Listen to that sound, as former striker moves to a different beat

Once a footballer’s body begins to show the strain of a lifetime of playing football and retirement begins to loom, there a few standard career paths that a player can take.

Typically, players tend to migrate towards the warmth of a studio and become a pundit, stay in the game as a manager or coach, or disappear entirely from view to sit atop their wads of cash if they were highly successful, or take a nine-to-five, if they failed to hit the heights.

Thankfully though there are pioneers within the game who refuse to accept this standard and leading the way is former United, Villa and Coventry City striker Dion Dublin, who has shunned the Match of the Day sofa and has created his own range of musical instruments.

Shunning the obvious career path, Dublin has followed his passion for music and has created his own musical instrument, the Dube.

Having touted prototypes of the wooden box around media outlets, that have included Soccer AM and Radio One, who seemed surprised to see a footballer publically trying his hand at something that doesn’t involve a round ball, keen followers of football have been aware of the Dube for a while.

As a result, fans have curiously waited to see of Dublin’s interest in the musical box was merely a passing fad or a genuine new career path and it certainly seems to be the latter, as he has today launched the instrument to the mass market, via his new website.

Obviously footballers such as Gazza and Hoddle & Waddle have dabbled in what can generously be termed as music, but never as a career choice.

Whether you agree with the endorsement of unstoppable motor-mouth Ian Wright, who has described the instrument as “completely new” is a matter of opinion, as some might see it as just a wooden box available in a variety of sizes.

Bang a drum though for the audacity of Dublin to follow a passion of his and not be constrained by the stereotype of what a footballer can achieve after his career in the game has finished.

Posted By Dan Mobbs - Monday October 4, 2010.
Tags: Dion Dublin, Manchester United