Leonardo Jardim, rituals, start-ups… 11 things to know about Eric Dier
A reigning Bundesliga champion is now in the Principality. After having signed his contract with AS Monaco and the end of May, Eric Dier was officially presented to the press Thursday at the Performance Center. Arriving on a free transfer after a rich experience at Bayern Munich, the Cheltenham native has an atypical background and profile, which we invite you to discover. Portrait 🧐
The name Eric refers to a Frenchman… 🇫🇷
To begin, let’s go back to his origins, and more specifically to the choice of his first name. In the 1990s, a certain Eric Cantona was a star at Manchester United, and his parents were staunch supporters of the Red Devils. The former French striker didn’t leave them indifferent, to the point that they agreed to give the same first name as the French international to the future England defender, born in 1994.
Coming from a lineage of athletes 🏋️
While the new Monaco defender has pursued a career as a football player, he’s likely inherited the sporting DNA of his paternal family. His father was a professional tennis player, while his grandfather played for a time at Charlton before becoming president of Cheltenham FC from 1987 to 1992.
Trained in the land of Carnations 🇵🇹
Although little Eric was born in the southwest of England, he moved to Portugal in 2001 at the age of seven, where his mother took a job during Euro 2004. One of six siblings, the new Monaco number 3 joined Sporting Portugal in 2003, at the age of eight.
This was followed by eight years of training with the youth teams of Cristiano Ronaldo’s former club, before returning to his homeland in 2011 for a season-long loan to Everton. A year later, he returned to Sporting and made 27 appearances for the first team, before being signed by Tottenham in August 2014.
És sempre bem-vindo a casa, @ericdier 🟢⚪
A Academia recebeu uma visita especial do nosso Leão, que ainda esteve presente no treino dos #JuvenisSCP 🙌 #MadeInSporting
👉 https://t.co/7LB904tfUS pic.twitter.com/4Cv5akDxLj— Sporting CP (@SportingCP) June 9, 2022
Shaped by a former Monaco player 🧑🏫
During his time with the Sportinguistas, the English defender crossed paths with Leonardo Jardim during the 2013-2014 season. The Portuguese coach recognized the potential of the then 19-year-old player, subsequently using him 13 times during his tenure. The two men now share a mutual admiration for each other, with the player describing him as “a great coach” and saying he was “not surprised to see him at this level” before Tottenham-Monaco on September 14, 2016 (1-2).
Another Englishman joins AS Monaco 🏴
Although he is very attached to the “country that made him who he is,” he humbly admits, Eric Dier spent the vast majority of his career in London, playing 365 matches for Spurs in 10 seasons. His fine performances at club level then opened the doors to the Three Lions in 2015. It is worth noting that he thus becomes the fourth Englishman – he also has Portuguese nationality – to wear the Rouge et Blanc, succeeding Mark Hateley (1987-1990), Glenn Hoddle (1987-1991) and Jonathan Panzo (2018-2020).
Scoring his first goal for Spurs 1️⃣
After their meeting in Portugal, they took different paths, with Eric Dier returning to his home country with Tottenham the following season, while Leonardo Jardim settled in the Principality. In his first appearance for Spurs, he found the net and gave his team victory against West Ham in stoppage time with a finish worthy of the greatest strikers. The following weekend, against QPR, he proved once again decisive, scoring in a fine attacking display in the London derby.
#ThrowbackThursday to @EricDier's dream debut against Saturday's opponents West Ham in 2014… 🙌 #COYS pic.twitter.com/s8thF36QXJ
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 17, 2016
Renowned idols ⭐
Trained as a central defender or right back, he also played a defensive midfield role in his early years at Sporting. The self-described “Englishman from Portugal” grew up idolizing Roy Keane. But it was a 2010 World Cup winner that Mauricio Pochettino, his first manager at Spurs, advised him to model himself after: Sergio Busquets.
A footballer… but not only that 👏
The Cheltenham native is also well known for his work off the pitch. Starting with his appointment as an ambassador for Sported in 2020, an association that promotes the social power of sport. He has also proven himself in the tech world as co-founder of two startups alongside his brother Patrick and a mutual friend: Spotlas, a mix of Instagram and TripAdvisor launched in 2019, and Yellow Build, a design solution for social media and websites.
Wasting no time as our Sported Ambassador @EricDier visited @HRSportsAcademy this week to learn how they’ve already supported 30,000 #youngpeople to build brighter futures through sport.
👉Find out more about Erics visit: https://t.co/DKhHeDgyLe#SportedUK #TimesChristmasAppeal pic.twitter.com/qqzOugklHh— Sported (@sported_UK) November 29, 2020
Pre-match rituals 🏟️
When it comes to pre-match routines, Eric Dier certainly ranks near the top! As he explained on Bayern Munich’s YouTube channel, he and his mother have made a habit of exchanging two identical messages before each of his matches for the past five years! He also wears his socks a certain way, and finally, he revises his warm-up routine after every defeat. Superstitious!
A new language in his repertoire? 📘
While English remains his native language, his 13 years spent in Portugal allowed him, among other things, to learn the national dialect. As he explained in a podcast during his visit to Munich, he has a particular interest in learning the languages of the countries he lives in, and took German courses while in Bavaria.
A great community on social media 📲
The Three Lions player won’t be arriving alone at the foot of the Rock, as many people are following him from afar on Instagram (1 million followers), Twitter (372,200 followers) and Linkedin (5.239 followers), He has a large number of subscribers who may have been attracted by his FC 25 card on EA Sports FC, on which has a good overall rating of 79.
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