In Pictures: Roger Federer shows off his soccer-fan side, attends FC Basel's clash vs Young Boys in Swiss Super League
Former World No. 1 Roger Federer attended FC Basel's soccer match against BSC Young Boys in the Swiss Super League on Sunday, October 6. The home team secured a 1-0 victory over Young Boys and is currently in sixth place on the league table.
Federer called time on his professional tennis career at the 2022 Laver Cup. He has been enjoying life post-retirement and is often spotted at sporting events around the globe.
The 43-year-old was present at St. Jakob-Park in Basel to witness his home team in action against Young Boys. The Swiss legend was also pictured with Basel's key playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri.
Here are a few snaps of Federer from the game:
Federer was born on August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland. He has been supporting the iconic club since he was a teenager. He also attended Basel's Europa Conference League qualifier against CSKA Sofia in 2022 and celebrated with the players following their 2-0 victory over the Bulgarian club.
Here is Federer striking a pose with FC Basel's team members on Instagram:
The 20-time Grand Slam champion spoke about his love for FC Basel in a letter commemorating the club's 125th anniversary in 2018. He named Karli Odermatt, Christian Gimenez, and Massimo Ceccaroni as his role models and inspirational figures when he was growing up. He said (via Tennis World USA):
“Whoever grows up in Basel is an FCB fan! I lived in Munchenstein, it was not that far away from our football pitch. When I was traveling all the time on the tennis circuit, I could not be there so much.”
“But my role models of FCB inspired on my way. My first hero was Karli Odermatt, then I got interested in Christian Gimenez and Massimo Ceccaroni,” the Swiss maestro added.
"I was an attacking midfielder or centre forward" - Roger Federer on his early days as a soccer player
One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Roger Federer once trained to become a professional soccer player. He was also a part of the youth set-up at FC Concordia in Basel.
The Swiss Maestro spoke about his journey in an interview and believed he would be captain material had he been a soccer player. He said (via Bitbol):
"When I was 12 years old my tennis schedule was so full that I just couldn't compete in other sports. I like to think I could have been a footballer. I was an attacking midfielder or center forward. I was a good leader, so I would have been a good captain."
The 43-year-old also mentioned being a sore loser in soccer while comparing the sport with tennis.
"In tennis, I felt that everything was under my control. In football, I could blame the goalkeeper or anyone else. In tennis, I didn't have this problem. I was the only one to blame," he said.
Federer highly regarded Francesco Totti of AS Roma (an Italian soccer club) and Lionel Messi of Argentina. He said he grew up watching Argentine players like Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta.