“If you’re tired of football you can coach me on a tennis court any time,” Alexander Zverev told Pep Guardiola after his win over Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon this year. The legendary Spanish coach was in attendance to watch Zverev in the third-round contest at the grass-court Grand Slam event. Interestingly, the German tennis star has had a deep connection to soccer and often expresses his fandom about the sport. He is a big fan of the German club, Bayern Munich and wanted Guardiola to join them before the start of this season. But fandom aside, did you know Zverev also wanted to pursue a career in soccer before his exploits in the tennis world?

The 27-year-old is very competitive when it comes to his on-court exploits. He gives it his all on the court in order to find success. Losing is not an option for Alexander Zverev. His competitive nature has been with him since childhood and this became one of the reasons behind him switching to tennis from soccer.

During an interview after winning the 2017 Italian Open, Zverev said, “When I was growing up I played a lot of different sports. There was a time when I was playing field hockey, tennis and soccer at the same time. I was actually quite good at all of those sports. My field hockey team were German champions and my football team were Hamburg champions. But quitting the other sports to focus on tennis was my decision.” 

Zverev’s switch from soccer to tennis came at the age of 12 when an early-round loss at a high-level international junior soccer tournament in Florida proved to be a crushing blow to the German’s hopes. Subsequently, he focused on tennis and has gone on to become a world-class player.

As his brother, Mischa Zverev once said, “He would not understand or accept that he was losing,” Alexander Zverev’s competitive nature eventually paved the way for his move from soccer to tennis. Despite choosing tennis as a career, Zverev has remained closely associated to soccer and also spent a whopping amount once to watch his favorite club from close range.

Alexander Zverev spent thousands of pounds on the ultimate Bavaria experience

Last year, Bayern Munich faced Manchester United in the Champions League group stage. In their away leg against the Red Devils, Zverev joined the Bayern Munich squad to watch them from close range. It was the off-season of tennis then and Zverev splurged 8000 pounds to watch the Bayern Munich heroes from close range.

The experience included traveling in the same plane as the squad and a full access to the team. He was also allowed to watch the full training session of Bayern Munich’s team before their clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford. This is something that even the media isn’t allowed as they get to witness just 15 minutes of the practice session.

After the match, Zverev also shared a banquet with Bayern’s stars, a tradition for the German giants after Champions League away games. Bayern Munich went on to win that match against the Red Devils, with Zverev having the experience of a lifetime.

The German star is currently in Cincinnati where he has reached the semifinals of the ATP 1000 Cincinnati Masters. He will take on the top seed, Jannik Sinner, in a thrilling last-four clash later today. What’s your prediction for that match?