Column: What is it with footballers and padel?

So what is it about footballers and padel?

Anyone who looks around a bit sees them everywhere. From former pros to players from the fifth team: footballers seem to be drawn to padel almost automatically. Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, and Frank and Ronald de Boer are well-known examples, but exactly the same thing happens at the average amateur club. As soon as the football boots are hung up, it often doesn't take long before the first padel racket is purchased.

Part of this can be explained fairly easily.

During the coronavirus period, football largely came to a standstill. Matches were cancelled, and training with a full squad was impossible for a long time. Padel, however, could often continue under certain conditions. With four people on a court, at a distance from other groups.

For footballers, that was just about the best possible alternative. You had a ball again, a teammate, two opponents, and a score. Running also grew enormously during that period, of course, but for the average footballer, two essential components are missing: a ball and someone else to blame afterwards.

The famous footballers also helped out. Robben, Van Persie, and the De Boer brothers regularly appeared on screen with a padel racket. They shared their enthusiasm and thereby reached exactly the group that was receptive to this sport: other footballers.

But corona may explain the initial introduction. It does not yet explain why all those footballers are still on the padel court years later.

I was discussing this with a professional padel player recently. What makes footballers not only enjoy padel, but also often master it reasonably well quite quickly?

The first answer is, of course, ball feel. That might sound a bit simplistic, because hitting a football is something completely different from hitting a good bandeja, volley, or vibora. Put a footballer on the court with a racket for the first time, and he certainly won't suddenly become a seasoned padel player.

Nevertheless, footballers do take something with them.

They are used to reading a game situation. A good footballer looks to see where the space is, where his teammates are standing, and what his next move might be before receiving the ball. He reacts not only to the ball but, more importantly, to what is likely to happen next.

That helps enormously in padel.

After all, the game happens all around you there too. The ball doesn't just come from the front; it can pass you, hit the glass, and then return from behind you. You have to constantly move, choose your position, and think ahead. Sometimes you have to let a ball go just so you can play it later.

For a footballer, that probably feels quite natural. Especially for midfielders, who have spent their entire football lives looking over their shoulder and knowing what is happening in front of, beside, and behind them.

Additionally, padel bears a striking resemblance to those small-sided games that conclude almost every football training session: three against three or four against four. A small court, short actions, lots of ball contact, and constant switching. No one can hide, and everyone is constantly involved.

Padel gives roughly the same feeling. The game is short, fast, and intense. You never have to wait long, and you have to move, make a choice, or react almost every few seconds. Moreover, you are dependent on a fellow player. You have to help and coach each other, and occasionally pretend you don't mind that your partner hits the same ball into the net for the third time.

But perhaps the most important similarity isn't in the game at all.

Those who stop playing football often miss not only the matches. You also miss the locker room, the regular group, and the canteen. Arriving early, having a drink together, and discussing a match three times over afterwards. Football largely takes place around the pitch.

The same actually applies to padel.

You meet up with four people, always run into acquaintances, and easily hang around for a bit afterwards. Before you know it, the next match has already been arranged. For many former footballers, the padel venue thus becomes a kind of new football canteen. The group is smaller and the surface is different, but the dynamic remains virtually the same.

Perhaps that is ultimately the most important reason why padel suits footballers so well. It brings back much of what they are missing, but in a much more flexible form. You don't have to put together a team, train twice a week, or be available every Saturday or Sunday.