Prudent use of science and maths can make for better, safer athletes, but also deliver a better kick of the ball, according to former Liverpool player Craig Johnston.
Following his days with Liverpool in the 1980s, Johnston spent nearly four years working with designers and engineers, primarily in Dublin, developing prototypes for a football boot.
This was going to be the ultimate boot, one he considered to be better than any existing model on the market.
He eventually presented his finished product to Adidas, where it became the world's best-selling boot, the Predator, a boot favoured by some of the biggest names in football and rugby, who argue it gives them an edge in competition.
Though he rarely makes speaking appearances, Johnston said he could not pass up an invitation to return to Dublin to champion the varied and integral role of science in our lives.
With this in mind he delivered a lecture at the Royal Irish Academy yesterday as part of the Science Week Ireland programme.
"Science doesn't sound like a particularly sexy topic, but football is such a powerful force in the UK and Ireland especially, that it captures young kids' imagination," he said.
An open-mindedness towards innovation exists in Dublin that was hard to find elsewhere, he noted. "It's such a great environment to throw out an idea. I've worked in many other countries and a lot of times brainstorming sessions result in lots of comments on why your ideas won't work, whereas in Ireland it comes back wrapped up in a bouquet of flowers with positive embellishments."
While football is what he is best known for, a lifelong interest in photography actually drove the development of the Predator.
Johnston created digital photography technologies to capture the precise moment of contact between a player's bare foot and the ball.
"In that millisecond of impact we see what happens to the structure of both," he said. "It was the most scientific way anyone had looked at the friction, the message the player puts on the ball."
The photographs helped engineers to quantify the flight path of the ball in mathematical formulas, eventually allowing for the design of a rubber with better grip. "We were going over the maths that had been taken for granted in the mystery of football," said Johnston.
Attention to the science of the boot can also prevent common injuries. The wearing of boots with studs that are too long has led to countless metatarsal injuries, the sort that has plagued Wayne Rooney and David Beckham, Johnston believes.
Additionally, he said the commonly-held belief that more protection in the boot will reduce the risk of injury is completely false. "That is totally wrong - there's actually too much protection and not enough give in a lot of boots."