Soccer players are not only some of the most skillful and gifted athletes in the world but some of the smartest and brightest minds you can find anywhere.
After retirement, some ex-players engage in various activities and professions widely, ranging from acting, coaching, sporting directors, journalists, pundits, and politics.
There are soccer players who are businessmen, who own clubs, and who went to college. However, are there even soccer players who are medical doctors?
It’s not too common to find many soccer players who are doctors, but today we will be profiling a few prominent examples.
This brief list will include soccer players who are or were medical doctors while or after playing soccer professionally.
1. Kenny Deuchar
Kenny Deuchar is a 44-year-old retired footballer who played most of his professional career in his native Scotland.
Deuchar began his football career with Falkirk in 1998 and later played for clubs like East Fife, Gretna, St Johnstone, and Hamilton Academical.
His standout performances at Gretna, where he was a prolific goal-scorer, earned him the nickname “The Good Doctor.”
At Gretna, he enjoyed his most prolific spell scoring 63 goals in 93 league appearances.
In 2008, he moved to the United States to play for Real Salt Lake in the Major League Soccer before returning to Scotland and continuing his career until his retirement in 2013.
Apart from football also holds the special distinction of being a practicing medical doctor.
Kenny is a general medical practitioner in his native Scotland and is also married with children.
In 2011, Deuchar retired from the game, as he planned to gain the final qualifications he needed to become a doctor.
Like many soccer players who own restaurants, Kenny Deuchar runs two restaurants — the Wheelhouse restaurant, in Falkirk and the Boathouse restaurant in Kilsyth.
Unfortunately, in 2018 the company was liquidated and the restaurants had to be sold off.
Overall, in his professional soccer career, Deuchar played for Falkirk (in two separate stints), East Fife, Gretna, Northampton Town, St Johnstone (also in two separate stints), Real Salt Lake, Hamilton Academical, Livingston, and Stenhousemuir.
After initially retiring for two years, he returned to the field to play for Arbroath for an additional year.
2. Nadia Nadim
Afghan-born Nadia is a female professional football player who represents the Danish female national team.
Nadim’s family fled Afghanistan after her father was executed by the Taliban, seeking asylum in Denmark.
There, her football talent was quickly recognized.
She started her professional career with B52 Aalborg and later played for top clubs like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Racing Louisville FC.
Nadim has also been a key player for the Danish national team, participating in multiple UEFA Women’s Euro tournaments and the FIFA Women’s World Cup
The 36-year-old striker has garnered 105 soccer caps for Denmark, with 38 goals to her name.
She has featured for a plethora of club sides both in her home country Denmark and overseas.
However, she currently plays as a striker for Serie A club, AC Milan Women.
Nadim has been on the books of IK Skovbakken, Fortuna Hjorring, Portland Thorns FC, Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain, among many other soccer clubs.
She has also won various league titles playing in America, France, and England. She is also said to an excellent penalty-taker.
Nadia is also one of the few soccer players in the world who is also a qualified doctor.
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She attended medical school on campus and remotely at Aarhus University based in Denmark.
In 2020, she was qualified enough to assist in surgeries before obtaining her final medical certification in January of 2022.
She specializes in reconstructive surgery and is particularly interested in helping people with war injuries, drawing from her own experiences as a refugee.
Nadim’s dedication to both football and medicine, along with her advocacy for refugees and women’s rights, continues to inspire many.
She got married on August 2024.
3. Sócrates
The late great Brazilian midfielder was one of the best and most iconic players of his generation.
For some, Sócrates is one of the greatest soccer players of all-time.
Socrates featured for the Brazilian national team between 1979-1986 with 22 goals in 60 appearances.
He captained the exciting Brazilian team that featured at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
He was admired for his skill and technical ability, as well as his cool fashion look/hairstyles.
Socrates played and managed mostly in his native Brazil. Socrates is also famous for being a qualified physician.
He obtained his medical degree while still playing professionally at the medical school of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In fact, because of his medical degree and intelligent style of play, he was given him the nickname “Doctor Socrates”.
He graduated from the Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto at the University of São Paulo in 1977.
Despite the demands of professional soccer, he managed to balance his studies and his sports career.
After retiring from professional football, Sócrates practiced medicine, specializing in gastroenterology.
He remained a prominent figure in Brazilian society, often contributing to discussions on sports, politics, and health
Also, after his retirement, he would practice medicine in Ribeirao Preto until his death in 2011.
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