Former Benetton Driver Once Unveiled ‘Secret’ Behind Michael Schumacher Keeping Up With His Soccer Skills in His Heydays

Michael Schumacher may have been the greatest F1 driver of his generation, but that wasn’t the only sport he was passionate about. One sport that he keenly followed and actively took part in was soccer. The German driver was, in fact, so good that he left Giancarlo Fisichella, a fellow F1 driver floored with his skills.

Fisichella, in a June 2023 episode of the Beyond The Grid podcast revealed, “He was good, he practised a lot. He was also training with a team when he lived in Switzerland. It was nice to play with him.”

The Italian driver praised Fernando Alonso for his skills with the soccer ball as well. He talked about how technically gifted the two-time world champion was.

While soccer is a sport that many drivers take up to keep themselves entertained and fit, it is a sport that has become almost a necessity to be good at. That is because of an annual tradition before the Monaco GP. Every year before the race, several F1 drivers form a team to play a charity match against celebrities. Their skills, or the lack thereof, can often become the reason for some added popularity on the internet.

Schumacher, in his F1 days, never shied away from participating in the game. The reason behind it was his association with the German national team. Surely they’d taught him a trick or two during their time together.

Michael Schumacher’s association with elite soccer players

Michael Schumacher made a sensational comeback from retirement in F1 to drive for Mercedes. During his time with the team, he appeared in a Mercedes A-Class advertisement with his teammate Nico Rosberg. The German duo had members of the German soccer national team with them in the commercial. Among those were Marco Reus, Lukas Podolski, André Schürrle and Tim Weise.

Schumacher’s exploits once got him an invitation to train with Manchester United. He used to regularly train with the Swiss club FC Echichens back then. However, shortly before appearing for the training with the English giants, he picked an injury during a training session with Echichens. The clash with their goalkeeper made Michael pull out of the Manchester United training camp.

Despite the association with the Swiss club, the 7-time world champion always kept one German club close to his heart. That team was FC Cologne. Michael held the club in such high regard that he once lied to his friends that the club’s star player, Toni Schumacher was his uncle.

The Ferrari legend was a sports lover through and through. The need to keep himself occupied was so strong that he even tried his hand at superbike racing. He even competed in the German IDM Superbike championship.