Robert Arboleda opens up after his unauthorized absence: depression and a goal in the Sudamericana

A goal can mean a lot of things. For Robert Arboleda it felt almost like a release. The Ecuadorian center back scored in Sao Paulo's 1-1 draw with Bolivar in the first leg of the round of 16 in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, and he used the moment at the microphone to share something that goes well beyond soccer.

The story goes back to April. Arboleda left the Sao Paulo squad's training camp without permission to travel to Ecuador. For several weeks there was no official word from him, only videos circulating on social media that fed all kinds of speculation. He didn't resurface until May, and the club handed him a punishment that kept him out of several matches, partly as discipline and partly because he needed to rebuild his fitness after a month without training normally.

Now, months later and with a goal on the scoreboard, the defender decided to speak. In an interview with ESPN Brazil, he made clear the episode had nothing to do with any internal conflict at the club.

It has nothing to do with anyone on the outside. There will always be people talking, but let's leave that in God's hands. My problem was personal, it wasn't with the board or the coaching staff. It wasn't with the coach at the time or with my teammates, because I care a lot about themRobert Arboleda

What stands out, and what gives the whole episode another dimension, is that Arboleda didn't hide the reason behind it: he spoke openly about a bout of depression he went through at the time, one that led him to make a decision he now admits hurt his image with the fans.

I left a message on my Instagram. At that moment I wasn't thinking about anything; I was going through depression. When you're depressed, you don't think about anything, I just wanted to escape and get away

The goal as a starting point

Is one goal enough to change people's perception? Probably not overnight, and Arboleda himself seems to understand that. That's why he made a point of apologizing again, something he had already done months earlier, but which he repeated with the same sincerity after the match against Bolivar.

The defender knows the relationship with the fans won't be fixed with a single celebration. He talked about hard work, patience and a process that is only just beginning, without promising anything he can't deliver.

He also had words of thanks for the people who supported him through this stretch, starting with coach Dorival Junior, whom he described almost as a father figure, and continuing with the team of professionals helping him through his personal recovery. Arboleda spoke of improving "little by little," of adjusting, and of relaunching a career that, for a stretch of the year, seemed to have been put on hold.

The goal in the Sudamericana was just one chapter. The full story, the one that truly matters to Arboleda, is still being written match by match, with the support of his teammates and the patience of a fan base that, as he himself admits, still has reasons to be upset.