There aren’t too many League 2 players who you’d be able to pick out of a line-up, but Adebayo Akinfenwa is one of that number.
The former Swansea and Northampton striker can lay claim to the tag of ‘strongest footballer in the world’, with a strength rating of 98 on FIFA 16.
Now at AFC Wimbledon, having turned down approaches from Major League Soccer over the summer, the 33-year-old frontman spoke to JOE at the launch of EA SPORTS FIFA 16 in London about retaining his title, and about continuing to improve himself more than a decade into an accomplished career.
You’ve been named strongest player for the second year running – what’s your secret?
I work on it – I’ve got things I’m good at and things I’m not so good at, and like anything in life I think you need to concentrate on the stuff that you’re good at. I’m not the quickest in the world, you know, but I’m the strongest and I work on that tirelessly. I’m not a spring chicken, I’m getting on a bit and that means I’ve got to work even harder at my fitness, and that’s what I do.
But more than anything, I enjoy it – I enjoy the gym, and when you enjoy something you can go harder at it. I also like to prove a lot of people wrong, and that’s an added motivation. Still to date people are telling me ‘you can’t do stuff’, but you control what you do in life. I think that’s the secret to what I do.
Has anything changed in your fitness regime in the last 12 months?
No, nothing’s really changed. To be fair I have started to drink a little more tea – that’s come into my diet – especially after training, and in the morning some green tea. Aside from that it’s pretty much the same. You go hard, there’s no real secret to it. If you’ve got that drive, you’ve got that drive, and long may that continue.
And chicken. I’ve got to give a shout-out to chicken – how can I not?
Do you tend to take on advice from other people when it comes to training, or do you prefer to go your own way.
I’ve got a way that I do, but every day is a learning day. I’m not closed minded to new stuff – I’m 33 and I’ve been in the game for 14 years, but you can always learn. So if somebody has got something that can help me out, I’m all ears – if you can get that one or two per cent better it can help. Still I have a way that works for me, but if somebody sees something I’m doing wrong, or has something that can help me, I’m always up to listen.
What was the experience like getting your head scanned for the FIFA 16?
It was amazing and it was surreal. I went into a room and there were I think 20-odd cameras. I had to do speaking and they recorded the way my mouth moved. I feel blessed because I don’t think there’s many League 2 players getting their head scanned – or even any players outside the Premier League – so for me that is an achievement.
When I play FIFA I normally try to play as AFC Wimbledon or Swansea, teams I’ve been at, and after having my head scanned this year I’ll definitely be playing with myself more and more…in the game, because you could have looked at that differently!
You’ve clearly got a lot of time for Swansea – what do you make of how they have progressed since you left?
I think for Swansea fans it will be like they’ve gone through a dream. We were a strong team when I was there – we should have got promoted. The fans there were passionate and for me the one thing I’ll look back at is I’ll always be remembered for scoring the first goal at the Liberty Stadium. It’s part of that history.
And Garry Monk was my captain at the time, so I wish nothing but greatness to them and they’ve gone from strength to strength. [Former Swansea manager Roberto] Martinez has done well at Everton, Lee Trundle’s now back at the club, it’s that whole nucleus of what Swansea’s about and I think that’s important.
We’ve seen some posturing from the likes of Diego Costa in the Premier League – what would happen if you came up against him?
Not even being funny, I’d snooze Diego Costa – that don’t even come into play. I like his aggression and that, but if he came to me that would be a problem. If we get drawn in the FA Cup, fingers crossed. I actually like him as a person, you know – he does what he needs to do to win.
I think he crossed a line against Arsenal, but that’s his game and you can’t take away somebody’s aggression – it is what it is, and that’s him, he’s a tenacious individual. That’s what’s got him where he is.
I think 9 out of 10 managers or players would say they want him in his team, and you’ve can’t be doing something wrong if you’re getting those sort of stats back. Then again I did look at what happened and thought ‘I wish I was marking him when he did that’ – you think stuff like that, but it’s Costa, we know that by now.
Have you come up against anyone comparable to Costa on the pitch?
Guy Branston was the first one to give me an education. He played the game and he got into my mind. But I was a young kid at the time and I’ve grown up from that, I’ve learned from that. I’ve always told people Guy Branston was my education to getting into your mindset.
He’d be saying stuff like ‘Oh yeah, you’re going to McDonalds after this’, then he’d header the ball and I’d be like ‘what?’ – them subtle mind games, stuff like that’s small but effective, but it is what it is and that’s cool.
Adebayo Akinfenwa was competing in the FIFA 16 Celebrity Cup at the launch of EA SPORTS FIFA 16, out NOW on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and all other formats. Watch highlights from this year’s #FIFA16UKLAUNCH below.
