes and drinking?

They say that in order to be a top athlete you need to cut down on drinking and smoking. This is simply not true, since some of the greatest heroes in sports were more than just good drinkers. Of course we don’t claim that the alcohol helped them to achieve the top, but it didn’t slow them down that much either.

Let's take a look at the list of top five footballers and their alcoholism disorder.

5) Tony Adams (1966-….)

Arsenal and the national team legend of Mr. Tony Adams also labeled as an alcoholic due to his disorder. From the mid 80’s Adams was caught up in many bar fights, in 1990 he got sentenced to four months in prison for drunk driving. It is said that 1996 he turned his life around and started to fight alcoholism. His autobiography Addicted was a bestseller and he has his own addiction and recovery facility for sportsmen.

4) Paul Gascoigne (1967-….)

One of the most talented English football players in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. But Gazza who was even better known for his taste for every kind of addiction (eating, gambling, drugs and mostly alcohol). This led to multiple incidents and even suicide attempts. However Gascoigne is still holding on.

3) George Best (1946-2005)

A Manchester United legend, who had his best years as a talented striker in the Red kit, with whom he won the European Cup I in 1968. Best also got famous for his frequent appearance in the nightlife of Manchester. Love for alcohol and women gave him the status of a rock star. Best died in 2005 due to multiple infections.

2) Socrates (1954-2011)

A Brazilian who loved the good life just a little too much. A liver transplant in 2011 could not fix the stomach problems he was suffering from because of alcohol disorder. Later that year he died.

1) Diego Armando Maradona (1960-….)

Probably the one best football players ever. Well known for his cocaine addiction, but in his biography Maradona revealed that he was quite the drinker too. He said he could have been way better if he didn’t drink a bottle of whiskey every night. Still he managed to lead his ‘small’ Italian team Napoli to 2 national championships and a UEFA Cup. His biggest achievement was when he almost single handedly made his country Argentina world champions in 1986.