Why meditation and reading is showing it’s worth to Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga

‘’When I go home to my girlfriend, we do not really talk about football. It is my time to relax,’’ Elanga says to The Athletic. ‘’I have football time and I have family time. When I go to training, I am focused, I am locked in. It is strictly football. When you leave the training ground, you have to switch off.’’ 

Reading books

‘’I like to meditate. That relaxes me,’’ says the 22-year-old. ‘’I read the Bible. I am also reading a book called Relentless, about Kobe Bryant. I like to read about the mentality of other athletes in the past and how they reacted to certain situations and challenges. How did they get success?’’ 

Elanga explains that the book has taught him to stay grounded and to work hard. ‘’LeBron James is another of the biggest examples of what you can achieve if you invest in yourself; if you look after yourself. That is so important to me. If I invest in myself… the only person who will stop me becoming what I become is myself.’’ 

‘’It’s not going to be my coach or anyone else… it will be me who decides that, because I am the one out there on the pitch; I am the one who has to look at what I eat, when I sleep, how I recover… all those things are down to me,’’ says the former Manchester United player. ‘’That mindset has helped me to get through the start to this season, absolutely. I do not put pressure on myself, because I believe that if you put in the work, if you do things right, once things click for you, they will keep going right.’’ 

‘One-season wonder’

Elanga also takes inspiration from fellow Premier League footballer Mohammed Salah. ‘’The most important thing for me is to be consistent. Look at Mo Salah. People said he was a one-season wonder… but he is still here now proving people wrong. I am 22, I still have a lot of time and a lot of ways to improve. I think I will do that because I have the support around me both inside the club and outside.’’