The suicide of Sergio Schulmeister impacted Argentine soccer that February 4, 2003. The atmosphere was still in shock due to the tragedy of Mirko Saric three years earlier and what happened to the goalkeeper of the First Hurricane called for a question that has no answer: Why ?
The account that was made was -erroneously- linear: why footballers who arrived (only 3% of the total number of players who try to reach the First Division), successful, with a contract, with a future, had taken their own lives. Nonsense, as if some factor guaranteed well-being. There are, of course, contexts. And there are, above all, human constructions, emotions and situations that complicate tables that were previously silenced, even more so in sports fields.
So, in the case of Sergio Schulmeisterwho had attempted suicide in 2001 and later was admitted to a mental health center that she begged her family to hide “because if not I won’t play anymore”, what happened in 2003 was the culminating expression of a painting Terrible that today it exists as much as yesterday, with the substantial difference that in these times the sports institutions serve more and better, understanding that sportspeople are, essentially, people.
Schulmeister was born on April 30, 1977 in Colonel Suarez. His first club was Banco y Negro, from that Buenos Aires city, from where he jumped to the inferiors of Boca, where it was formed, but could not make its debut. He did it in Defensores de Belgrano and then continued his career in Atlético de Rafaela and San Miguel to finally fulfill his great dream of playing in the First Division: he was in Huracán, on August 18, 2002.
Six months later he took his own life. Hugo Schulmeister, his brother, load up to today with what could have been done and was not done. AND Darío Gigena, his former partner in the “Globo”was the first of Sergio’s acquaintances to arrive at the apartment on 800 Colombres Street at the request of Carlos Babington, then president of the Parque Patricios club, concerned that the goalkeeper he hadn’t turned up for a friendly match or answered the phone, which ended up alerting them. They both told the story TN.
Sergio Schulmeister. The goalkeeper born in Coronel Suárez committed suicide on January 4, 2003 in Buenos Aires, when he was making a save in the Primera de Huracán (DYN, TONY GOMEZ).
Hugo and Sergio had a very difficult childhood. Born in Coronel Suárez, with a father who died in a very short time after being diagnosed with cancer and a mother without education or tools for life who formed a new couple with a man who did not accept the brothers, who were first placed under guardianship from a cousin who had alcohol addiction problems, so the final destination was a children’s home in the city where they were born.
What is it like growing up in a children’s home?
It was quite a difficult process maybe since we were kids the Sergio thing started to unleash, who was there until he was 16 and I was there until I was 18. We were very grateful to that home because if not, I don’t know what would have happened to us. Also, two blocks from there was the Blanco y Negro club, where we spent a large part of that stage and where Sergio played until the fifth division.
And how does Sergio go from a club that plays in a regional league to Boca?
-He had the opportunity to travel to Rosario as an assistant to a teacher at a school in Newell’s, and there Víctor Hugo Sivarelli and Jorge Griffa saw him, they gave him a test, they were delighted and told him not to sign because in 10 days they would They were going to Boca and that’s how it was, they called him and he started. He did all the lower ones, he reached the fourth, He trained with Diego Maradona, but in the end he did not sign a contract with the club and went to Defensores de Belgrano, then to San Miguel, Atlético Rafaela in Nacional B and there he made the leap to First Division with Huracán.
Sergio Schulmeister with Diego Armando Maradona (Photo: Gentileza familia Schulmeister).
What was Sergio like?
-He was always a very respectful guy, very educated, a guy from the interior who knew what work and sacrifice were, that represented him. To this day, many people who knew him continue to tell me and highlight the quality of person he was, and he was very excited to be able to succeed as a footballer.
Before the day she took her own life, she had made a suicide attempt. Were you able to talk to him at the time?
-Yes, it was in 2001, when he was in Rafaela. At that time he was having a bad time with her partner, he was in Santa Fe and she was in Buenos Aires and she said that he felt alone. That was the first alert and we admitted him to a mental health clinic.
How did that episode and that hospitalization affect your professional life?
-He asked that it not be revealed because He thought that it could affect his career, that he was not going to play anymore, but unfortunately it came to light. While he was with that treatment, Sergio was another person, we noticed it. Time passed, he seemed to be fine and some time before he died, he said that this was going to be his year, that everything would be different, you could even see another energy in his voice when he spoke and that was when he got the chance to sign with Hurricane and play in Primera.
There were no signs…
-No. I remember that the last time I saw him was on a trip that he made to Suárez, a very special one, and I remember that I said goodbye to him and he was very enthusiastic and excited. Over time I understood that this trip he made was a farewell because He did things that he had never done, like asking to go see my mother, share a barbecue, visit a lot of people from whom I was far away, but at that moment you don’t suppose that you are planning something…
What sporting moment were you going through then?
-It was someone else. He was going to start the preseason with Huracán, I had a tremendous desire. I remember that we went to the coast and I went out to train early every day, it was very demanding.
What was it like for you on February 4, 2003, the day your brother committed suicide?
-That day I was working and one of the people who had taken care of us at home came to see me. It was that person who told me that ‘a Huracán goalkeeper committed suicide and it seems to be Sergio’. It was a very difficult moment, it was even all confusing, so I put on the TV and they talked about the Huracán goalkeeper. I hoped it was someone else and not him, and When it was confirmed my world fell apart. Twenty years have passed and every February 4 and April 30, which was his birthday, are very difficult days.
What place did the concept of mental health have then?
-It was not talked about. Today, thank God, most of the institutions understood that it is very necessary. I, who am president of the Blanco y Negro club, have implemented it. We work with social workers, psychologists and nutritionists because we want to contain the boys and detect problems in time.
Are you left with unanswered questions?
–Many. Out there today one has the wisdom of experience, one knows what he went through, what we had to overcome and I think the great aggravating circumstance was having moved to Buenos Aires at such a young age. It was a different era, settling there alone was difficult and those things condition a person who also brought a very heavy past. We understood that Sergio had a disease. He was a very private person and it was hard for me to even talk to him. I tried not to crash, but When he saw certain situations, he would tell him and he would get angry and it was a while without talking to you.
What is the question that weighs on you the most?
What could have been done and was not done. I was 20 years old and I was a boy, but today I think that perhaps something more could have been done from us as a family, but above all from football. There was no psychological work and well, I wonder what would have happened if there had been a containment.
Sergio Schulmeister. The goalkeeper who made the save in Huracán committed suicide on February 4, 2003 (Photo: Courtesy of the Schulmeister family).
Dario Gigena, the first to arrive
20 years passed and Dario Gigena still gets goosebumps remembering That February 5, 2003, the day after the suicide of Sergio Schulmeister, when at the request of Carlos Babington he arrived at the goalkeeper’s apartment and the policeman who was on duty in the area already fenced off for the expert opinion told him: “The kid hanged himself.”
Were you Sergio’s friend?
-No, he was not a friend, but he was a partner and I went to look for him almost every day because his house was on the way to the club. in hurricane we sat at the same table that we also shared with Diego Cochas and Pablo Andújar. That day I went to the apartment to look for him and the policeman told me what had happened, everything fell apart, it was very sad for everyone.
What did you do when the policeman told you what had happened?
-I was frozen, but I managed to call the doctor and the president of Huracán and told them ‘come to Schumi’s house now because they are telling me that he hanged himself’. They didn’t take long to arrive and after a while all the comrades were there, there were a lot of people.
What was Sergio like?
-Very quiet. At that time, Huracán was not doing well and the group was getting together, so we tried to put a good vibe on it. I saw him as normal, although he didn’t speak, that’s why it was very hard because you also never expect something like that because you also have no indication that he could happen.
Sergio Schulmeister. The goalkeeper who made the save in Huracán committed suicide on February 4, 2003.
How did what you experienced impact your life?
-Evil. One is marked.
Did you get any kind of help?
-No. I never went to a psychologist for that situation, but I did later, because of a separation I had and that’s when I understood the importance of asking for help. Today I work with boys in training and I always recommend talking, asking for help, tell what they live, what happens to them, what they feel because containment is everything. Before, mental health was not talked about and it was even hidden, but today it is known how important it is to attend to this facet because not all the boys arrive and you have to be prepared for that.
