Forlan, forehands and what football can learn from tennis
It is no great surprise to learn this week that the well-travelled former footballer, Diego Forlan, is on the tennis circuit, competing in the doubles at the Uruguay Open next month. Before hitting the road to Independiente, Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and beyond, Forlan played tennis from a young age. He always credited some of his football strengths, notably that acceleration and ability to turn quickly that helped him win the Golden Ball for best player at the 2010 World Cup, to a childhood growing up at the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club in his home city of Montevideo. They also played football there, and he moved from one sporting love to another.
And now back, at 45. Many retired players from South America are passionate about padel, the mix of tennis and squash that is increasingly popular in the UK. During the World Cup in Qatar, I was on a neighbouring padel court to Ronaldo, the Brazilian one, who was not the slimmest but had all the awareness and technique to dominate the court. The great Argentinian, Gabriel Batistuta, now in his mid-50s, was also playing on another court and he is seriously good at padel, so intelligent and swift in his movement. Glenn Hoddle was a good tennis player.
Michael Boulding played junior Wimbledon tennis and tournaments around the world as a teenager before turning to football as an attacker with the likes of Mansfield Town, Barnsley and Bradford City, as well as a less than fruitful season at Aston Villa, barring involvement in their Intertoto Cup excursion. After his glittering football career, Paolo Maldini played in a Challenger Series tournament in Italy, but lost in the first round. Unlike him. He usually reached finals.
Goalkeepers have a strong connection with tennis. Hugo Lloris, the former Tottenham keeper now at LAFC, hails from a family of tennis players in Nice and Monte Carlo, idolised Pete Sampras and was nationally ranked as a schoolboy in France. Jan Oblak, the Slovenian at Atletico Madrid, plays tennis and talks about movement on the line in preparation for receiving serve being useful to his goalkeeping.