In rock groups it’s the drummer: the maverick who’s a little dangerous and not always on the same page as everyone else. In football, it’s the goalkeepers.
Take Wojciech Szczęsny, for example. The Juventus man is three quarters of the way to 100 Champions League appearances – and, much to his own surprise, he’s also a composer and piano player. He’s married to pop and TV star Marina Łuczenko, otherwise known as his muse. “It’s very easy: my motivation was my wife. I had a piano in my house and I wanted to impress her, so I started to learn and really enjoyed it. For a while I only played when no one was listening. I really don’t have an ear for music, so I was happy I managed to learn anything at all!”
It transpires that the Polish international keeper also unlocked a creativity he never knew he possessed. “I remember when my wife was recording an album, she was humming songs. One time she sent me a sample to check out and I just started to write. She asked me, ‘Wait… you really wrote this?’ It wasn’t planned! I guess I must have had too much free time.”
Asked if he could use his piano skills to pick out the Juventus club anthem, Szczęsny says, “Not by ear but if you gave me the notes…” However, don’t expect a Wojciech-Marina duet any time soon. “No, I respect her work. I don’t want to see her on the pitch and she won’t see me on stage!”
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has to make sure he’s removed his gloves before he tries to get a tune out of his instrument of choice: the Brazilian is a talented guitar player. He’s jammed with Jamie Webster, the Scouse musician with two albums to his name who’s best known in Anfield circles for writing the terrace favourite Allez, Allez, Allez. In his session with Webster a few years ago, Alisson revealed that he even took his guitar along for his Reds initiation song.
Our next team selection: Manchester United’s David de Gea. His credentials for this dream team are his percussive skills – and when we spoke to him at United’s Carrington training ground, there was a neat bit of showmanship to enjoy too. Our question: “Why heavy metal?” De Gea, with a contented look on his face, unzips his training top. “Look at this: a Slipknot T-shirt! This was not pre-planned at all, just to be clear!”
He freely admits that he doesn’t get to dominate the sound system in the dressing room, but nor is he embarrassed about being a lone wolf. “I get why people don’t share my love for rock. But it energises me, you know? It suits who I am.” But aren’t the drums one of the hardest instruments to learn? “I first started playing quite a few years ago. But you’re right: it’s very difficult to combine your hands and your feet.
“I admire anyone who can play. I listen to a wide variety of music: Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down and Bullet for my Valentine, but Frank Sinatra too, plus Spanish music. Before a match, on the bus on the way to the stadium, I listen to a bit of everything you can think of.” And if our super group needs a dancer? “Well, I’m not a bad mover given how big I am. I have a good sense of rhythm. I mean, I don’t dance like Michael Jackson but I’m OK, honestly. I’m a nice dancer, decent.”
Now we need vocals. Fiorentina’s Pierluigi Gollini released his first single, Rapper coi Guanti (Rapper with Gloves) in 2018, under the name Gollorius. “I wanted to do my own thing, to express my passion for football and music,” the then Atalanta keeper told us in issue 3. “I’ve always been fascinated by that world and that’s when I started to think about doing something of my own.”
His single was released the day he signed for the Bergamo side. “Writing depends on the moment: when you’re more down or when you’re really happy, those sorts of things come up. If, at the end of the season, there’s the chance to write music, why not?”
It’s not just the current crop of keepers who have a penchant for playing. Providing additional percussive power is former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech, who just left his role as technical and performance adviser at Stamford Bridge. A few years ago he said, “I always carry a pair of drumsticks in my bag because you never know where you can find the time to do a little bit. Usually, when we go to an away game, I have a little practice pad with me too.”
Then there’s Jose Manuel Pinto, the Barcelona shot-stopper you might not have heard of but who was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning side: Victor Valdes’s back-up was at the club for seven seasons and is said to be one of Lionel Messi’s best friends. Since retiring he’s had a hankering for a greater portion of the limelight – which he achieved with a spot in the top ten of the Billboard charts. The track, La Habana, featured in the 2017 film The Fate of the Furious and was produced by Pinto, who has a degree in sound engineering and a masters in musical production.
Last but not least, a nod to a man with more than 100 million record sales. World-famous crooner Julio Iglesias spent four years in Real Madrid’s academy system as a goalkeeper, at a time when Los Blancos ruled Spain and Europe. He got as far as training with a first team that included Ferenc Puskás, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Paco Gento, before a bad traffic accident the day before his 20th birthday. That finished any chance of a career and left him relearning to walk for nearly two years – hence his decision to take to a different stage.
So there you have it: a gaggle of gigging goalkeepers. If we ever manage to get them all in one room for a session, you’ll be the first to know. Make sure you save the date…
In rock groups it’s the drummer: the maverick who’s a little dangerous and not always on the same page as everyone else. In football, it’s the goalkeepers.
Take Wojciech Szczęsny, for example. The Juventus man is three quarters of the way to 100 Champions League appearances – and, much to his own surprise, he’s also a composer and piano player. He’s married to pop and TV star Marina Łuczenko, otherwise known as his muse. “It’s very easy: my motivation was my wife. I had a piano in my house and I wanted to impress her, so I started to learn and really enjoyed it. For a while I only played when no one was listening. I really don’t have an ear for music, so I was happy I managed to learn anything at all!”
It transpires that the Polish international keeper also unlocked a creativity he never knew he possessed. “I remember when my wife was recording an album, she was humming songs. One time she sent me a sample to check out and I just started to write. She asked me, ‘Wait… you really wrote this?’ It wasn’t planned! I guess I must have had too much free time.”
Asked if he could use his piano skills to pick out the Juventus club anthem, Szczęsny says, “Not by ear but if you gave me the notes…” However, don’t expect a Wojciech-Marina duet any time soon. “No, I respect her work. I don’t want to see her on the pitch and she won’t see me on stage!”
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has to make sure he’s removed his gloves before he tries to get a tune out of his instrument of choice: the Brazilian is a talented guitar player. He’s jammed with Jamie Webster, the Scouse musician with two albums to his name who’s best known in Anfield circles for writing the terrace favourite Allez, Allez, Allez. In his session with Webster a few years ago, Alisson revealed that he even took his guitar along for his Reds initiation song.
Our next team selection: Manchester United’s David de Gea. His credentials for this dream team are his percussive skills – and when we spoke to him at United’s Carrington training ground, there was a neat bit of showmanship to enjoy too. Our question: “Why heavy metal?” De Gea, with a contented look on his face, unzips his training top. “Look at this: a Slipknot T-shirt! This was not pre-planned at all, just to be clear!”
He freely admits that he doesn’t get to dominate the sound system in the dressing room, but nor is he embarrassed about being a lone wolf. “I get why people don’t share my love for rock. But it energises me, you know? It suits who I am.” But aren’t the drums one of the hardest instruments to learn? “I first started playing quite a few years ago. But you’re right: it’s very difficult to combine your hands and your feet.
“I admire anyone who can play. I listen to a wide variety of music: Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down and Bullet for my Valentine, but Frank Sinatra too, plus Spanish music. Before a match, on the bus on the way to the stadium, I listen to a bit of everything you can think of.” And if our super group needs a dancer? “Well, I’m not a bad mover given how big I am. I have a good sense of rhythm. I mean, I don’t dance like Michael Jackson but I’m OK, honestly. I’m a nice dancer, decent.”
Now we need vocals. Fiorentina’s Pierluigi Gollini released his first single, Rapper coi Guanti (Rapper with Gloves) in 2018, under the name Gollorius. “I wanted to do my own thing, to express my passion for football and music,” the then Atalanta keeper told us in issue 3. “I’ve always been fascinated by that world and that’s when I started to think about doing something of my own.”
His single was released the day he signed for the Bergamo side. “Writing depends on the moment: when you’re more down or when you’re really happy, those sorts of things come up. If, at the end of the season, there’s the chance to write music, why not?”
It’s not just the current crop of keepers who have a penchant for playing. Providing additional percussive power is former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech, who just left his role as technical and performance adviser at Stamford Bridge. A few years ago he said, “I always carry a pair of drumsticks in my bag because you never know where you can find the time to do a little bit. Usually, when we go to an away game, I have a little practice pad with me too.”
Then there’s Jose Manuel Pinto, the Barcelona shot-stopper you might not have heard of but who was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning side: Victor Valdes’s back-up was at the club for seven seasons and is said to be one of Lionel Messi’s best friends. Since retiring he’s had a hankering for a greater portion of the limelight – which he achieved with a spot in the top ten of the Billboard charts. The track, La Habana, featured in the 2017 film The Fate of the Furious and was produced by Pinto, who has a degree in sound engineering and a masters in musical production.
Last but not least, a nod to a man with more than 100 million record sales. World-famous crooner Julio Iglesias spent four years in Real Madrid’s academy system as a goalkeeper, at a time when Los Blancos ruled Spain and Europe. He got as far as training with a first team that included Ferenc Puskás, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Paco Gento, before a bad traffic accident the day before his 20th birthday. That finished any chance of a career and left him relearning to walk for nearly two years – hence his decision to take to a different stage.
So there you have it: a gaggle of gigging goalkeepers. If we ever manage to get them all in one room for a session, you’ll be the first to know. Make sure you save the date…
In rock groups it’s the drummer: the maverick who’s a little dangerous and not always on the same page as everyone else. In football, it’s the goalkeepers.
Take Wojciech Szczęsny, for example. The Juventus man is three quarters of the way to 100 Champions League appearances – and, much to his own surprise, he’s also a composer and piano player. He’s married to pop and TV star Marina Łuczenko, otherwise known as his muse. “It’s very easy: my motivation was my wife. I had a piano in my house and I wanted to impress her, so I started to learn and really enjoyed it. For a while I only played when no one was listening. I really don’t have an ear for music, so I was happy I managed to learn anything at all!”
It transpires that the Polish international keeper also unlocked a creativity he never knew he possessed. “I remember when my wife was recording an album, she was humming songs. One time she sent me a sample to check out and I just started to write. She asked me, ‘Wait… you really wrote this?’ It wasn’t planned! I guess I must have had too much free time.”
Asked if he could use his piano skills to pick out the Juventus club anthem, Szczęsny says, “Not by ear but if you gave me the notes…” However, don’t expect a Wojciech-Marina duet any time soon. “No, I respect her work. I don’t want to see her on the pitch and she won’t see me on stage!”
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has to make sure he’s removed his gloves before he tries to get a tune out of his instrument of choice: the Brazilian is a talented guitar player. He’s jammed with Jamie Webster, the Scouse musician with two albums to his name who’s best known in Anfield circles for writing the terrace favourite Allez, Allez, Allez. In his session with Webster a few years ago, Alisson revealed that he even took his guitar along for his Reds initiation song.
Our next team selection: Manchester United’s David de Gea. His credentials for this dream team are his percussive skills – and when we spoke to him at United’s Carrington training ground, there was a neat bit of showmanship to enjoy too. Our question: “Why heavy metal?” De Gea, with a contented look on his face, unzips his training top. “Look at this: a Slipknot T-shirt! This was not pre-planned at all, just to be clear!”
He freely admits that he doesn’t get to dominate the sound system in the dressing room, but nor is he embarrassed about being a lone wolf. “I get why people don’t share my love for rock. But it energises me, you know? It suits who I am.” But aren’t the drums one of the hardest instruments to learn? “I first started playing quite a few years ago. But you’re right: it’s very difficult to combine your hands and your feet.
“I admire anyone who can play. I listen to a wide variety of music: Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, System of a Down and Bullet for my Valentine, but Frank Sinatra too, plus Spanish music. Before a match, on the bus on the way to the stadium, I listen to a bit of everything you can think of.” And if our super group needs a dancer? “Well, I’m not a bad mover given how big I am. I have a good sense of rhythm. I mean, I don’t dance like Michael Jackson but I’m OK, honestly. I’m a nice dancer, decent.”
Now we need vocals. Fiorentina’s Pierluigi Gollini released his first single, Rapper coi Guanti (Rapper with Gloves) in 2018, under the name Gollorius. “I wanted to do my own thing, to express my passion for football and music,” the then Atalanta keeper told us in issue 3. “I’ve always been fascinated by that world and that’s when I started to think about doing something of my own.”
His single was released the day he signed for the Bergamo side. “Writing depends on the moment: when you’re more down or when you’re really happy, those sorts of things come up. If, at the end of the season, there’s the chance to write music, why not?”
It’s not just the current crop of keepers who have a penchant for playing. Providing additional percussive power is former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Čech, who just left his role as technical and performance adviser at Stamford Bridge. A few years ago he said, “I always carry a pair of drumsticks in my bag because you never know where you can find the time to do a little bit. Usually, when we go to an away game, I have a little practice pad with me too.”
Then there’s Jose Manuel Pinto, the Barcelona shot-stopper you might not have heard of but who was a key part of Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning side: Victor Valdes’s back-up was at the club for seven seasons and is said to be one of Lionel Messi’s best friends. Since retiring he’s had a hankering for a greater portion of the limelight – which he achieved with a spot in the top ten of the Billboard charts. The track, La Habana, featured in the 2017 film The Fate of the Furious and was produced by Pinto, who has a degree in sound engineering and a masters in musical production.
Last but not least, a nod to a man with more than 100 million record sales. World-famous crooner Julio Iglesias spent four years in Real Madrid’s academy system as a goalkeeper, at a time when Los Blancos ruled Spain and Europe. He got as far as training with a first team that included Ferenc Puskás, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Paco Gento, before a bad traffic accident the day before his 20th birthday. That finished any chance of a career and left him relearning to walk for nearly two years – hence his decision to take to a different stage.
So there you have it: a gaggle of gigging goalkeepers. If we ever manage to get them all in one room for a session, you’ll be the first to know. Make sure you save the date…
