A lifetime separates Herbert Chapman’s death and the arrival on the scene of Simon Clifford: in that time, there was no innovation in British football. In fact, if you remove Chapman from the equation, the innovation-free period starts in 1888. So it’s vital to encourage innovation and risk-taking, the attempt to do something genuinely new, when it comes along.
This is my warm welcome to Zuku, a British company who produce dietary supplements for footballers. Zuku’s founders are, like me, veterans of the London Borough of Sutton and Cheam, a place that only the hardest and best survive, and they’ve taken on British football at its weakest point: nutrition.
Really, it’s about time. Even at top clubs, this area is still as much witchcraft or alternative medicine as it is science. Creatine entered British football via Glenn Hoddle in the late ’90s i.e. some time ago. Zuku’s Soccer Pro product is, in any case, far better suited to regular grass roots use, and that, in my opinion, is where it’s most needed.
More, please. Here’s what Zuku have to say:
The demands of modern football are massive and today’s matches are played at an incredible pace and level of intensity. So many matches are decided in the crucial final minutes, when players are at their most tired. In the 2008/9 Premiership season, 185 goals were scored (or conceded!) after 80 minutes – that’s almost 20% of all goals! Oranges, cups of tea and even dolly mixtures have been used to try to invigorate flagging players at half-time.
However, there is a more advanced option – Nutraceuticals. These are like ‘super vitamins’ and could revolutionize how modern football is played. So far their development has been held back by a lack of innovation, formulation difficulties and high production costs. Zuku’s Soccer Pro has been designed to help improve a footballer’s late-game performance. It could be described as the half-time orange for the 21st Century.
Soccer Pro fits in with your existing match-day routine. It is packed in handy, single-use sachets that are easy to carry around. It’s really quick and easy to take, at half-time just tear open a sachet and eat the contents. Each sachet contains one match serving and the small, chewable tablets are fruit-flavoured and taste great.
Soccer Pro has 3 main active ingredients: L-Theanine for focus, Coenzyme Q10 for power and L-Carnitine for endurance. These cutting-edge ingredients are totally natural and 100% safe for professional sports use. Soccer Pro helps you to focus and gives you the maximum benefit from your pre-match meal. It can also help fight the onset of muscle fatigue. Soccer Pro is the must-have match day accessory.
Soccer Pro has been developed for use by professional footballers. It’s made in Switzerland to cGMP standards (current Good Manufacturing Practice) which is the level that pharmaceuticals are manufactured to. Soccer Pro’s ingredients are pure and fully traceable. It’s used by different levels of footballers ranging from keen amateur to full professionals. But any footballer would probably benefit from using Soccer Pro. It won’t turn a terrible player into Lionel Messi, but it does help players get the most out of their game.
(Just for the record, I’m grateful to the people at Zuku for their encouragement and moral support in my efforts to organize a 2010 sporting event to raise money for support of patients with brain tumours. )