With the situation as it is at the moment, a number of inventive articles have come to the forefront as many of those in the sports journalism industry have either had to find something to fill their time and column inches, or they have had the rare opportunity to potentially cover something they may not normally get the chance to do on their usual beat.
Because of the current pandemic sweeping the globe, the return dates for sport are akin to playing a game of roulette as predicting the date as to when things can get back to normality is very much like trying to pick the number the small ball will land on. Predicting a month? That’s a lot like throwing a stab in the dark and choosing between red or black. For those not too familiar about roulette, this cool website can help you to find more info.
Well, this particular writer has taken the opportunity to take a look at something he might not normally be able to do and list five footballers that have become known for something other than what they did on the pitch!
1/ Terry Venables
Former England and Barcelona manager, Terry Venables, decided to look elsewhere whilst still in football management and took the decision to go into a number of different business ventures. However, ‘El Tel’ was hardly successful as those gambles failed to take off.
A tailors business in the West End of London with former Chelsea team-mates George Graham and Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris went completely south, whilst a later venture as a nightclub owner as he bought Scribes West in Kensington ended in disaster for him as well.
2/ Vinnie Jones
Hardman Vinnie Jones is perhaps best known for carrying his footballing persona with him to Hollywood’s bright lights and the big screen as the former Wimbledon, Leeds United and Chelsea midfielder saw his profile increase.
3/ Socrates
Footballers can sometimes be stereotyped as the type of person who has all the ability with their feet but are a card short of a full deck when it comes to academia. Some of the things that have been said, whether in an interview or as a co-commentator, have left many feeling being smart and playing the beautiful game is something that are not mutually exclusive – in fact, it appears to be an almost impossible equation.
However, something clearly got lost along the way as Brazilian legend Socrates proved the point that footballers can also be some of the most intelligent people in the world as he was once a medical doctor. In fact, the former attacking midfielder actually managed to obtain his medical degree whilst playing football at the same time!
4/ David Ginola
Many footballers, unfortunately, decide to turn to alcohol a little too much once their playing days are over and then find it difficult to break away from the horrible addiction. However, former Newcastle United favourite, David Ginola, decided to become a winemaker once his playing days were over and even won a silver medal at a competition in 2008 for a rosé wine produced at his vineyard!
5/ Djibril Cisse
Mr Cisse actually came up in an article a little while ago about how he has regrets about having to retire from the beautiful game a little earlier than he would have liked. However, he still managed to find something to keep him going for a little bit after his playing days eluded him; DJ’ing.
The former Liverpool and Sunderland forward, who also went on to become a fully-fledged international for France on a number of occasions, also managed to have his own clothing line as well as being a fashion model, whilst also keeping a job as a DJ for the likes of Mariah Carey. How some of them live!
