'Sad' Premier League footballer quits aged 26 for brand new profession weeks on from trophy glory
Alfie Whiteman was a part of the Tottenham Hotspur squad which received final season's Europa League last towards Manchester United to qualify for this season's Champions League
View 2 PicturesFormer Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman has retired from skilled soccer. The 27-year-old made the choice on the finish of final season when he was nonetheless simply 26.
Whiteman was a member of Ange Postecoglou's Europa League-winning squad, having been with the membership from his youth staff days earlier than signing his first skilled deal. Throughout his time at Tottenham, he had two mortgage spells – each with Swedish facet Degerfors – however by no means actually seemed like making any influence on the primary staff and located himself approach down the pecking order often.
His lack of first-team soccer led him to discover different areas of life, together with performing courses, broadcasting, and images. The Athletic report that he anticipated to proceed his footballing profession when he was launched by Spurs on the finish of final season.
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Nevertheless, the shot-stopper known as it a day on his personal phrases in the summertime and is now taking over a profession inphotography – admitting that he was sad being knowledgeable footballer.
He mentioned: "I signed for Spurs at 10 years outdated. Then I left college at 16 and went straight into this full-time lifetime of soccer.
"After I was round 17 or 18, dwelling in digs, I simply had this sense inside, 'Is that this it?' Getting on the mini bus, going to coaching, doing the Sports activities Science BTEC and going dwelling to play video video games. I realised, 'Oh, I'm not joyful right here' from fairly a younger age.
View 2 Pictures"The stereotype of a footballer is usually fairly true. It's the golf, washbag tradition.
"I used to be that younger footballer. I wished the Gucci washbag and I drove the Mercedes. You all simply develop into a mirrored image of one another.
"You're a product of your atmosphere. It's the way in which soccer is on this nation; it's so shut off from anything. You go to coaching and then you definately go dwelling, that's it."
Whiteman added: "Soccer is a brief profession regardless, even when you do very well, and I knew that I didn’t wish to keep in it.
"It was about making an attempt to achieve expertise and be proactive in studying about these items I used to be additionally inquisitive about, however primarily as a result of I used to be having fun with it, and was surrounded by the sorts of people who have been doing what I loved as a job.
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"They have been making issues. It was actually inspiring."
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