10 Professional Football Players who also Played on the Sand
- Bethany Simpson
- Mar 12
- 6 min read
Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona is one of the most talented players of his generation. He made over 400 appearances as a professional footballer, including playing 140 for Manchester United and earning 45 caps for the French national team. He began playing beach soccer as soon as he retired from traditional football. He is very passionate about the game and its growth, stating in an interview with Beach Soccer Worldwide, “I love this game. And I tried my best to develop this game. But develop it just because I loved it.”
Cantona represented the Beach Bleu for a total of 15 years, first as a player and then later as a coach. In 2005, he led the French team to victory, claiming the first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, beating Portugal 1-0 on penalties in the final.
Cantona is one of the most well-known players to have made the transition to the sand and has been hailed by Beach Soccer Worldwide as ‘one of the most representative and iconic figures in the sport’.
Romário
Romário is one of the most prolific strikers of all time. He scored over 700 goals in his career, including 55 for Brazil, making him the fourth-highest goalscorer of all time for the Brazilian national team, behind Neymar, Pelé and Ronaldo.
In 1994, he won the FIFA World Cup with Brazil and received the Golden Ball. He was also named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. In 1999, he came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century Poll.
Romário represented Brazil at the 2005 Beach Soccer World Cup. He scored six goals in four matches on the sand in Rio de Janeiro for the tournament hosts.
His presence in the stands at the 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Final has been credited by members of the Brazilian national team as a point of inspiration in their quest to become the first beach soccer, futsal or football team to win six world titles - a feat they ultimately achieved, beating Italy 6-4.
“He’s a role model to us all. He’s beloved in Brazil. To have him here supporting us was unbelievable, a huge honour. We’re really grateful to him,” said Rodrigo, whose performance in the final has been dubbed ‘one of the greatest performances ever witnessed in a FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final’, on Romário’s support for the team in the final.
Romário has also enjoyed other variants of the world’s favourite game, playing in various footvolley tournaments. He won the 2006 VIP footvolley.net Open in Miami Beach and was runner-up at the 2011 Footvolley World Championships.
Zico
Zico is another Brazilian legend who played the beautiful game on both the grass and the sand. He came seventh in the 1999 FIFA Player of the Century vote and is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time.
After retiring from professional football in 1994, Zico was invited to play beach soccer for the Brazilian national team. He won the 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship with Brazil, scoring 12 goals, making him the top scorer for the tournament. He was also named player of the tournament. Brazil also won the 1996 Beach Soccer World Championship, where Zico scored in the final against Uruguay.
Gus Poyet
Gus Poyet is yet another professional footballer who represented their country at the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. He enjoyed a remarkable professional playing career, winning, among other titles, two UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups with Real Zaragoza and Chelsea and the UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea. He also helped Uruguay win the 1995 Copa América and was voted the best player of his position at the tournament.
Uruguay won both their group games at the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, but unfortunately lost to Japan in the quarter-finals.
Matt Le Tissier
Matt Le Tissier, AKA ‘Le God’, was made for the sand. The Southampton legend is renowned for his exceptional technical ability, particularly his spectacular volleys and scoring goals from difficult angles. His remarkable technical skills honed during his professional career as a midfielder made him an excellent candidate for the beach game.
He played for England in The Kronenbourg Cup, which was the UK leg of the 2002 European Pro Beach Soccer League. In the game against Germany, Le Tissier scored a wonder goal. Unfortunately, due to England’s lack of success on an international level, Le Tissier never got to play in a Beach Soccer World Cup.
Russell Osman
Russell Osman is an Ipswich Town legend, making almost 400 appearances for the club and contributing to their historic 1980-81 UEFA Cup win. He also helped Ipswich Town to victory in the FA Cup and represented England at senior level, receiving 11 caps.
Osman played for the England Beach Soccer National Team at the inaugural Beach Soccer World Championship in 1995. He was a key performer in helping the nation to their unexpected third-place finish in the competition.
René van de Kerkhof
René van de Kerkhof played as a winger, most notably for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Dutch national team. He won three Eredivisie titles and the 1977-78 UEFA Cup with Eindhoven, earning a Ballon d’Or nomination in 1978. He was part of the Netherlands team that made it to the final of the 1974 and 1978 World Cups and came third in the 1976 European Championship.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Dutch players of all time, he also represented the nation at the 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship. He scored a volley against Uruguay in the group stage, but the Netherlands ultimately lost all three games of the stage and failed to progress to the knockout stage.
Willy van de Kerkhof
Willy van de Kerkhof is René van de Kerkhof's twin brother and, like his brother, is also regarded as one of the greatest Dutch players of all time. He played as a midfielder for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Dutch national team. He played at PSV Eindhoven for 17 seasons, 10 of which he and his twin brother played alongside each other for the club.
He won six Eredivisie titles, the 1977-78 UEFA Cup and the 1987-88 European Cup with Eindhoven, earning a Ballon d’Or nomination in 1978. He was also part of the Netherlands squad that reached the final of both the 1974 and the 1978 World Cups and came third in the 1976.
He played alongside René for the Netherlands at the 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship.
Luther Blissett
Luther Blissett was a striker and is best known for his time at Watford. He holds the club’s all-time records for goals and appearances, having scored 186 goals in the 503 games he played for them.
Representing England on the international stage, Blissett was one of the first black footballers to play for the nation’s senior team. Upon scoring a hat-trick in his international debut, he also became the first ever black player to score for England. Subsequently, he became one of the most expensive footballers in the world at the time when he joined AC Milan for £1 million in 1983.
Blissett played for England at the 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship. In the bronze-medal match, he scored two late goals to complete his hat-trick and help his nation, who were 6-3 with a few minutes remaining, beat Italy 7-6.
Lucy Quinn
Lucy Quinn is different from the other footballers on this list, and not only because she is the only female player. Where the other players on this list played professionally on the grass before making the transition to the sand, Quinn actually played on the sand before becoming a professional player in the traditional format of the sport.
Quinn is a forward who played for Portsmouth at youth level and the beginning of her senior career. While studying at the University of Chichester, she played for Yeovil Town in the FA WSL 2. In 2017, she was chosen to play for Great Britain at the 2017 World University Games, which at the time was seen by the FA as a pathway to the professional game. Great Britain finished in ninth overall, but Quinn’s strong performance on the pitch helped her to win the tournament’s golden boot.
That same summer, she was invited to play for England at the Women’s Euro Beach Soccer Cup, which they ultimately won. Quinn played in goal and was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
In September 2017, Quinn signed her first professional contract with Birmingham City, where she played until 2019. She had a two-year stint with Tottenham Hotspur between 2019 and 2021, before re-signing for Birmingham City, where she still plays.
In an interview with the FA, Quinn described how playing beach soccer aided her development: “It’s a completely different game and it really helped me with things like my touch, control and volleying of the ball.”
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