Tim Wiese and the Footballers Who Have Excelled at Other Sports
Since hanging up his gloves, German goalkeeper Tim Wiese has made steps towards becoming a professional wrestler. According to the Daily Mail, the former Werder Bremen shot-stopper will make his WWE debut this weekend at an event in Frankfurt.
To celebrate Wiese's move from the 18-yard box to the squared circle, here are 10 footballers who have excelled at other sports.
Andriy Shevchenko
1 of 10Plenty of footballers enjoy golf during and after their careers, but few attempt to go professional on the links.
In 2013, former World Player of the Year Andriy Shevchenko made his professional debut in the Kharkov Superior Cup.
Sadly, he missed the cut for the weekend when he finished 40 strokes off the lead.
Denis Compton
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Denis Compton made his debut for Arsenal in 1936, winning the league with the club in 1948 and the FA Cup in 1950. He also played in several England games.
In the midst of his football career, the speedy winger was also an extremely talented cricketer who captained Middlesex and England.
Clive Allen
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The kicker position in American Football is often occupied by someone with a soccer background.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers striker Clive Allen took advantage of this in 1997—two years after he retired from the beautiful game—when he took the field goals and punts for the London Monarchs in the ill-fated NFL Europe league.
Stuart Tomlinson
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Wiese isn't the only goalkeeper to try his hand at professional wrestling. Former Port Vale and Burton Albion goalkeeper Stuart Tomlinson signed a developmental contract with the WWE last December.
The stocky former Men's Health cover model has yet to fight, but when he does so it will be under the stage name "Hugo Knox."
Knut Anders Fostervold
5 of 10Former Norwegian midfielder Knut Anders Fostervold is most famous for a hilariously bad dive he committed while playing for Molde.
When injury forced his retirement in 2003, Fostervold became a professional cyclist, who has since represented Norway in several world championship time trial events.
Kevin Moran
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Kevin Moran made over 230 appearances in Manchester United's defence between 1978 and 1988.
Before making his name as a centre-back, however, the Irishman reached the highest level of Gaelic football, winning All Ireland medals for Dublin in 1976 and 1977.
Gabriel Batistuta
7 of 10Gabriel Batistuta was one of the greatest strikers of his generation, who remains Argentina's all-time top scorer with 56 goals.
However, the former Fiorentina star admitted that he didn't actually like football, and when he retired in 2005 he followed his passion for polo. In 2009, he debuted his own polo team named La Gloria.
Vsevolod Bobrov
8 of 10You are excused if you haven't heard of him, but Vsevolod Bobrov is a highly celebrated Russian legend who excelled in both football and ice hockey.
The talented striker represented the USSR and won three Soviet Championships with CSKA Moscow between 1945 and 1953.
Bobrov had even greater success playing for CSKA's ice hockey team, winning seven championships and leading his nation to Olympic gold at the 1956 Winter Games.
Curtis Woodhouse
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Curtis Woodhouse played as a central midfielder for he likes of Sheffield United and Birmingham, but in 2006, the former Premier League star decided to try his hand at professional boxing—despite having no prior experience.
He won 22 of his 29 fights at light-welterweight level and continued to play lower league football while he boxed. He is now manager at eighth-tier Goole AFC in Yorkshire.
CB Fry
10 of 10It could be argued that Charles Burgess Fry was the most gifted Englishman who ever lived.
The highly intelligent Oxford graduate played for England in 1901 and represented Southampton in the FA Cup final the following year.
He also played 26 cricket tests for England, he excelled at rugby and he once equalled the world long jump record.
Fry deservedly earned a reputation as one of the great living Englishman in his time, and he once was even in contention for the throne of Albania!
