Hoddle, Pele, Zidane, Maldini: The greatest two-footed XI in football history

Glenn Hoddle is one of the most two-footed footballers in the history of the men’s game.

While it might seem like a given that professional players pocketing huge wages week in, week out would be able to strut their stuff with both feet, showing true ambidexterity on a football pitch is far rarer than you might expect.

It turns out that nabbing £200,000-per-week isn’t a one-way ticket to causing mayhem with both your right and left boot unless you’re a true footballing magician like Hoddle and a select few others.

However, said exclusive club of two-footed wizards just happen to ascertain something of a superpower once they master the art of ambidexterity because it opens up so many doors in the way that they play the beautiful game.

And that instant release of fresh opportunities, avenues and possibilities on the pitch is something that Hoddle himself discussed during a fascinating appearance on the High Performance Podcast.

The Tottenham Hotspur and England legend described a footballer’s feet as ‘golf clubs’, brilliantly explaining how players who can use the inside and outside of each of them have more in the locker as a result.

“Listen, give me a ball and a wall,” Hoddle mused. “You don’t need a coach. You don’t need your dad. You just need time. And the love of doing it and you’ll become a better player.

Read more: The High Performance Podcast hub

“Two-footed, inside your foot, outside your foot. Your feet are like golf clubs. As a footballer, you’ve gotta be learn to use both of them. And you’ve gotta learn to use the inside and the outside of your foot.

“If you can do that and you will improve, you won’t get worse. If you can do that, you’ve got angles to play passes that others haven’t got. And that’s a