Soccer Players Tackle Workout Challenges At Home

Besides Cristiano Ronaldo’s outrageous crunch challenge for Nike’s “Living Room Tournament” plenty of other pro soccer players who are challenging themselves to stay fit and at the same time entertain their fans while being stuck at home.

No matter how much we’re missing the game, the pandemic has blessed soccer fans with an abundance of top soccer player’s doing their at-home workout routines as well as challenges on Instagram, giving us the chance to learn more about our favorite players’ lives off the pitch and how they train.

So, we caught with some of our most stylish soccer players around along with some other notable names from the sport to see workout challenges they’ve been doing while stuck at home:

Training As Usual

After this pandemic is over, every continental league will (hopefully) resume immediately, leaving players with no excuse for not getting back to top form—which means they have to stay in shape while being isolated at home. Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero shows how he’s doing just that by resuming one of his usual training ground routines in his own backyard.

Back in England, Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy takes on the famous TikTok floor exercise challenge with his wife Rebecca.

Never Lose Your Touch

A player’s touch is one of the most essential skills to maintain as it affects their level of control when receiving a ball. 2018’s world cup winner and French footballer Florian Thauvin certainly knows that and is working on his touch with a a TikTok challenge with his girlfriend.

Shooting Practice

Chelsea legend John Terry still holds the record as the defender with the most goals in the English Premier League. Even after retirement, the former center back is challenging every active pro soccer player to sharpen their shooting skills at home.

Football And Golf? Why Not?

Aside from his love of destroying defenders and scoring insane goals (remember that goal against Barcelona during the 2014 Copa Del Rey final?), Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale is known as an avid golf fan. While staying at home, Bale has often posted videos of him practicing his handicap alongside his footwork with a golf ball. Who says you can’t be the best in both sports?

Dogs Are The Best Training Buddies (At The Moment)

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar Jr. is heavily linked with a move back to his former club, FC Barcelona. But while we’re waiting for that to happen, he stays sharp by playing catch with his pet dogs. And apparently he’s not the only one currently training with four-legged temporary team mates, there’s also Sergio Aguero and Juventus forward Douglas Costa.

On the lighter side of things, Manchester City left back Oleksandr Zinchenko is using both of his dogs in what seems to be his make-shift static bike weight-lift.

Never Skip Leg Day

It is a common thing for soccer players to dislike training routines that focus on leg strength. Ironic, we know. Neymar’s club and international team mate Dani Alves posted a video on his Instagram account with a “good crazy” training routine to keep his leg muscles strong enough for running and tackling.

Kevin De Bruyne, however, has another thing in mind when it comes to his leg training. One of the world’s best midfielders recruits two of his boys as weights while he clenches his legs on his sofa.

Pogba Vs Zlatan

This is an off-field soccer competition you don’t want to miss out on. Manchester United midfielder and French World Cup Winner Paul Pogba has been challenging fellow pro players to come up with new tricks while being stuck at home.

Among those challenged, the quickest to reply was of course the lion himself: Swedish legend and current L.A. Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The friendly challenge sees them trying to outdo each other through a series of Instagram posts.

Gaffers Ought To Stay Fit

The legendary Zinedine Zidane has often appeared in many charity matches over the past few years, and people would agree Zidane could’ve probably extended his career way past the age of Juventus’s legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (who is 42 and hasn’t even thought about retiring). Currently on his second spell as Real Madrid’s manager, he shows that managers should also stay fit to stay on par with their players when they head back to the training grounds.

Advanced Target Practice

If you think John Terry’s shooting challenge was hard enough, wait till you see what his former Chelsea teammate has got in store. Currently at Arsenal, David Luiz is challenging everyone to show how good their shooting skills are with this insane tea-making challenge.

Goalkeepers Can Still Practice

Still stuck in Liverpool, Brazilian goalkeeper and Liverpool FC’s shot stopper also shows that he’s doing the usual goalkeeper hand-pass drills at home—showing that it is still possible for players of every position to train.

Showing Off A Bit

Soccer isn’t always about competing on the pitch and sometimes it’s just about how much fun you can have with a ball atyour feet. Chelsea winger and USA Men’s Soccer Team member Christian Pulisic is quick to get back to honing his football skills after suffering a nasty tendon injury.

On the other side of the world, veteran Indonesian footballer Irfan Bachdim is initiating a challenge for all ballers worldwide to challenge their WAGs to show of their skills as well.

Play Football Tennis With Your Neighbour

Who says that you can’t have a kick-about with your neighbor? Raul Navas and Fran Merida are not just teammates at Osasuna but also next-door neighbors. Here, they’re shown passing the time and keeping their lob pass skills in check by playing a super casual game of football tennis between their gardens.

Don’t Let The Cheetah Run Out

Whether you’re a forward, midfielder, winger or even a defender, there comes a time in a match that would test your speed, agility and acceleration. Real Madrid’s legendary war chief Sergio Ramos is showing the world that even at the tender age of 34, the defender can still keep up with younger players.

The Tissue Juggling Challenge

We finish the list with probably the most popular footwork challenge coming from the world of soccer. From Leo Messi to Ronaldo, everybody seems to be doing it inversions that keep on getting crazier. Be the judge of who’s better at the challenge from the video below.

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