In partnership with National Freestyle Championships
Ahead of the UK Champs 2018, co-organiser and Premier League winner Christian Fuchs spoke exclusively to JOE to tell us more about the growing football freestyle community.
There is a common misconception that professional footballers and freestylers should be equally skilled at each other’s disciplines. If you can win the Premier League, then surely you can perform mind-blowing tricks for a minute? And if you can perform mind-blowing tricks, surely you have the ability to play at reasonable level?
Christian Fuchs is keen to dispel that myth: “It’s a completely different sport. They’re completely different rules, a completely different set-up. One is playing in the stadium on a football pitch, with goals. This is only about keeping the ball by yourself and doing as many skills as possible.”
Fuchs admits that, despite becoming a Premier League champion with Leicester in 2016, he wouldn’t excel in the freestyle world.
“I would have my 45 seconds in the qualifier and that’s it. I think a lot of people out there underestimate defenders in their skills, but you also have to be honest with yourself and what those guys are doing with the ball, I think they’re beyond what a normal footballer can do.”
He does, however, hope that Andrew Henderson, his partner in organising the event, would vouch for him being more talented in a freestyle situation than the rest of his Leicester teammates.
“Hopefully Andrew would say (I’m the best). I wouldn’t call what I do freestyling – I just know a couple of tricks – but I honestly believe that from the Leicester squad that I would have the best skills when it comes to that.
“It’s just a different skillset that you have to have when it comes to playing on the pitch in the Premier League rather than being a freestyler so I hope that Andrew will confirm, but I would name myself.”
Fuchs’ passion for freestyle was sparked by his admiration for the skills on show – skills that will be exhibited once more at the UK Champs.
“I like what the guys are able to do with the ball, obviously. I got to know Andrew Henderson about two years ago. Before, I was really fascinated by the sport but then seeing what he’s doing live and then further down the line getting to know more of the guys in the community who are doing freestyle… I like it, I like the guys, obviously how committed they are to the job, to freestyle football. It just naturally developed.”
Fuchs is keen to stay involved in the freestyle community once his football career comes to an end, with big plans to continue developing the UK Champs.
“It’s definitely one of my interests given the relationships that I have with freestylers, so it’s definitely something that I want to keep involved in for the future. Especially because the Championships, we’re not doing it as a one-off thing, we want to build up the community here in the UK a bit more and involve the Irish freestylers too.
“It’s more of a long-term project, the way we see it, rather than doing one Champs and that’s it.”
The UK Champs 2018 will take place at York Hall in London on Sunday, 23rd September. Buy tickets here.
