If you look at the apparent ease with which professional football players communicate with fans in 2021 via personal videos, selfies, dances on TikTok and audio messages, you would almost forget that this is a relatively new development. The stars of the last century communicated mainly through newspapers, magazines and television. If they wanted to make a statement or work on their image in the media, they often depended on journalists. Some footballers understood that better than others. This is how Simon Kuper writes in his book FC Barcelona – The Empire about Johan Cruijff: “He had started collecting his personal court of loyal journalists (some of whom were practical stenographers) who acted as watchdogs against opposing teammates or administrators.”
With the advent of social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, football players were given the opportunity to communicate directly with the outside world. In the beginning it was sometimes amateurish – a famous example is that Wayne Rooney ever suddenly „mr bean. funny” on Twitter — but later social media posts were streamlined, with or without the help of specialized companies. Twitter and Instagram turned out to be the ideal vehicle for working on your own brand or personality – Orange international Marten de Roon, for example, has acquired an image of fun pants from his online activities.
Compared to classic media, the tone and style on social media feels more intimate, says Mark Deuze, professor of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam. “You could say there is a shift from formal to informal communication,” he says. „When Virgil van Dijk gives an interview Football International about his injury, it’s different from waving to the camera from his hospital bed and saying he’s fine. That feels a lot more personal to the recipient.”
The intervention of content companies does cause another problem: the intimacy between football players and fans is broken. This is how former football player wrote Gary Neville in The Times on the ‘sterile’ messages from Manchester United stars after defeats: “Fans want authenticity and honesty. I read apologies that don’t seem sincere to me and other United supporters. I see half the dressing room posting nearly identical tweets, as if reading a script.”
Also read: an extensive interview with Ajax coach Erik ten Hag, about judging, condemning and ego tripping
Camera in the target
Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster stands in front of his goal. We see him pointing, stopping balls, conceding goals, stopping a penalty, occasionally uttering a censored curse or cheering for a win. The special thing: everything was filmed from the goal, with a small GoPro camera that the keeper himself placed in the net. After the game, we see from the goalkeeper’s perspective how he has conversations with opponents.
The images from Foster’s GoPro camera are on its YouTube account ‘The Cycling GK’, which he started in 2020. On the account we see videos of Foster talking to colleagues, interspersed with many images from the dressing room and the players’ hotel.
Foster now has more than one million subscribers on YouTube. His popularity has grown considerably in the foreseeable future – the goalkeeper offers a unique look under the hood of footballer’s life. He opens doors that normally remain closed to supporters. And, perhaps more importantly, does so with enthusiasm and self-mockery. Even when his club loses Watford – and an opponent points harassingly at the GoPro camera after a goal, like happened against Swansea City – he uploads a video.
Of course there are also critics. “Concentrate on the club, because in return you get a huge salary,” an irritated Watford insider said anonymously. The Athletic about the vlogging goalkeeper. Still, all in all, Foster has found a successful way to communicate with his followers and fans. Moreover, the 38-year-old goalkeeper does not have to fear the end of his career; his own little media empire is already under construction.
Bind an audience to you
Foster not only has a YouTube account, but also his own podcast, as do more and more active football players. German Real Madrid star Toni Kroos chats in Einfach mal Luppen weekly with his brother Felix about small talk. Sometimes the stage is also used to raise serious topics: spoke Toni Kroos speaks out against the organization of the World Cup in Qatar in the podcast.
In our own country there is the Cor Potcast, made by (professional) football players Bart Vriends, Maarten de Fockert and Thomas Verhaar, who regularly receive Dutch professionals. Ajax player Daley Blind, for example, stopped by to talk about both football content and personal topics, in a relaxed way that is rare in football interviews. Interestingly, professional footballers generally have the image that they rarely show their backs, especially in post-game interviews – that’s often different in podcast performances.
I see half the locker room posting nearly identical tweets, as if reading a script
Gary Neville former football player
“I think that players increasingly feel the need to show other sides of themselves, with a podcast that is possible,” says Sam van Raalte. He makes the podcast on behalf of football platform 433 The Home of Football, in which Mario Götze (PSV) and Frenkie de Jong (FC Barcelona) were guests. According to Van Raalte, there is another advantage. “It’s a way to keep supporters with you. With a podcast you can connect with an audience in a personal way, a group of fans that you don’t follow just because you happened to play football for their favorite club,” he says.
Gaming with Aguero
Where a lot of editing can be done in vlogs and podcasts, it is different with live streaming. A select group of top football players regularly go live on Twitch, a platform that is mainly used to watch while someone is gaming and talking to his or her followers. For example, a popular streamer on Twitch is Sergio Aguero, the former star striker of Manchester City and FC Barcelona, among others, who announced his football retirement on December 15 due to heart problems. The Argentinian started as a player of City with hundreds of viewers, but now has no fewer than 3.5 million subscribers. For example, Antoine Griezmann and Ajax defender Nicolás Tagliafico are also active on the platform.
The special thing is that a lot, at least apparently, happens spontaneously and unfiltered on Twitch. Earlier this year, Aguero won the headlines when he opened a booklet about FC Barcelona and called he live with compatriot Lionel Messi. Twitch is a platform to be reckoned with, as Ibai Llanos, a popular Spanish streamer, shared the same Messi around his presentation at Paris Saint-Germain live on his channel. interviewed. The Golden Ball winner seemed more at ease than during the traditional interviews he has undergone thousands of times during his career.
Via Twitch, viewers can respond live to the streamer in a chat. “That suggests a form of intimacy,” says professor Deuze. “Interpersonal media such as Twitch therefore have a different emotional relationship than traditional mass media.” Building and maintaining such a relationship takes time and effort, and it also creates expectations from fans.
That explains why the group of football players on Twitch is still relatively small. “You only gain followers if you keep doing this consistently. There is only a small group of people who are good at this, and these are often people who have the personality, competence and motivation for it,” says Deuze.
With these alternative communication channels, footballers not only sort for the end of their career; they are already making money with it. For example, on YouTube, Ben Foster uses ads that generate revenue. The Athletic estimated in 2020 that he could earn around £50,000 (almost £60,000) per season from his account – an amount he donated to charity at the time for using match footage without his permission.
He now has a multiple of the number of viewers he had in 2020. Podcasts can also be used for ads, and Twitch viewers can subscribe to their favorite streamers, such as Sergio Agüero, for at least $4.99 a month. It is unclear how much he earns with this, but it is evident that the side earnings of popular football professionals are significant.
Sam van Raalte suspects that a lot will change in the football world in the coming years in the field of communication. “I think that in a while, many football players will start a podcast,” he says. “I think it is not inconceivable that in a selection of 25 players, half will have a podcast or Twitch channel. Plus an in-house media team to help with the making.”
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