Play Like Your Football Heroes Q&A

August 31st 2021

Play Like Your Football Heroes is an exciting new book for young football stars in the making, from Matt Oldfield, the author of Ultimate Football Heroes, and former professional footballer, Seth Burkett. Find out how 20 famous footballers, past and present, approach the game and how you can use the information to improve your own performance. Authors Matt and Seth tell us more about their inspiration for the book. 

What made you fall in love with football over other sports?

MATT: To start with, it was my brother, Tom. He’s nearly three years older than me and I grew up wanting to do whatever he did, which was mainly kick a football around all day long! So that’s where my love began, but then I think it was the beautiful simplicity of the sport that really won me over; the fact that all we needed was a ball, a bit of space and something to act as goalposts, and we were all set to play like our Premier League heroes.

SETH: While my dad loves football and tried to get me to play or watch at every opportunity, I showed no interest in the sport until I moved into Mr Toth’s year 1 class at Barnack Primary School. Mr Toth was a massive Leicester fan (even before they won the Premier League) who loved watching Steve Claridge play. I started to take an interest in football in the hope that it’d impress Mr Toth. I’m glad I did. I soon found out that football is the best sport on the planet!

If you could play for any team in the world which would it be and why?

MATT: Can I cheat and pick two? I’m from Southampton and a Saints fan, so I’d love to stay there for a long time and become a local legend like Matt Le Tissier. But when the fans accept that it’s time for me to take on a new challenge while I’m still at my footballing peak, I’d love to play for Barcelona for a season or two, win a few trophies, then return to Southampton for the rest of my career.

SETH: Brazil! There have been so many iconic Brazilian players over the years. From Roberto Carlos’s thundering free kicks to Dida’s theatrics and Ronaldinho’s flip-flaps performed with trademark toothy smile, to play in the yellow and green of Brazil is to play with joy. The only problem is that I’m English! Ideally, I’d play for Brazil alongside my favourite club team, Peterborough United, at the same time. I’m pretty certain I’d be the first person to ever do that!

How has the ‘Train Smart, Think Smart, Live Smart, Play Smart’ philosophy helped you in your own lives?

MATT: I can’t say it’s helped me much on the football pitch, I’m afraid (too late for that!), but it has in other parts of my life. For example, the philosophy has certainly helped me to improve as an author. To be the best writer I can be, I know that it takes more than just lots and lots of writing; I also have to try out different styles and techniques, stay determined even when I’m stuck for ideas, read other writers and learn from them, and be aware of my readers and what they’re interested in.

SETH: I began to learn the philosophy over my years of playing academy football. I found that I was never the best player in my team, so I was always looking for other ways of gaining an advantage to stand out. Playing in the academy system meant that I had access to nutritionists and psychologists, who helped me to learn that it wasn’t just skills on the pitch that mattered. Over the years, I found that players who used to be average suddenly emerged as top talents, while those who had stood out as the best occasionally lost their standout ability if they didn’t train, think, live and play smart. Training sessions typically last two hours, which means that every day there are 22 hours left. It is what players do in those other 22 hours that matters.

At the age of 16 I was released by the Peterborough United Academy, which was devastating, especially as they were the team I supported. Fortunately, I had a good support network around me who encouraged me to think smart and see the setback as just part of my football journey. As a result, I decided to work even smarter to try to prove Peterborough wrong. That eventually enabled me to sign a professional contract in Brazil, which was an amazing feeling. Without the train smart, think smart, live smart and play smart philosophy, that never would have happened. 

Sometimes people aren’t comfortable playing a team sport. How would you encourage them to follow your philosophy in other ways?

MATT: Obviously Play Like Your Football Heroes is a book centred around football, but I think actually the key takeaway messages go way beyond team sport, and even beyond sport altogether. Because whatever your passion is – music, art, birdwatching, Lego-building, stamp collecting – to become the best you can be, you’ll need to train smart, think smart, live smart and play smart. You’ll need to practise the right skills, bounce back from every setback, eat and sleep well, and, most importantly of all, enjoy yourself. So yes, this is a book for everyone!

SETH: Team sports aren’t for everyone and that’s fine. It’s most important that people do hobbies they enjoy, otherwise training can feel like a chore. When you play with a smile on your face everything becomes much easier. The beauty of the train smart, think smart, live smart, play smart philosophy is that it can be applied to pretty much anything. If you don’t have a good sleep the night before going to school, for example, you may feel a little less focused than usual and find those maths problems a little trickier. Looking after your body and focusing your mind means that you’re more likely to perform to the top of your ability when it matters most.

Play Like Your Football Heroes: Pro Tips For Becoming a Top Player is out on 2nd September 2021.