May 22, 2017

Are you one of the many people who assumes all footballers are thickos? If so, prepare to have your mind blown.

While the round leather game’s elite names are some of the most recognisable faces on the planet, they’re not always viewed as bulwark of intelligence and responsibility. However, as always, there are exceptions to this rule and the intelligence of some players may surprise you! Here are some these footballers with significant college degrees

Top on our list is Juventus defense marshall, Giorgio Chiellini who graduated from the University of Turin, receiving top marks in a Masters degree for Business Administration. The Juventus defender presented his thesis on  “The Business Model of Juventus Football Club in an International Context” before examiner and tutor Professor Pietro Paolo Biancone and supervisors Professor Alberto Gallatari and Stefano Bertola, Juventus’ Head of Public Affairs.

Next, Glen Johnson, former England and Liverpool right back is a Maths degree holder. Johnson was a part-time student at the Open University, which is an institution that supports distance learning. Speaking about his studies in 2012, Glen Johnson said: “I was good at maths at school but I didn’t really think of anything else but football. My teachers used to say, ‘You ain’t going to achieve anything’. So I was thinking, ‘I’ll show you’.”

Let’s walk back to a while ago, Oliver Bierhoff was one of Germany’s most celebrated strikers of the 90s, scoring 37 goals in 70 international appearances and lifting the European Championship trophy for his country at Euro 96. Away from the game, Bierhoff is yet another player who obtained a degree in Economics, this time at FernUniversität Hagen, which specialises in distance learning.

Nevertheless, Former Manchester United and Holland keeper may have won 27 club honours throughout his professional career but one of Edwin van der Sar’s most prized possessions is the Sports Management degree he obtained once he hung up his gloves. On the back of his degree, van der Sar has secured a role at his former club Ajax as director of marketing and he said: “You thought as a player you had it tough but it’s nothing compared to working in an office doing a proper job.

Also, World Cup winner Juan Mata made headlines for all the right reasons when he moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2011, as he revealed that he was studying for two degrees. In an interview with UK newspaper The Daily Mail, Mata said he was studying degrees in Sports Science and Marketing at Madrid’s Universidad Camilo Jose Cela.

Saving the best for the last is Brazilian Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio De Souza Vieira De Oliveira simply known as “Socrates” (19th February 1954 -4 December 2011). Touted as one of Brazil’s greatest player ever. He really did live up to his name sake the iconic Greek philosopher. Did you know that the 1983 south American footballer of the year remarkably completed a doctorate in Medicine whilst playing football professionally and practised medicine after his retirement. In addition to that Socrates also held a PhD in Philosophy. He is considered as probably the smartest man to play the game.