Michael Owen is widely celebrated as one of England’s greatest attacking talents. In 2001, he became the sixth Ballon d’Or winner for England. He has scored at Anfield, Wembley, the Bernabeu, and Old Trafford. In a recent interview, Michael Own spilled beans about the secret of his success and it is really weird.
Apparently, Michael Owen’s motivation for success and scoring goals did not arise from extensive training sessions or training from top professionals. Instead, he revealed that his fearlessness stemmed from a childhood act when he risked a fierce scolding from his mother by throwing apples into a bin.
The 43-year-old appeared on Upfront with Simon Jordan recently. The podcast appearance became a talking point after the former Liverpool striker shared a childhood story about earning a ‘nod of approval’ from his father by successfully throwing apples into a bin.
Talking about the bizarre childhood story about being “brave” enough to throw apples in the bin, Owen explained: “You know, everything was a challenge.”
“You know I would eat an apple while watching the TV at night.”
“The bin would be by the TV, six meters away or whatever. I would just do it.”
“And I had the bravery to [throw the apple] and miss and for there to be a stain on the wallpaper. My mum would absolutely scream at me and send me upstairs.”
“I wasn’t cocky at all, but the next day I would do the same and I’ll be ‘bump’ and it’ll go right in the middle and my Dad would give me a nod of approval.
“My Mum would be seething, but couldn’t say anything, because it went in.
“That confidence, that sort of daring, that nod of approval that ‘I don’t want to get bolloc*ed by my Mum here’, but I’m desperate for a little wink, a little nod from my Dad, to say ‘here you cocky little’, you know.”
“That’s what I always yearned as a kid.”. Revealed Owen.
Owen’s story went viral in no time. Fans were baffled by his story as they took to social media to poke fun at the ex-Liverpool star. Memes and jokes about Owen’s “apple-throwing training regime” flooded social media. Some even sarcastically labeled it an example of “elite mentality”.
This is not the 1st time that Owen grabbed the spotlight for his quirky admissions. From revealing his aversion to movies to admitting that he made tea for his wife of 14 years for the first time in 2016, Owen had his fair share of interesting stories for the audience. However, according to Piers Morgan, Owen has gained a recent reputation for being ‘dull’. His recent podcast interview will definitely contradict it.
Owen’s apple-throwing training can definitely be surprising, but it certainly worked for him. Throughout his seven-year-long career, he managed to register 223 goals and 59 assists in 483 appearances. Perhaps those apples did indeed play a part in his success.
