Thu, May 07, 2009 page18

• Soccer players more likely to cultivate than to imbibe

  • AFP
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  The late, great George Best was renowned for his love of fine wine and champagne, and soccer players past and present have followed his lead by investing in their very own vineyards.

  Whilst some British heroes of yesteryear lost all their money by drinking away their profits, their modern contemporaries have proved to be keener on cultivating than imbibing.

  Not surprisingly, the most well-known British star to have had a go at running a vineyard is England icon David Beckham, who bought one in the Bordeaux region as a present for his wife and one-time pop star Victoria.

  Victoria’s tastes have evidently matured since the days when she said her favorite wine was the cheap German Blue Nun.

  Predictably though, it is the French who have taken to owning vineyards most eagerly.

  Former France glamor player David Ginola has not gone in solo, but, as he revealed to the Daily Telegraph, it hasn’t stopped him from tasting some success.

  Given that wine is France’s favorite tipple, it has perhaps restored some of his popularity with the French public, many of whom blamed him for his role in a defeat to Bulgaria that prevented France from reaching the 1994 World Cup.

  “I have always been interested in buying a vineyard, but they were too expensive when I was looking a few years ago,” said the former Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur star. “So I have invested in a co-operative of small vineyards instead and that means I can blend my own wine. We’ve received a silver medal for my Costa Brulade and I am very proud of that.”

  Jean Tigana — another former French star, who was part of the feted midfield quartet that inspired France to the 1984 European Championship — was one of the first high-profile players to see the attraction of making his own wine.

  Indeed, he has enjoyed more success in the wine business than he did during an unhappy spell as coach of English side Fulham, where his biggest victory was the £3 million (US$4.5 million) in damages he won from club owner Mohammed Al-Fayed.

  Tigana, who sold a vineyard in Bordeaux before snapping one up near Marseille, rarely speaks in public, but back in 2000 he laid out how he was approaching the ultimately unsuccessful task of rebuilding the Fulham side.

  “It’s like wine. In Bordeaux, I rebuilt an abandoned property. I improved it bit by bit and now I have eight hectares. I’m proud that there is recognition of what I have done,” said Tigana, who was reportedly in talks with Manchester United manager and wine connoisseur Sir Alex Ferguson over buying another vineyard together.

  Such appears to be the trend these days of soccer players tending the vines that it can have beneficial ramifications for other winemakers in the most unlikely circumstances.

  Liverpool fans returning from their Champions League last-16 first-leg victory over Real Madrid in February were quaffing beer on the plane when one of their number noticed a wine bearing the label “Fernando Torres.”

  Thinking that it was the produce of their Spanish striker, they loyally — if ill-advisedly — switched beverages, only to find out later that the Fernando Torres who made the wine was their hero’s namesake and not the real deal.
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