Some players retire from the beautiful game and spend the rest of their days clutching on to memories, while others take the initiative to conquer other facets of life. One player who did this was a former South African footballer and coach!
Carlos das Neves represented Cape Town-based club Hellenic in a career that saw him only receive a red card on one occasion, which he revealed during an interview with Soccer Laduma. The South African spent 11 years representing the side as a professional footballer.
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Following his career as a payer at the highest level of the game, Das Neves went on to begin a career in management when he took charge of Vasco Da Gama from 2008 to 2011. Since then, however, he has managed to transition, seemingly successfully, into the business world.
His life now looks to be completely different to how it used to be when he kicked a ball around for a living. The former player is now a husband and a father, and is a qualified chartered accountant!
In finding a career, a prosperous one at that, after football Das Neves demonstrates just how crucial it is for footballers to really consider their options when thinking about alternative fields as they reach the end of their careers.
It's as former Manchester United defender Gary Neville once said, per The Guardian: "The reality is you've got 15 years at most to play professional football and you need to prepare for the next 40 or 50 years."
Over the years, some South African players became notorious for spending large amounts of money in a careless manner so for footballers in the country, despite the seemingly large salaries in the professional game, players mismanaging their finances has always been a concerning issue.
If they're doing so during their playing days, the money they have garnered during their careers would not have mattered much if they retire with little to their name. In some cases, players can suffer unexpected career-ending injuries, also leaving them vulnerable to financial insecurity if they do not take the appropriate steps during their playing days.
This, however, seems far from the case for Das Neves who, as he divulged on his social media account LinkedIn, has an incredible 20 years experience as a Financial Director in the Event Management and Marketing Industry. What is more interesting is that he spent seven years as an auditor at BDO Spencer Steward while he pursued his "first love, soccer."
To get to his level of experience, one would need the correct skillset. He was able to achieve this by completing a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom), Accounting and Related Services at one of the leading higher education institutions on the African continent UCT.
What the former Vasco Da Gama coach may have proved with his transition from the pitch to the boardroom, is that footballers possess valuable that is required for a player to succeed at the highest levels. The skills they develop from being at the pinnacle of the game include having the ability to communicate, issue and receive instructions, work in a team, and have the ability to concentrate while being in a high-pressure environment.
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