Léo Scienza says Championship 'is a bloodbath' after troubled path to Southampton

Southampton midfielder Léo Scienza has described battling depression after his father’s death and enduring a difficult early career, including a stint in Sweden’s fifth tier, and said the Championship "is a bloodbath." Scienza says his father died on his 20th birthday and that he locked himself in his room for two months.

He was rejected by most major Brazilian clubs and earned about £20-£40 a game before unscrupulous agents persuaded him to go to Sweden, where he ended up at Fanna, in the fifth tier, about 80km north of Stockholm. Problems with salary and living arrangements left him so short of money that "my dream of being a professional football player turned into working to have something to eat the next day," he said.

He says he cried almost every day in Sweden but began to recover, scored 10 goals that season and attracted interest that led to Schalke’s youth teams and later a career in Germany. Scienza joined Southampton from Heidenheim for about £8m last summer, scored the winner at home to Sheffield United on Wednesday and is preparing to face Portsmouth on Sunday.

He described the Championship as "very intense" and full of investment and pressure. Scienza also says psychology has been crucial: he began therapy after the death of a godfather and credits his psychologist with helping him process loss and panic attacks.

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Sports, Léo Scienza, Southampton, Championship, Heidenheim, Sweden