Intelligent footballers

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

With Burnley's Clarke Carlise becoming the first football player to appear on the Political discussion show Question Time, it got me thinking of the semantics between footballers and intelligence. http://www.bbc.co.uk...ashire-12253366

Of course when we see the likes of Jamie Carragher, Darrent Bent and Wayne Rooney speaking to public Television interviews it does not exactly convince us that the average footballer has a vocabulary of more then just 10 words and a good general knowledge on fields such as Science or Politics; or someone who reads classical literature and can name 10 or more figures in Greek Mythology. We often to percive them as wild boys who would prefere going into expensive nghtclubs, trying to seduce Playboy models while cheating on their Wives rather then just sit down at home with a glass of wine and watch the 10 O'clock news.

So can anybody name a footballer who they perceive as intelligent? Has anybody met a professional footballer and was able to have a deep and meaningful conversation that did not resort to grunts and simple lexical choices. Personally I have come up with the hypothesis that footballers from foreign countires tend to be a bit more brighter then footballers from England due to the different controls and variables of the sociolization process in the country they lived in. Such as attitude to education and norms and values.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Frank Lampard is actually quite a genius. He's got great GCSEs and he's part of Mensa - A society for people with high IQs

[Madmax 9,219]

[chrismada9 1,948]

I would like to class Graeme Le Saux as an intelligent player when he was playing for us.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Carlo Cudicini is incredibly intelligent as well. Mash Mash (Geremi) also spoke about six languages, according to SWP, and everyone called him 'The Professor.'

[Badboy 1,526]

I spoke to Ruuuuud Vanistelrooy in 2002, very intelligent man !

Edited January 23, 2011 by Badboy

[Badboy 1,526]

Intelligence means nothing in the grand scheme of things. We all learn at a different pace, some people learn faster then others, its no problem just as long as the person who is a slow learner puts more effort into home study. If a person is highly intelligent he will understand the reasoning behind what a teacher is trying put across much earlier but this makes no difference at all when it comes to examination. If the person with low intelligence revises his subjects properly in bite size portions at home, he will pass the exam.

Edited January 23, 2011 by Badboy

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

Intelligence means nothing in the grand scheme of things. We all learn at a different pace, some people learn faster then others, its no problem just as long as the person who is a slow learner puts more effort into home study. If a person is highly intelligent he will understand the reasoning behind what a teacher is trying put across much earlier but this makes no difference at all when it comes to examination. If the person with low intelligence revises his subjects properly in bite size portions at home, he will pass the exam.

Exactly -and copying and pasting is also a sign of intelligence

''Intelligent footballers'' , like ''Sports Personality of the Year'' is a bit of an oxymoron.....

[zolayes 14,489]

Intelligence is a great quality to be blessed with but slightly less important than common sense

[Fulham Broadway 16,444]

Always thought Cantona was politically spot on . An intelligent anarchist.

Not for him the capitalist trappings of football, When he played at United he lived in a 60s semi, and drove a Ford Escort. his money was given to supporting the poor and left wing causes. He's recently been organising a campaign against the banks