Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
They did a promo for Nike a few years back that Was pretty cool. Playing soccer on a tennis court.
If the Nadal had picked soccer instead of tennis...
- Thread starter Jonesy
- Start date
They did a promo for Nike a few years back that Was pretty cool. Playing soccer on a tennis court.
4 for Fred? Which?4 RG titles for Federer, 5 for Djokovic and 2 for Thiem.
Breakpointerer
Legend
05,06,07,11
Possibly 08 although its debatable between fed and djoker
Ah you mean 4 more, then i pretty much agree. Thought you meant 4 in total.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Forgot 2009??
A level player (like Sergio Ramos or Gerad Pique) .
Messi/Ronaldo level is too much without any actual proof. That's GOAT level footballers.
But A level seems reasonable for his athletic gifts. His Uncle Miguel was an A-level defender (you have to be to play for Barcelona for 9 years as he did). No reason to think Rafa couldn't at least be at the same level as his Uncle, which is an elite professional.
Messi/Ronaldo level is too much without any actual proof. That's GOAT level footballers.
But A level seems reasonable for his athletic gifts. His Uncle Miguel was an A-level defender (you have to be to play for Barcelona for 9 years as he did). No reason to think Rafa couldn't at least be at the same level as his Uncle, which is an elite professional.
Last edited:
Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
Well if we are playing hypothetical here, I will take 2019 FO too.
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
Lmao.
While there's a ****tonne more football players than tennis players, hand eye coordination is not foot-eye coordination. The skill sets aren't as similar as you make them out to be. Many would go pro cause there's just that many more football players, but you can't blindly pretend they'd play the big leagues.
Actually the lanky giants would only have to get good at headers and protecting the ball so they'd have the easiest time adapting to football if they just became pinch hitters.
Breakpointerer
Legend
No,I meant 4 extra not 4 total.
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
So Barcelona is just a 'league' player now?
'no reason to assume he'd be this level'. How about, aside from running fast, tennis has a veyr different skill set and there is no reason to assume Nadal would be elite at this.
DerekNoleFam1
Hall of Fame
Novak Djokovic would be very good at soccer too, and is a left footer, despite being right handed.
Nadal no doubt would have played soccer at a high level , probably even national team level like his uncle - Miguel Angel Nadal, nicknamed "the beast".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Ángel_Nadal
Diego Schwartzman himself could have tried his hand at soccer, as height is not so important.
"League" was a typo. I meant Level, as in "A-level".
Like I said, he has an elite footballer Uncle as a role model, lots of people have said he was a talented footballer as a youngster, and he has a lot of athletic talent. It's an educated guess. No one knows for certain, but that's the choice I'd pick.
It's been repeated quite often that he's a talented footballer by people who have no reason to lie (ie Diego Schwarzman), so people are taking this as second hand evidence that he's got footballing skills.
peRFect King
New User
Federer will be unarguable GOAT....
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa is a great footballer!
Pandora Mikado
Semi-Pro
CYGS becomes "bare minimum" objective for GOAT status, in much the same way 15-20 GS is the benchmark now.
Possibly, 6-8 consecutive slams
Nobody remembers Sampras was any good and poor old Laver buried under the debris.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Even I did..Well if we are playing hypothetical here, I will take 2019 FO too.
Check bro..
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Oh okay fella...
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Rafa was a promising footballer at the age of 12, his father made him choose between football and tennis.
Wikipedia: ¤¤ At age 12, [Rafa] Nadal won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group, while also playing football full-time. Nadal's father made him choose between football and tennis so that his school work would not deteriorate entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."¤¤
USA Today: ¤¤ When he was a precocious 12-year-old on the Spanish island of Mallorca, Rafael Nadal had to make a decision that millions of kids around the world have made at some point: Which sport to focus on exclusively. In Nadal’s case, which was a little different than most kids’, as he was top-notch in both, it came down to soccer or tennis. And this was no flighty hypothetical of a tennis prodigy dabbling in another sport. Nadal was a “promising striker” as Christopher Clarey called him in a 2005 New York Times article and had soccer run deep in the family, with his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal starring in three World Cups and playing for Barcelona, among other clubs. His father said Rafa could have been a fine professional footballer.¤¤
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
It still won't be the case imo...
He was injured and went on to have a surgery..
Wander said,
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a679aYHAPE&ved=2ahUKEwjH0LfzgubiAhVlTxUIHXNsAvwQwqsBMAB6BAgLEAU&usg=AOvVaw1u2YrTJalQ_2Qw7IR7O9pJ&cshid=1560414221864
Don't give up the day job.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a679aYHAPE&ved=2ahUKEwjH0LfzgubiAhVlTxUIHXNsAvwQwqsBMAB6BAgLEAU&usg=AOvVaw1u2YrTJalQ_2Qw7IR7O9pJ&cshid=1560414221864
Don't give up the day job.
Last edited:
Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
I see this word, it says "debatable"... huh? In my hypothetical world there is nothing debatable about a straight sets win.
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
Many kids train their asses off at football. Not all of them play in La Liga.
D
Deleted member 733170
Guest
I don’t think it’s an outrageous postulation to to suggest that Nadal and possibly Federer would have made into the European premier leagues.
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
Maybe they could have. But I think the amount of say 12 year olds who are actually favorites (>50% chance) to become mainstay's in to leagues is absolutely tiny, and actually the simple fact that these guys chose tennis, which has such worse prospects on average, leads me to believe they weren't one of those kids.
Or, as Roddick said it, "I'd rather he (his son) become a very average NBA player".
That being said. What were Murray's, Fed's and Djokovic' background in football again? Fed and Murray played in youth and Djoko didn't right?
I actually think Djoko might be a pretty natural goal keeper.
D
Deleted member 733170
Guest
I suspect they all chose tennis because they enjoyed it more and also because their talent was seen as exceptional from 10-12 years old when these choices were made.
Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
Djoker too small for GK these days? I think all 3 could have been good, but to say that their talents of tennis would correlate to football at the same elite level is low.
Some similar skills, and some very different ones. Like you said, the pool of talent much larger in football too.
Red Rick
Bionic Poster
Nah hes tall enough
Wurm
Professional
Djokovic's physique and non-tennis movement is so awkward and goofy he looks like he'd be the last player you'd pick for your football team. I suspect he'd surprise me, but I just can't imagine him being close to even a lower levels pro standard.
I'm pretty sure football has got bugger all to do with hand-eye coordination unless you're a goalkeeper As for athleticism... I think you're vastly underestimating the intensity of 90 minutes of modern football.
I know Murray chose tennis over football because he had a ranking telling him exactly how good he was at tennis compared to his peers, rather than being at the mercy of someone's opinion as you are with football.
I'm pretty sure football has got bugger all to do with hand-eye coordination unless you're a goalkeeper
As for athleticism... I think you're vastly underestimating the intensity of 90 minutes of modern football.I know Murray chose tennis over football because he had a ranking telling him exactly how good he was at tennis compared to his peers, rather than being at the mercy of someone's opinion as you are with football.
D
Deleted member 762343
Guest
No, I meant 4 in total. I forgot about 2005.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Love that pic....It's no secret that Rafa loves football. He is an avid Real Madrid fan.
Can you provide some of his childhood or teenage pics of the same??
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
No. But I have seen childhood pictures of Rafa wearing a football kit.
Rafa with his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal:
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
He would have still benefited from the Fuentes help, and no doubt he would still have been one of the most despicable gamesmanship players (similar to S. Ramos in RM).
Fed devotee, your post reminded me again that Fed's parents worked for a pharmaceutical company.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Omg his uncle was dashing. The looks run in the genes. Rafa looks so cute. His expression is a dead giveaway. Thanks for this pic!No. But I have seen childhood pictures of Rafa wearing a football kit.
Rafa with his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal:
MikeMechanic
Rookie
As a kid he was scouted by Real Madrid, wasn’t he?
clout
Hall of Fame
Okay definitely not a Messi/Ronaldo level player. That’s like saying NBA player Gordon Hayward (who had to choose between basketball and tennis) would’ve became a Federer/Nadal level player had he played tennis instead.
I do think he’d be an a-league level player though as he’s clearly a very gifted athlete regardless of what sport he’s playing. Doubt he’d become as decorated in football as he is in tennis though so he clearly made the right decision to pursue tennis.
I do think he’d be an a-league level player though as he’s clearly a very gifted athlete regardless of what sport he’s playing. Doubt he’d become as decorated in football as he is in tennis though so he clearly made the right decision to pursue tennis.
HetTheGreaterer
Banned
Childal looks very cute...No. But I have seen childhood pictures of Rafa wearing a football kit.
Rafa with his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal:
mightyrick
Legend
This reminds me of how Isner had to make a choice between tennis and the NBA. He probably made the right choice. He's been a top 50 tennis player for many years now. I'm not so sure he'd be a top 50 NBA player.
DerekNoleFam1
Hall of Fame
And both RF and Djoker would be multiple RG champions as well.
But the Big 3 all chose tennis, so their legacies will always be affected by the other 2.
vernonbc
Legend
His uncle is still very dashing.
I'm too lazy to go digging through family pictures but Miguel Angel is definitely the best looking of the four Nadal brothers.
Azure
G.O.A.T.
Lol I had no idea. Very cool. I always thought Toni was a very handsome man too.His uncle is still very dashing.
junior74
Talk Tennis Guru
Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
I've seen him display his footie skills several times and he's obviously very good, visibly better than Fed and Djokovic.
So judging by the football skills he still has, and the discipline and athletic talent he has proven in the sport of tennis, I'd say he would probably have what it takes to become a solid pro.
But I don't think (some) people understand quite the scope of football. Unlike tennis, there are skilled and talented players in just about every corner of the map, the talent pool is vastly bigger than tennis and the skills aren't the same. So there is no way to take it for granted that he'd make the Real or Barça starting lineup or anything like that. Those aren't run-of-the-mill pros but world stars.
So judging by the football skills he still has, and the discipline and athletic talent he has proven in the sport of tennis, I'd say he would probably have what it takes to become a solid pro.
But I don't think (some) people understand quite the scope of football. Unlike tennis, there are skilled and talented players in just about every corner of the map, the talent pool is vastly bigger than tennis and the skills aren't the same. So there is no way to take it for granted that he'd make the Real or Barça starting lineup or anything like that. Those aren't run-of-the-mill pros but world stars.
D
Deleted member 763024
Guest
I donno how effective he would be trying to pull a wedgie out of this ass while dribbling the ball...
Similar threads
