http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0,13854,1186951,00.html#article_continue
CLEVER FOOTBALLERS REALLY DO EXIST
"The supremely gifted Brazilian midfielder of the 1980s, Socrates, was also a physician," says Richard Curran. "Does anyone know of any other players who have reached such lofty career heights away from football? While not wanting to be elitist, in these times of footballers disgracing themselves off the pitch, an XI chosen on the merits of their off-the-field achievements might be interesting."
We had plenty of suggestions for this, confirming our suspicions that we are fuelling a dangerous subculture of footballing trivia obsession, but on the plus side we had plenty to choose from. And let us tell you, having sat through many a gormless Sky interview, reading about a bunch of footballers with more than a bit of grey matter between them was a pleasant relief.
So, without further ado, meet the starting line-up for Brains FC:
Albert Camus: Philosopher, playwright, novelist and Algerian international 'keeper (before tuberculosis set in, that is).
Taribo West (aka Pastor West): Minister at a Milanese Shelter in the Storm and Nigerian World Cup star
Slaven Bilic: Lawyer, linguist and former Everton defender.
Dr Pablo Alfaro: Your friendly local doctor and Seville's official leg-breaker.
Igor Stimac: A man with fingers in several pies. He owns Croatia's biggest chains of restaurants and bookmakers, runs Split's most popular nightclub (Masters, since you ask), was the writer and singer of Croatia's longest running No1 single, models occasionally and works as a part-time politician. Oh, and he's something of a Derby legend as well, if Jordan Glossop's email is anything to go by.
Socrates: Doctor and Brazilian star (see above)
Simen Agdestein: Chess Grand Master by the age of 18 and former Norwegian international.
Fabio Pecchia: Registered accountant and Bologna's midfield maestro. According to Michael May, Fabio even gets the first Wednesday of every month off to file his team-mates' tax returns.
John Colquhoun: Sports journalist, one time rector of the University of Edinburgh, and forward for Celtic, Hearts and Sunderland amongst others.
Brian McClair: The former Manchester United star studied for a maths degree at Glasgow University while playing for Motherwell.
Iain Dowie: An aeronautical engineer and British Aerospace employee before turning to football, when he played for Northern Ireland and just about every London team there is before turning his hand to management with Oldham and Crystal Palace.
And just for good measure, we've got some subs: including David Weatherall, who has a first in Chemistry from Sheffield, Barry Horne (who also has a Chemistry degree) and Gudni Bergsson, who is a qualified lawyer.
Then there's Norway's Svein Gjedrem. He's currently the head of the Norwegian Central Bank no less, but according to Gustav Bjerke, he spent the late 1960s and early 1970s playing football for Viking and Lyn.
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Iain Dowie
It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to manage Palace...or does it?
Also, had no idea Albert Camus was also an accomplished footballer. Just imagine if he hadn't picked up tuberculosis!
CLEVER FOOTBALLERS REALLY DO EXIST
"The supremely gifted Brazilian midfielder of the 1980s, Socrates, was also a physician," says Richard Curran. "Does anyone know of any other players who have reached such lofty career heights away from football? While not wanting to be elitist, in these times of footballers disgracing themselves off the pitch, an XI chosen on the merits of their off-the-field achievements might be interesting."
We had plenty of suggestions for this, confirming our suspicions that we are fuelling a dangerous subculture of footballing trivia obsession, but on the plus side we had plenty to choose from. And let us tell you, having sat through many a gormless Sky interview, reading about a bunch of footballers with more than a bit of grey matter between them was a pleasant relief.
So, without further ado, meet the starting line-up for Brains FC:
Albert Camus: Philosopher, playwright, novelist and Algerian international 'keeper (before tuberculosis set in, that is).
Taribo West (aka Pastor West): Minister at a Milanese Shelter in the Storm and Nigerian World Cup star
Slaven Bilic: Lawyer, linguist and former Everton defender.
Dr Pablo Alfaro: Your friendly local doctor and Seville's official leg-breaker.
Igor Stimac: A man with fingers in several pies. He owns Croatia's biggest chains of restaurants and bookmakers, runs Split's most popular nightclub (Masters, since you ask), was the writer and singer of Croatia's longest running No1 single, models occasionally and works as a part-time politician. Oh, and he's something of a Derby legend as well, if Jordan Glossop's email is anything to go by.
Socrates: Doctor and Brazilian star (see above)
Simen Agdestein: Chess Grand Master by the age of 18 and former Norwegian international.
Fabio Pecchia: Registered accountant and Bologna's midfield maestro. According to Michael May, Fabio even gets the first Wednesday of every month off to file his team-mates' tax returns.
John Colquhoun: Sports journalist, one time rector of the University of Edinburgh, and forward for Celtic, Hearts and Sunderland amongst others.
Brian McClair: The former Manchester United star studied for a maths degree at Glasgow University while playing for Motherwell.
Iain Dowie: An aeronautical engineer and British Aerospace employee before turning to football, when he played for Northern Ireland and just about every London team there is before turning his hand to management with Oldham and Crystal Palace.
And just for good measure, we've got some subs: including David Weatherall, who has a first in Chemistry from Sheffield, Barry Horne (who also has a Chemistry degree) and Gudni Bergsson, who is a qualified lawyer.
Then there's Norway's Svein Gjedrem. He's currently the head of the Norwegian Central Bank no less, but according to Gustav Bjerke, he spent the late 1960s and early 1970s playing football for Viking and Lyn.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Iain Dowie
It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to manage Palace...or does it?
Also, had no idea Albert Camus was also an accomplished footballer. Just imagine if he hadn't picked up tuberculosis!
