"I had to choose between playing and dying, or leaving football and living"

Life has changed completely for good old Draguisa Gudelj. The former Cordoba player, and brother of fellow footballer Nemanja Gudelj, gave an interview to ‘Relevo’ after announcing his retirement from professional football.

"I am alive thanks to God, who has given me another chance. I am very grateful to still be here and without any problems. I'm getting better, especially mentally, because physically I don't have any problems. The mental side is affecting me a lot, but the professionals have told me that it's normal, that it's a big change of life. Little by little I am accepting my new destiny", he began.

On the moment of making the decision: "I have many emotions at the same time, my last year and a half has been like a rollercoaster. The decision was made immediately after the second time I fell to the ground. That's when I knew it was over. Besides, I had already told myself that if it happened a second time, my career was over. My family didn't even want me to play again after the first one. My brother was very clear to me: "If you feel something strange, you leave football quickly", and that was a promise to him. I don't let myself be beaten so easily, I think we are that way from our origins, but there was no choice: either I go back to play and die, or I quit football and live. The months before publishing it were difficult because I knew it, but people didn't, and I received a lot of messages...".

He admitted that retirement was never entirely clear to him: "The truth is that maybe you think I'm crazy, but there were moments alone at home when I thought about doing it again... I didn't think about fear, you don't value life because I've always been focused and dedicated to football and you don't see anything else. I was thinking "what am I going to do now?"

Gudelj reaffirmed his belief in God to explain why he is still alive after the events: "I am and I was, we are from a very believing family of Orthodox Christians, we learnt that since we were little. And yes, I ask him why me... He didn't answer me directly, but he did ask me myself. There is a phrase that says that God breaks your path so that the path doesn't break you. He probably saw that I wanted to continue giving everything and my heart was going to suffer too much, even losing my life at the age of 30. This is what had to happen. There are many players who have stayed on the pitch... I still don't know why it happened to me, but one day I will look back and thank him for giving me this new path.