Sports Reporter
Appearances
Global News Podcast
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions
You don't have to be a genius to run around and kick a ball. As the German manager Hans Meyer once said, in every squad there are five really stupid players. One of them would absolutely live under a bridge if he didn't play football. And when players do get in front of the camera, it can raise some eyebrows. Doesn't have a scooby on it.
Global News Podcast
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions
That's the Manchester City player, Jack Grealish, unable to point out where he's from on a map of the UK. But have a listen to his team-mate, Manwilla Kanji, doing some mental arithmetic and see if you can keep up.
Global News Podcast
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions
Well, a new study suggests that Akanji's quick thinking is part of a broader trend. It tested 200 professional players for different thinking skills and says they are not just smarter than the average person, but in the top 10%. Leonardo Bonetti from Oxford University is co-author of the research.
Global News Podcast
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions
And it's not just a few smart ones driving up the average. The study even goes as far to say that without being brainy, you wouldn't make it as a pro player.
Global News Podcast
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions
As a fan myself, I've noticed that football has become more intellectual. It's hard to watch a match on TV without being confronted with pages of statistics and graphs. It's even caught the curiosity of the chess grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen. Here he is speaking to the manager and former player, Pep Guardiola.
Global News Podcast
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions
That's nice. Yeah, he's right. For the rest of us, it's a hard pill to swallow. We know that footballers tend to be stronger, richer, even better looking. Perhaps it's now time to accept they're smarter too. And one final one.