A resurgent Wolves side are currently sitting mid-table in the English Premier League. Their secret? Vegetables. Irish full-back Matt Doherty recently revealed the contents of his first conversation with coach Nuno Espirito Santo. "He asked me how my body fat was, he obviously knew it was really high." That was back in June 2017 with Doherty weighing in at 89kg (14 stone), although he could sometimes find himself nearer the 92kg mark.
Hoping to impress Santo in the early stages of his overhaul, Doherty was looking to get in shape. A changing-room encounter with vegan teammate Danny Batth opened his eyes to a meat-free world. Although Doherty's yet to cut out the fish (he's a proud 'pescatarian') his diet has dramatically cleaned up and his weight dropped to a leaner 86.5kg with improved body-fat levels.
"I used to not eat that well. I would have microwaveable dinners, like pasta. It was mixed in with your fizzy drinks and sweets. No good." Although he's admittedly no saint, still having the odd fizzy drink, his diet has cleaned up considerably. He's leaner now than ever before and the results are showing. The wing-back is in the top five for sprints at the Molineux and is maintaining a consistent place in the squad, despite the change of regime.
It's not just Doherty and Batth preaching the gospel of a plant-based diet though. There are other surprising advocates in the footballing world. Ironically, the man many call the GOAT (greatest of all time) actually doesn't eat the animal. Lionel Messi switched to a vegan diet during the season to be in tip-top shape, clocking in leaner and feeling rejuvenated through his diet of fresh fruit, veg, whole-grains, nuts and seeds.
He’s not the only one either. Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero also ditches the meat during the playing season. Attributing this to speeding up his post-training and post-injury recovery, the Argentine is also second top scorer in the EPL and at the age of 30, doesn’t seem like slowing down.
Football’s uncrowned king of cool Héctor Bellerín picked up on the diet last year and the Spaniard has never felt healthier. Although his family didn’t understand his choice at first, it seems that they too have lowered their meaty portions. Following on from others athletes like Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams and David Haye, the Spaniard swears by the change in lifestyle. Given his recent form, who could argue?
Is this a new trend in football? It’s hard to say, but with such prominent early adopters and the continually progressive environment in sports science and nutrition, cutting down on meat, if not completely eradicating it, is becoming more and more prevalent. In a game where 1% makes the difference – teams are willing to do all they can to seize the opportunity.
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