Football Ground Map
Football Ground Map
Footballers enjoy switching to two-wheelers as much as they enjoy driving their supercars, as is well known. Some of the top personalities in the sport like nothing more than trading in their Ferraris and Lamborghinis for a thumping Harley.
David Beckham rode his Triumph Bonneville deep into the Amazon rainforest. Additionally, Mario Balotelli was seen on camera racing around on a mini-bike after being forbidden from using a real bike.
Football Ground Map examines the icons that choose something a little more... rebellious... in place of the conventional status symbol. Let's start with footballers who are still active, leading to those who retired and who helped this love between players and motorcycles begin in the first place.
Former striker of numerous big clubs (Inter, Manchester City, Milan, and Liverpool) Mario Balotelli, also dubbed "Super Mario", is a die-hard motorcycle enthusiast.
When Super Mario's then-club manager in the City, Roberto Mancini, forbade him from riding the motorcycle, he had just purchased a brand-new Harley Davidson and all other associated components, including pricey leather suits, helmets, etc. Due to insurance compliance, active players are frequently prohibited from riding any form of the two-wheeler. However, Balotelli's riding enthusiasm was unaffected by his coach's choice. The current member of Switzerland's Sion was eventually seen using a pocket bike on a grassy track.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the greatest-ever stars in Swedish football, is a major motorcycle enthusiast. He was the first person in Scandinavia to obtain a Softail Harley Davidson VRSCF V-Rod. The current member of Italy's Milan (formerly in Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, and Manchester United), placed a purchase order for a personalized VRSCF V-Rod in all black. A 1,250 cc 60-degree V-twin 4-stroke machine with 123 horsepower was installed in the 2008 Harley Davidson V-Rod.
The engine was belt-driven and mated to a 5-speed gearbox. This then was among the most recent Harley Davidson Softail models.
Now, let's talk about former football icons and their love of motorcycles...
David Beckham, a former star for Manchester United and former English captain, should've been at the top of the list if we'd started the article with the biggest motorcycle aficionados among footballers regardless of being active or retired. The fact that Beckham adores motorcycles is well-known. He frequently rode it around the Hollywood Hills while performing for the LA Galaxy on one of his custom choppers. He has several customized Harley Davidson motorcycles, but he has a particular fondness for Triumphs. Additionally, he took part in an expedition journey in the Amazon where a 90-minute documentary was being produced by BBC.
In the 2014 film "David Beckham: Into the Unknown", David and a few of his buddies were seen driving a Triumph Bonneville T100 through into the heart of the Amazon. The Bonny was customized, and it had a tank that was specially painted and a leather seat that was made by hand. The 900cc engine of the motorcycle was characterized as being "part desert sled, part Scrambler, part classic Bonneville". On his social media accounts, the 47-year-old celebrity influencer frequently posts pictures of himself riding motorcycles.
"Wazza", the eponymous Wayne Rooney, was as you all know the previous captain of the English national team. The former Manchester United striker worked with the Danish custom car manufacturer Lauge Jensen in 2012 to develop a unique motorcycle. But this motorcycle was created to benefit a good cause.
The motorcycle was specially painted, and Wazza dutifully autographed WR10's jersey on the gas tank. A specially airbrushed image of Wayne Rooney's famous celebration from the 2011 game versus Manchester City was put on the rear fender. Additionally, an airbrushed WR10 was airbrushed onto the front fender. The motorcycle also has a unique shifter that was covered with 22 diamonds. The chopper could clock top speeds of up to 155 mph and be capable of doing 0-60 mph in 4 seconds.
The motorcycle brought in a sizable sum at auction, which was given to the Danish children's charity "KidsAid".
When he was riding his BMW R1200GS in Walthamstow in 2009, the legendary Chelsea goalie Carlo Cudicini met with an accident that made headlines. He ultimately suffered from fractured wrists and pelvic bones. He did however recover from his wounds and start playing again for Spurs and LA Galaxy.
This incident proves that footballers aren't only interested in Harley Davidsons, though. The R1200GS is a BMW production-line adventure tourer motorcycle. The motorbike is propelled by a twin-cylinder 1,170 cc engine that can produce a maximum torque of 125 Newton meters at 6,500 rpm and 125 PS of power at 7,750 rpm.
In addition to being a former "Gunner" and a famous player for England, Ian Wright is a well-known figure since, after leaving the world of professional football in 2000, he entered the television industry. He became extremely well-known thanks to TV programs like "Friday Night's All Wright".
Wright has also always been a fervent motorcycle enthusiast in addition to his roles as a professional player and well-known TV personality. This was made clear when he accomplished his long-held goal of riding a bike throughout all America. In order to film a series for Men & Motors titled "Wright Across America", Wright traveled the length of the country on his Harley Davidson Fatboy. Wright also enjoys riding his Triumph, which he believes almost gives him the same rush as scoring a last-second victory, in addition to Harleys. His son Shaun Wright-Phillips, a former star for Manchester City, Chelsea, and QPR, also inherited his father's passion for motorcycles.
Do you recall the 2006 FIFA World Cup championship game? Italy versus France. It was the famous game in which Zinedine Zidane, the then-captain of France, headbutted an Italian player in the chest. Marco Materazzi, a former Italian football great, was the player who Zidane struck.
Materazzi has a deep passion for motorcycles. Specifically, Harley Davidsons. He has been seen riding his customized American chopper on several occasions.
The former midfielder for Leeds, Newcastle and Blackburn also represented England at the 1992 and 1998 World Cups, when he was among the players who failed to convert England's crucial penalty kicks against Argentina, ending their chances of moving on in the tournament. Since his retirement in 2004, he has made motorcycling—not "only" Harleys, but sports bikes as well—one of his obsessions.
He has also gotten engaged in bike racing, most notably publicly tussling with Randy Mamola on the Yamaha double-seat GP motorbike at the British GP at Donington in 2001.
Another footballer who doesn't mind a little bit of posing about on a Harley cycle or anything similar is the former England defender and husband of Frankie Sandford from "The Saturdays".
Most notably, Bridge participated in a special charity Harley-Davidson Celebrity Bike Ride to the Ace Cafe in August 2009 with other football players Shaun Wright-Phillips and Steve Sidwell, all three of whom were riding trikes.
Before a 1995 accident nearly ended his career, retired defender Leboeuf, who conquered the EURO with France in 2000 and also played for Chelsea between 1996 and 2001, was an avid rider.
When the limited-edition, Chelsea-liveried "Ruud Boy" constructed by Warrs Harley was unveiled in 1998, he told the media that it was absolutely scary: "I was riding along and this guy just didn't stop. Fortunately, I saw him in time. I came off the bike but all that happened was I broke a nail." Leboeuf stressed that he later stopped riding bikes.
Football and motorcycles don't frequently go together. In truth, if you pay attention to the entertainment-related social media pages on these subjects, you may find a few messages where the motorcycling population attempts to denigrate the footballing world and vice versa.
But let's be realistic. Some of the world's top players don't share this viewpoint, though. Numerous football players actually enjoy riding their motorbikes and are frequently spotted perched on the saddle and clutching the handlebars. They appreciate riding on unpaved surfaces more than sitting in a car's passenger seat. Even if it means sustaining injuries that might sideline them from games by which they'd do the harm, not only to themselves and their teams but also to their clubs' fans and even bettors who wager on their matches at the betting sites on Bookmaker-Expert.com. So, now you learned about a few of the most well-known football players in the world's love of motorcycles in this post.
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