What Are Good Questions To Ask A Soccer Player?

Soccer is a team sport in which two teams of eleven players compete to score goals. To achieve this goal, they move balls around, perform dribbles, make tackles, and, more often than not, put the ball in the back of the net. The team with the most goals is announced the winner, but in some cases, a tie can be allowed to stand.

Although soccer appears to be simple on the surface, it is a bit complex but entertaining. It necessitates systems, tactics, and formations that must be effectively communicated to these players by coaches. Sometimes, these communications are done through questioning, which helps to improve the morale and performance of these players.

Furthermore, with the vastly different ways in which modern soccer is played, getting players to understand them requires communication, which good questioning facilitates. In this regard, not only do the coaches play a role but friends and families have the right to ask probing questions.

This article discusses some of these questions in order to shed light on their significance in assisting players in fulfilling their roles properly.

What are good questions to ask a soccer player?

As a sport loved by billions of people, it’s an incredible feeling to have the opportunity to share a space with a famous soccer player. So you don’t look awkward just standing there, it’s good to strike up a conversation with them.

If you’re a reporter, this should come easy for you. Whether a reporter or not, you can be on your A-game if you know the right questions to ask.

What are the right questions? Questions that make the soccer player comfortable enough and at ease to answer you truthfully.

You also do not need to deliver the questions like you’re in an interview. You could conversationally use them to make things flow better.

Here are some questions, in no particular order, that you can ask a soccer player.

When did you sign your first professional contract?

If there’s one memory professional soccer players may never forget is being handed a contract to sign to play professionally. Give the player that nostalgic feeling as he recounts how and where his dreams to play the sport took a positive turn.

What was your first professional soccer club to play for?

Use this as a follow-up question if the player doesn’t talk about the club. Try to get the player to talk about his experience in the club. As a newbie in the professional sport, there are bound to be exceptionally good, bad, and ugly experiences at the club.

What is your training schedule like?

Soccer players spend most of their off-field time in training sessions. Some are more hectic than others. Get the player to tell you if they have personal training sessions outside those mandated by the club.

If they do or not, find out what an average training schedule looks like for them. If possible, get the player to tell you about the drills done on an average day.

What factors have aided you in achieving your current goals as a player?

This question seeks to ascertain the factors that have influenced the player’s positive development strides. Questions like this help the player understand these factors, if they haven’t in the past, and help them improve their performance.

What aspect of training or coaching has aided your development as a player?

Modern soccer training consists of a variety of exercises designed to improve the player in a variety of ways. Some are designed to improve players’ endurance, while others are designed to improve their stamina.

Ask the player to know which aspect of training he has specifically enhanced as a professional soccer player. This will be reflective of the way he plays.

How are you feeling?

This question is often asked after a match or event. The idea is to get the player to express, without holding back, how they feel.

If the game was won, expect a lot of excitement in the reply and a lot of regrets if the game was lost. Either way, make the player feel that you’re truly interested in how they feel. This will help them express themselves more freely.

If you intend to ask the question on a day outside the day of the match, you can relate it to the day of the event or match. As long as the motive of the question is not compromised, it should have the same effect.

Who is your sports hero and what have you learned from her/him?

By asking players about their heroes and the lessons they have learned from these people, you’re looking for the good qualities the player emulates.

Most players watched their heroes or role models and aspired to be like them. It will be hard to get players to speak ill of their sports hero, so the focus should be on what was learned and why the person was chosen.

How is your working relationship with your coach?

The objective of this question is to determine how well you get along with the coach or how much you trust his abilities.

The question is sometimes asked to determine the level of communication between the player and coach. This is because effective relationships between players and coaches foster trust and a winning mentality.

Players will not openly castigate their coaches but it is easy to know when they are not in a good working relationship with the coach. Don’t be pushy when asking this question.

How would you rate your recent performances?

This may seem like an intrusive question, especially when the player is not currently in form. Respectfully ask the question to ease the player into answering.

No matter how good a soccer player might be, there are days when they’re just not in form. Carefully relate this question, depending on the mood they are in.

When in high form, players will graciously answer the question. Observe the emotional state of the player before deciding to proceed with this question.

What is the most important thing to you as a soccer player?

This question can be raised for a variety of reasons. Depending on the player’s situation, it could simply mean obtaining a social opinion of him. It may also be asked to gain an understanding of what the player admires or treasures, particularly as it relates to the team.

What do you think of your role in the team?

While soccer is a team sport, players are often assigned roles to help the team progress. This is done to strengthen individual positions on the pitch to enhance the collective performance of the team.

On rare occasions, soccer players are not comfortable with the role assigned. It could cause the player to struggle. The question holds to ascertain if the player is comfortable enough in the role he has been given.

What does your daily diet look like?

To stay in shape and remain fit for each game, soccer players have strict diet plans they adhere to. Ask the player to give an example of what a typical day’s diet looks like.

If the player is quite chatty, you can get them to give an overview of their weekly diet plan. They may not be able to recollect in detail but it makes for a good conversation watching them try.

What do you do for fun?

Soccer players still have a life outside the sport. What they do in their spare time is highly dependent on the personality of the player.

Use this question to get to know the player on a personal level. Fun, as a word, is relative. Ensure you do not push your idea of fun to the player to avoid making him uncomfortable.

There are socially reserved players and they have every right to engage in whatever idea they believe fun to be.

Do you play other sports?

You’ll be surprised to know that there are professional soccer players who engage in other sports when not needed on the pitch in soccer. They do not play this other sport professionally but could do it as a leisure activity.

Others, although may not actively engage in the sport, may enjoy watching it. It’s common for professional soccer players to have friends who play other sports. It is for this reason that you can sometimes see soccer players attending other sporting events as guests.

Do you have a superstition or routine before every game?

Whether you choose to believe in it or not, some players have developed the habit of engaging in routines or superstitions before a game.

It usually starts as fun until it begins to have a track record of success. Try not to make things weird and uncomfortable for the player as he explains his routine or superstitions.

To the observing eye, it probably won’t make much sense. Soccer players, Irrespective of their professional ranking, have a form of routine or superstitions they perform before every game or a major match.

What/who made you interested in soccer?

As humans, we all have something, someone, or an event that acts as a trigger for a chosen career path. Soccer players are not left out of this experience.

For some, it’s easy to recollect the exact trigger while others may speak of it more generally. Irrespective of whichever answer you receive, ensure the player is answering the “why” of choosing soccer.

How long have you been playing soccer?

This goes beyond playing soccer professionally. Let the player talk about his first memory of playing the game and how long he thinks he has been playing the sport.

To keep the conversation interesting, you can have them talk about the first time they remember playing the sport to the time it was played before a professional contract was signed.

It’s easy to keep track of how long he has been playing soccer professionally but he will need to spend some time talking about the experience before that time.

Have you always played your current position, if not, which other?

The position a player is assigned as a professional soccer player may be different from what they played in as an amateur player. This happens because coaches, sometimes, help hone and develop players in specific positions on the pitch.

Soccer players that engaged in street soccer usually played different positions until they finally found a home in their current one. Use his question to find out if their current field position is all they have ever played in.

When were you called to join your national team?

While every player dreams of signing a professional contract, they also have dreams of adorning their national team’s jersey and representing their country. It is a thing of pride to be called upon to join the squad for their country.

Use this question to know how they felt when they received the invitation and who delivered it. You can also get them to talk about the first experience of walking out into the stadium knowing their fellow countrymen are sitting in the stadium cheering for them.

Additionally, you can use this question to ask about things they believe need changes and the difference between playing for the national and their club.

What do you do afterward when you lose a major game?

No matter your level of expertise in the sport, especially since soccer is a team sport, losses are bound to happen. This question applies to all soccer players, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Try to get into the mind of the player as he narrates how he deals with major game losses. While the question hits on a personal level, you can expand it to how the team deals with losses collectively.

What’s your favorite soccer club team?

This question should not be asked at the beginning of the interview. This is because, when not relaxed in a conversation, expect soccer players to mention their current club as their favorite.

In reality, this is not often the case. It doesn’t throw a negative light on their current club, it just means they have better memory experience about the club or see that the club has complete player expertise.

More often than not, the player has a desire to play in the club. Probe further by asking why they choose the club as their favorite.

Who is the best coach you have worked with so far?

Most soccer players do not spend their entire professional careers at a single club. Even if they do, they certainly cannot be coached by the same person all through their career.

Unless the interview is for a new professional, chances are the player has a coach they feel helped them improve on their performance or have managed a team more successfully.

What was your first international tournament?

International tournaments tend to stand out from others, either as a club or national team. It would be the first time the player will be leaving a somewhat comfort zone and going to play with the best from other regions.

Just like they would remember their first professional match, they are bound to remember the first international tournament they played in. Don’t hold back asking this question.

Do you have a favorite team uniform?

Professional soccer teams have a minimum of two jersey uniforms representing both home and away uniforms. Soccer players sometimes have a favorite uniform and may have better performance in it.

Call it superstition or whatever, some players may feel more confident and relaxed on the field when wearing a particular uniform. Ask the player to know if they have a favorite team uniform and why.

What soccer league did you/do you want to play in?

Player transfers are an integral part of professional soccer. Certain times, players find themselves in leagues they would not naturally favor. They play there to grow their performance and reputation before setting out to the league of their choice.

This question helps determine if the player has a yet-to-be fulfilled dream of playing in a particular league. This question should not be asked at the beginning of the interview if you’re looking for an honest answer.

What’s your worst moment in playing professional soccer?

Losing soccer games is not a good moment for players but it doesn’t always equate to the worst moment in the player’s history. This question helps you get closer to the player as he opens up about a memory they’ll rather choose to forget.

How do you deal with all the fame and fans?

Since no player is born a professional soccer player, they had to go from a phase of obscurity to prominence. Not many people can handle the shift.

Get the player to talk about the struggles, frustrations, joys, and thrill they get from fans as a result of their fame.

Conclusion

The importance of asking relevant questions to soccer players has been emphasized throughout the article. The main goal of these questions is to provide support, to provide a channel for the player to express their problems and to offer guidance and motivation where possible.

This positivity-inducing questioning should be free of short and unhelpful responses and should take the player and team’s best interests into account.

Jay Gatz

Hi there, I’m Jay.

Soccer is everything in my life! My friends and I have created this blog with all our enthusiasm, passion, and understanding after years of playing pro soccer. Hope you will enjoy it!

Read my story here.