The Most Intelligent Footballers

Though footballers might not be known about their very high intelligence, there are players who always think a few steps ahead and were able to direct the game as they wanted. They had great minds besides their football skills, which they use outside of the football pitch as well. These are the most intelligent footballers. 

You need a certain intelligence to every aspect of life, and it’s also true for football. To see through a situation and make the right decisions are crucial to create a chance or to prevent one. But besides the game, the following players all thought that education is important. Even if they’re going to play football, as their career would end at a point and it’s good to have some safe background. Some of them have a very high IQ, while others speak several languages and have degrees. 

University students and language experts are in the most intelligent footballers

Former Arsenal player Dennis Bergkamp was not only a great striker but also a player who used his brain. During his years at the Gunners, he studied at the University of Bath and got a degree in medical engineering. After his long and successful career, where he finished twice in third place in FIFA World Player of the Year award, he also did a coaching course. He became the assistant coach of Frank de Boer at Ajax, but he was sacked from his position in 2017. 

Simon Mignolet, who was the goalkeeper of Sunderland, Liverpool and currently Club Brugge also thought having a degree is a good idea. He studied Law and Political Science, which are not exactly easy subjects.  He also has a coffee shop in Belgium, just in case, and can speak four languages, English, German, French and Dutch. Looks like Belgian players are good at languages, as Romelu Lukaku can also speak five and can understand two additional. He also has a degree in Tourism and Public Relations. Probably he won’t need it for a long time, after being in top form after joining Inter. 

Smart footballers from earlier times

Brazilian Socrates was one of the greatest midfielders and the captain of the Brazilian national team in the 1982 World Cup,  with a very unique appearance thanks to his beard and headband. To be true to his name, he studied medicine at the University, he is one of the few footballers who is also a qualified doctor. After retiring, he practiced his profession in Brazil. He also wrote several articles for newspapers about sports, politics and economics. Socrates was a real intellectual, it’s a shame he never won the world cup with his team. In the next World Cup in 2022 Brazil is in the favorites again with the odds of 7.00 to win the tournament. 

The following footballer is a very special one, it’s enough to mention that he worked for NASA and had a degree in Mechanical Engineering. His name is Shaka Hislop, who might not be as famous as the so far mentioned footballers, but he had a great impact on English game. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Hislop played most of his career in the Premier League, for teams like Newcastle United and West Ham. As a goalkeeper he was part of the Trinidad team which appeared for the first time in the World Cup in 2006.  He worked in the campaigns against racism for which he received a special award in 2005. After his retirement, he is working now for ESPN as a commentator. 

Great and intelligent English footballers

In the most intelligent footballers we can find two great English players, Glen Johnson and Frank Lampard. The former Chelsea and Liverpool player Johnson is very good at math and had a degree from the Open University. He must have good business skills as well as he opened a real estate agency with his brother, where he is the Chief Executive Officer at the moment. Johnson was most successful with Liverpool where he spent six seasons and played in 200 games. He won the League Cup with the team in 2012. He was also part of the national team between 2003 and 2014. England is in the favorites in next year’s Euro2021, with the odds of 6.00. 

The footballer with the highest IQ

Regarding achievements, he can’t really compete with Frank Lampard though, who played during most of his career at Chelsea. He won three Premier League and four FA Cup titles, and also the Champions League in 2012. Lampard is the all-time leading goalscorer of the club with 211 goals. While he also scored 29 goals for England in his 106 matches. 

He was known by his teammates and rivals as an intelligent football player, but he has great skills off the pitch as well. As online sportsbook news in the UK reported as well, he scored more than 150 on an IQ test. He also has 11 GCSE’s all with the best grades including Latin. Lampard has returned to Chelsea as a manager this season, where he tried to build a team from young and experienced players. He is not doing bad so far with the team being currently in 4th place. Though the Premier League is on hold at the moment, you can make bets on virtual games at bet365. And to learn more about the site, you can also read our latest review about bet365 sportsbook. 

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