On the eve of the World Cup finals, I have to report that there is somewhat of a schism within the offices of Optu.

I confess to being an out-and-out soccer nut. I fully subscribe to the Bill Shankly philosophy that football isn’t a matter of life and death…”it’s more important than that.”

Whereas Rob, whilst professing to quite enjoy watching “top-quality football games”, does admit (under intense questioning!) that he’s only ever attended four matches, three whilst a youngster with his father and an England international as a guest of Volvo Trucks. And that doesn’t count in my book!

Which is why I’m more “gutted” (to use the modern cliché) than he is that Rio Ferdinand is now out of the World Cup because of injury.

The good news is that the ligament injury isn’t career threatening. He’ll be playing again next season. But what if it had curtailed his playing days?

I recall the career of another Manchester United player – Ian Storey-Moore – being ended by knee ligament problems when he was just 28. United had signed him from Nottingham Forest where, for six consecutive seasons, he’d been top scorer (118 goals in 236 appearances).

Storey-Moore proceeded to score five times in his first 11 games for United. He was as big a name as Ferdinand or even Wayne Rooney. Then came the injury.

Storey-Moore played before the days of the sky-high salaries. Fortunately, he stayed in the game and became Chief Scout at Aston Villa.

But many stars, in many sports, suffer cruel injuries which end their careers prematurely. Their lives are turned upside down. And not every footballer, nor the stars of a whole range of other sports, can hope to earn the salaries of the Premiership players. They need to keep working; to keep earning.

Which is why we at Optu have done so much media and presentation work with top athletes.

This work doesn’t just help them during their active careers, but also prepares them for life afterwards, whether as media ‘pundits’, running a business or seeking a new career.

High-quality training in media and presentational skills can enhance an athlete’s earnings potential during their careers – across a range of different sports – but is also an essential insurance policy against the unthinkable: a career cut short by injury.

Now back to you Rob Hallam….which game are you inviting me to next season?!

Steve Ireland