There’s no denying that football is a stressful business. With higher fees and wages than ever, pressure to perform is huge, and I’m sure footballers feel the need to use their downtime to chill out, whatever their definition of ‘chill out’ is. Contrary to popular belief, footballers do work a solid working week, and don’t go and kick a ball around for an hour before spending the day doing whatever they please with their huge wages! We’ve searched the globe for some of the coolest, funniest and pure craziest hobbies and pastimes of professional footballers, and we’ve listed some of them below.

• Gabriel Obertan – Gardening – The lightning fast winger famously used his down time during injury to get on top of his gardening. Manchester United academy director Brian McClair has been quoted as saying “New signing Gabriel Obertan is injured at the moment and can’t train and it seems he has developed a keen interest in gardening. He’s been seen helping an elderly member of the Academy staff by strimming his lawn, pruning his roses and watering his hanging baskets.” Obertan is now at Newcastle.
• Daniel Agger – Tatto Artist – The big Danish Defender is famous for his armful of tattoos, as a lot of footballers are now, but not many can share Daniel’s unique skill of being a qualified tattoo artist with the ability to ink himself or anyone else!
• Jody Craddock – Artist – Jody shares his talent and passion for art with a few footballers including Stephen Bywater, but Craddock is probably the best footballer-cum-artist out there, who shows his incredible skills with a range of prints available from his own website. Craddock says he got into art during school and has been practicing since as a way to unwind.
• Golf – It’s the ultimate footballers hobby, really. Famously, Andriy Shevchenko and Carlos Tevez are certainly famous for their love of golf. Tevez has even appeared on a golf tour as a caddy for fellow Argentinian Andres Romero.
• Fishing – A pastime famously enjoyed by the brilliant (if somewhat controversial) Chelsea defender and former England Captain John Terry.
• Judo – Boudewijn Zenden – Before he became a footballer, Boudewijn or ‘Bolo’ Zenden picked up a black belt in Judo at the tender age of just 14.
• Bingo – Cristiano Ronaldo (and Others) – Bingo and Online Bingo are a great way for footballers to chill out after their hard days at the training ground. Cristiano Ronaldo is a huge advocate, and loves the exciting game, he even said it helped him pick up English when he moved to the UK.

Whether it’s Inking their friends or relaxing at home on Party Bingo, professional footballers definitely have some hobbies you might not have necessarily expected!

Sixteen teams and over thirty matches in this month’s Euro 2012 Championship have all boiled down to this; the Final. Spain, many peoples favourites to win the competition before it even began, will take on an Italy side not given a cat in hell’s chance of reaching the final amidst a tough group and tough games against England and then Germany en route to the final, but Balotelli and crew are writing their own script, and go into the Final determined to cause an upset.

The Match will be played on Sunday the 1st July, and can be seen on BBC One, or listened to on BBC radio Five Live, Kick Off time is 7.45PM GMT.

Spain could continue to turn heads by opting against playing an out and out striker, it is expected that they will prefer Cesc Fabregas to Fernando Torres and try to play through the Midfield once more as Del Bosque continues with his revolutionary approach to tactics. Alvaro Negredo did start the match against Portugal as a Striker, but is not expected to keep his place in the starting XI.

Italy are faced with far more dilemmas with injury and selection, Ignazio Abate missed the Semi Final with injury, Mario Balotelli struggled with cramp and Antonio Cassano is carrying a twisted knee. All three are expected to play through the pain for the sake of their countries in what could be a once in a lifetime match for the players.

The odds truly are stacked against the Italians. Spain are unbeaten in 11 Euro matches, having won the last Championship and made it to the final in this, a new record that they will be looking to add to on Sunday evening. Dont expect a goal fest though, historically, games between the two nations are low scoring, and with the Defensive Italians not faced with a piercing centre forward I expect that the match will stay tight. Out of the last 10 meetings between the nations, seven of them have remained goalless at half time, what odds on that record being added to in this clash of the titans?

I think it’s safe to say that many of the mutuals will be rooting for the Italians in this fixture in the hope that somebody can buckle Spain’s world domination at least temporarily, with Andrea Pirlo and Mario Balotelli in the form of their careers, and having swept aside a rock solid German squad, perhaps the Italians deserve to lift the trophy come Sunday night.

Germany Vs Italy Euro 2012 Semi Final – Watch it on BBC One with radio coverage on BBC Radio Five Live – Match to be played at National Stadium, Warsaw – Thursday, 28 June Kick-off: 19:45 BST

The second of the semi finals for this years Euros sees England’s biggest rivals Germany come up against their conquerors in the Quarter finals, Italy.

Germany truly look like a force to be reckoned with having beaten Greece convincingly with a lot of second string squad, and look like they will shake things up again for the Semi Final. Mario Gomez, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller are all available for recalls and Joachim Loew will probably return to his favourite front three. A big boost for the Germans is the fitness of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who will play in spite of an ankle injury having been declared fit. The German Midfielder said ”I am 100% fit and very much looking forward to the game. I have trained twice fully and I feel good.”

The Germans have the added advantage of two extra days rest from the quarter finals and arguably a squad with more depth anyway.

Italy will surely be jaded having played 120 minutes against England on Sunday night, and should we see extra time in this match for any reason, the Germans will be sure to have an advantage. Giorgio Chiellini, Daniele De Rossi and Ignazio Abate are all said to be struggling with injuries, though may play through pain for the sake of their countries. The two countries both bost impressive unbeaten records in competitive internationals at the moment, and it may be a case of immovable object and unstoppable force when the nations lock horns come Thursday.

Although they will presumably be favourites, the Germans have not beaten Italy in seven meetings in International competitions, the boys in Blue will certainly be hoping that this is an omen, but I truly cant look beyond Germany for this game. In six European Semi Finals, Germany have progressed five times, which is not a bad ratio. Expect them to add to that this week and head to the final on Sunday night. That said, the Italians have done extremely well to reach this stage of the competition and have Andrea Pirlo in the form of his life at 33 years of age pulling the strings in Midfield. They will certainly be no pushovers, but I expect that the Germans efficiency will do the job once again.

Friday 22nd June 19:45 – Germany versus Greece – Euro 2012 Quarter Final

Watch it on ITV One in the UK with coverage starting at 7.30 PM. Highlights on BBC1 from 10.30 PM. The match will be played at PGE Arena, Gdansk.

Match Odds: Germany to win 1/3. Draw after 90 Mins 4/1 and Greece to win 10/1. All odds brought to you from Bet 365 and accurate as of Weds 20th June 2012.

This match preview is a guest post brought to you by the brilliant Matthew Broadley, you can check out his blog over at http://broadley-speaking.blogspot.co.uk/

Greece’s qualification is perhaps the biggest surprise, what with their opener against Poland where they were to be found one nil down and with only ten men on the pitch, quite a turnaround then to see them beating group favourites Russia in the last game with a goal from captain, and now joint most capped player, Giorgos Karagounis. It is that kind of fighting spirit, akin to 2004, that they will need to show again if they are to have any chance against Germany. Starting Salpingdis would seem like a good idea given the impact he made in the Poland game, Samaras will also need to pick up his game, he has shown glimpses of his talent, but not enough as of yet. Young defender Papadopoulos has been one of the standout players, and he will need to be at his very best to handle the in form Mario Gomez.

Germany will be everyone’s favourites to progress to the semi-finals, they comfortably won their group and don’t look to have hit top gear as of yet which will be a worrying sign for the rest of the teams left in the competition. They have a stellar midfield, Bastien Schwiensteiger as ever has been excellent, and both Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil look to have grown immeasurably in their two years at Real Madrid since the World Cup. Mario Gomez has a real point to prove it seems, after the disappointment of the Champions League final, and criticism from some factions of the German press, he is in sparking form with three goals so far. Mats Hummels at centre back will have been a revelation to many viewers, comfortable on the ball, a great range of passing and great positioning being the hallmarks of his game, off the back of winning the double with Dortmund his confidence will be sky high. It is hard to see anything other than a comfortable German win in this one.

Predicted result: Germany 3-0 Greece

Leave us a comment below and let us know your score prediction for what could be a huge upset in the Quarter Final in Gdansk.