How to Become a Professional Footballer

Richard Chin is an English-born Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or full-back for Bath City on loan from Charlton Athletic.

You can find Richard on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/richardchin...

We thank him for his time! :)

Manyumow Achol is a South Sudanese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a midfielder for Vīrsliga club Auda and the South Sudan national team. You can find Manny on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/manyumow.achol/ We thank him for his time! :)

Kenji Gorré is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Qatari club Umm-Salal. Born in the Netherlands, he is the son of former professional footballer Dean Gorré and represents Curaçao at the international level.

00:00:00 Start
00:00:46 Intro
00:02:55 How Kenji Became More Grateful
00:10:09 How Kenji Always Plays With Confidence
00:13:14 The Right Way To Analyze Players In Your Position
00:15:38 The Sacrifices You Have To Make To Be A Pro
00:23:53 Playing In Manchester United Was Normal
00:28:16 What Do Elite Players Do To Stay At The Top
00:30:12 Kenji's First Pro Contract
00:39:56 Football Is A Game Of Opinions
00:42:37 What Is Like To Play In The Premier League
00:46:17 What Is Like To Play In Holland
00:47:27 The Life-Changing Decision Kenji Made
00:55:35 What You Do Off The Field Will Affect You On The Field
00:57:46 Playing In Portugal
01:04:59 How You Handle Bad Times Defines Who You Are
01:06:33 Playing In Qatar
01:11:12 Playing Against Messi
01:13:07 The Most Important Lessons Learned From Sir Alex
01:15:18 Quick Fire Questions

Aaron Evans is an Australian professional footballer who has been a pro for 10 years and plays as a center-back or defensive midfielder.

Andris Vaņins is a Latvian former professional footballer who works as a goalkeeping coach for Latvia's national under-19 football team. A goalkeeper, he most notably played for Sion, making over 200 league appearances. At international level, he earned 100 caps for the Latvia national team.

Kevin Ackermann is a 22 year old Swedish Professional Footballer who was born in Göthenburg, and currently playing for IF Brommapojkarna in the Swedish Allsvenskan.Kevin has had quite the journey and I am sure you'll learn a lot from this conversation.You can find Kevin on Instagram here:We thank him for his time! :)

In this clip, Leo Fernandes and I talk about how you have to be uncomfortable to grow!

William Akio is a 24 year old Sudanese professional footballer who was born in Sudan but raised most of his life in Calgary, Canada. He plays as a striker/winger for the Ross County FC in the Scottish Premiership. Listen to this excellent podcast to learn tons of great things from this top-class player. You will not be disappointed. You can find William on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamakio/?hl=en We thank him for his time! :)

In this clip, Leo Fernandes and I talk about how to balance your social life and your football.

Brian Saramago is a 24 Year Old Striker currently playing in the second league in Portugual for B-Sad.He previously played for second league club in Slovenia NK Rudar Velenje before making a moving to Portugual (after scoring 19 goals in 35 Games!)This was an enjoyable one. Tons of golden nuggets in this one!

Sofie Svava is a 22 year old female professional footballer currently playing as a left back for Real Madrid Women’s Team.

She is originally from Denmark and has been playing professionally since 18 years old.

She has stints in Sweden as well as in Germany with VFL Wolfsburg.

Tune into this great conversation to learn how to truly be disciplined and treat yourself like a professional on and off the pitch!

In this clip, Leo Fernandes and I talk about the importance of staying ready so you don't have to get ready!

Julien Ramirez is a Canadian born Chilean professional footballer who plays as a winger for MFA Zalgiris in the first division in Lithuania. Julien has also played in Germany as well as in Canada at the collegiate level. Listen to this excellent podcast to learn tons of great things of how a female professional footballer trains and lives her life. You can find Julien on Instagram Here: https://instagram.com/jullienramirez?igshid=ZjE2NGZiNDQ= We thank her for her time! :) Timestamps: 0:00 to 1:22 Introduction and Julien’s beginnings with football 1:23 to 3:03 Julien’s experience with college soccer and moving to Europe 3:03 to 11:08 European approach vs college soccer 11:09 to 13:24 Julien’s move to Lithuania 13:25 to 20:05 Football culture in Germany vs Lithuania 20:06 to 29:41 Julien’s daily routine and nutrition 29:42 to 32:53 Julien’s approach to gym work 32:54 to 35:44 Julien’s typical leg workout 35:45 to 37:46 Building an individual gym plan according to your goals 37:47 to 41:39 Lithuanian season structure and playing style 41:40 to 45:58 Berlin vs Vilnius 45:59 to 48:50 Importance of being happy off the field to perform 48:51 to 57:58 Julien’s hobbies, and top 3 travel destinations 57:59 to 1:02:52 What Julien would tell her younger self 1:02:53 to 1:08:36 Julien’s work ethic 1:08:37 to 1:10:04 Outro

In this clip, Soheil & I talk about how there's more to life than football. This mindset and open-mindedness will actually make you better on the pitch and take the pressure off of yourself.

In this clip, Soheil Var & I talk about how to network the right way as a Footballer!

Leo Fernandes is a 31 year old Brazilian professional footballer who was born in Brazil but raised most of his life in Long Island, New York. He plays as a midfielder for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL. Leo refers to being "middle of the pack" for most of his life but what really set him apart was the consistency of his habits, routine, and ultimately his discipline. Listen to this excellent podcast to learn tons of great things from this top-class veteran player. You will not be disappointed. You can find Leo on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leofernandes10/?hl=en As well as Twitter: https://twitter.com/Leofernandes_11 We thank him for his time! :)

Dino Štiglec is a 31 Year Old Croatian Footballer currently playing in Haifa, Israel for Hapoel Haifa. He plays as a left back or a center back. He has had quite an unbelievable career with over 400 appearances, starting 95% of those games. This was an excellent podcast that I know you will learn a lot from.

Follow him on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/dinostiglec/?hl=en

Listen to this amazing story with Chattanooga FC Captain, Richard Dixon.   

Richard is a 32-year old Center Defensive Midfielder and has played the beautiful game as a pro for 10 years.  

You will see within the conversation that this guy is a leader and a role model for the coming generations of footballers. 

He recently just got his USSF B-License and does coaching in his free time as he wants to give back to the game.  

This is one of my favorite episodes I've done to date.  

If you want to follow Richard, you can check him out here: 

https://www.instagram.com/richarddixonofficial/?hl=en

In this podcast, RicFit (Eric Friedlander) is interviewed by teammate Kristofers Kravčenko for his podcast called the TimeOut Podcast.   If you want to learn more about the man RicFit, how he thinks, what he likes to do on his off time, and his favorite dessert, this is definitely the episode to listen to.   Below are the  Time Stamps if you want to skip around, but you really shouldn't because it was an excellent episode ;)   Timeout x RicFit Podcast Time Stamp:   1. Intro: 0:00 - 0:59  2.  Latvia is underrated: 1:10 - 5:51  3. Earn your relaxation: 6:10 - 6:59  4. Who is Ricfit?: 6:59 - 11:27  5. What Europeans think about Ricfit: 11:27 - 13:26  6. Social media Vs Real life: 13:26 - 14:06  7. Working with 1 on 1 clients: 14:09 - 23:43  8. Football teaches you about life: 23:43 - 29:19  9. What would you tell your younger self: 29:19 - 32:53  10. Don’t do this at ages 14 - 18: 32:54 - 34:36  11. Why Ric likes leather Football boots: 34:36 - 37:09  12. Ricfit Hobbies: 37:09 - 40:17  13. Ric’s favorite country: 40:17 - 42:09  14. Ric’s dream destination: 42:09 - 43:07  15. Where are the most beautiful women?: 43:07 - 45:53  16. Ric’s favorite music: 45:53 - 47:30  17. Ric’s favorite dish: 47:30 - 49:12  18. Ric’s guilty pleasure: 49:12 - 51:08  19. Plans for the post-season: 51:08 - 52:50  20. Future and Goals: 52:50 - 56:35 21.  Outro: 56:35 - 59:01

Jay DeMerit is a former footballer who played as a center back for the US Men's National Team, Watford and the Vancouver Whitecaps. 

His journey is the pinnacle of what it means to "take a risk" & "take your chances". 

Jay booked a one way flight over to England when he was 23 years old straight after college. 

He started his career in the 9th Division.

Within 2 years, he was playing against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and DIdier Drogba. 

Here is the full documentary of Jay's journey: https://youtu.be/GtSYAUn2I7I 

Follow him on social here: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d6merit/

Twitter: @D6MERIT.

Podcast Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

2:02 4 Pillars of Organization 

7:06 How to create self-leadership to become a pro

13:35 Have a LEARNING mindset and APPLY

18:22 Jay De Merit’s Journey

22:50 Early specialization VS Multi-Sport

29:05 Not getting picked 

31:24 Moving to England

34:29 Signing with Watford

37:03 How to be confident when pressure is on

40:13 Becoming a Premier League Player

46:45 South Africa World Cup

47:16 Joining the MLS 

48:23 Rise and shine

49:47 How to prepare for the big moments

57:18 If you could go back to any age with the knowledge you have today. What age would you go to? and what would you tell yourself?

1:02:09 Best Advice to Become a Professional Soccer Player

1:05:56 Outro ( Get in Contact with Jay DeMerit )

Osaze Urhoghide shares what it takes to get to & stay at the top!

This is easily the biggest mistakes players make when trying to become a pro.

Please take a listen and make sure to follow along with the practical tip!

Vivien Beil is a 26 year old Center Midfielder currently playing at Calcio Como in Italy. She grew up playing her youth football in Germany at FCZ Jena before going to school in the USA. She did 2 years at the University of Maine and finished her last 2 years at UCONN, while studying psychology in the process.  

She is also an author of The Student Athlete Journey -You can check out her book below: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/3982320410/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=6742&creativeASIN=3982320410&linkCode=as2&tag=vivienbeil-21&linkId=529de4e0fa662ce930b2cc59dd2bdd2c 

If you have any questions, I am sure she'll be happy to answer them. 

Here is her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivibeil/?hl=en

In this clip, Gabriel Cabral talks about the main difference between NCAA Division 1 & Division 2 Soccer.

In this short clip, Michael Cunningham (7 MLC) and I discuss the massive massive importance of a proper dynamic warmup for footballer's before any session.

In this short clip, Michael Kozielek shares with us how to get over a bad game or training in football.

Michael Kozielek is a 28 year old soccer player currently playing for the Chicago House in NISA (National Independent Soccer Association), the third tier in the USA.  Koz has had experience in Sweden, Austrailia, and Finland as well and has had some great experience and funny stories along the way.  I met up with him during the off-season in Sweden and we became buddies right away! He's truly a top class dude, and has worked very hard to get to where he is right now.  Take a listen to the episode as we talk about some great topics that you can really learn from.   If you have any questions, I am sure he'll be happy to answer them. Here is his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_goat_kozielek/?hl=en

0:00 Intro 

4:38 Discover the options in Europe 

7:07 The Business Behind Football 

9:23 Kozielek's Story 

14:06 Life in Australia  

15:39 Football in Sweden 

17:31 Signing to Finland 

19:54 The Sauna Culture 

21:01 Playing in Finland 

23:44 Back To The Sauna baby!!! 

24:43 When do you stop developing as a player? 

28.33 Kozielek's Jail story  

35:32 U.S vs Europe's Football 

37:53 A day in the life of Kozielek 

42:27 What to look for when watching film 

44:07 Extras after training 

46:26 How to deal with a bad game/session ? 

50:34 If you could go back to yourself at any age with the knowledge you have now, what age would you go to? And what would you tell yourself? 

53:18 Top 2 Tips for any young footballer to keep on going mentally

In this episode, Gabriel Cabral (Pro Footballer for Tormenta FC) joins me to talk about his career and how he signed his first professional contract. Here is his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabriel.cabral8/

Timestamps:  0:00 Intro  2:07 From Brazil to the U.S  5:40 Training style in Brazil vs U.S  9:43 Why Brazilian players tend to be more individual with the game  14:50 Difference between D1 & D2  17:25 What attracted foreign elite footballers to West Virginia?  20:24 Cabral's story  25:31 Opportunities come when you least expect them.  28:17 Football is a game of opinions  29:35 What keeps you going when you don't have a team?  33:17 The harder you work, the harder it is to quit  34:23 Warm-up with the basics, then you can start playing risky.   36:24 A day in the life of Gabriel Cabral   46:11 Becoming a vegetarian   50:59 Learning with podcasts  52:52 How to deal with nerves during game day   57:51 If you could go back to yourself at any age with the knowledge you have now, what age would you go to? And what would you tell yourself?  1:03:39 Outro

Eduvie is a 23-Year-Old American Professional Soccer player who plays as a Forward for AS Trencin in the Fortuna Liga (1st League in Slovakia). He was born in Iowa, but grew up for most of his life in Alabama. Eduvie played college soccer at Dartmouth for 4 years before transitioning to the professional game. On January 14, 2019, Ikoba was selected 63rd overall in the 2019 MLS Super draft by FC Dallas.  Though, he decided that he wanted to make the jump to Europe instead. On July 2019, Ikoba signed for Hungarian side; Zalaegerszegi TE (Hungary 1st Tier). On July 13, 2020, Ikoba moved to AS Trencin in the Fortuna Liga on a 3 Year Deal. 

Eduvie Socials: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eduvieikoba17/?hl=en 

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON2z4kbIQGs