Joel Embiid on Men in Blazers: His love of Arsenal, why he stopped playing soccer, and choosing Team USA

Joel Embiid wasn’t on the court Monday against the Blazers due to an injury, but he did get to share his love for soccer on the Men In Blazers podcast episode released on Tuesday.

Embiid started playing basketball at 15. Before that, he was a footballer, who dreamed of going pro. But when he grew to be over 7 feet tall, those dreams seemed less possible.

“I always wanted to be a striker, but I was just way too big,” Embiid said on the show. “I found myself in the middle because I just felt like, I like to control, make the passes and just control the whole game … Obviously being bigger than everybody else, I was more physical and people were actually scared of me because I would just make some move and act like I’m going to kick you in the foot, and everybody would be scared. I was kind of the bully, but like a Yaya Touré, physical presence, big, tall. But yeah, I enjoyed it. I wish I had more talent to be professional, but I guess I didn’t.”

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As Embiid grew, he focused more on volleyball and later on basketball — thankfully for the Sixers.

But is there an alternate universe where Embiid became an elite soccer player?

“If Joel was a couple feet shorter, yeah,” Embiid said. “At seven feet, I don’t think so. Even in goalkeepers, I don’t think I’d be good at seven feet. But yeah an alternate universe where Joel is better than Messi, Ronaldo? Yeah, for sure. I would have been … I watch football because I love it and I grew up watching it and I grew up loving it, but I think I also love football because it’s a dream that I was never able to accomplish. I want to feel what it’s like. I want to be part of it.”

Nowadays, Embiid keeps his football fandom alive through his passion for Arsenal.

He’s just as superstitious about the Gunners as many Philadelphians are with the Sixers. During Arsenal’s late-season collapse in 2023, allowing Manchester City to win the Premier League, Embiid said he didn’t even want to talk about them because he didn’t want to jinx it.

“Over each game, you start saying like, ‘There’s actually a chance, they can actually win the league.’” Embiid said. “But then again in the back of my mind, there’s been so much disappointment that I was always like, even me tweeting about the Gunners, I kinda stopped because I didn’t want to jinx it. They were on a roll for so long that I was like, ‘I’m not going to talk about it. I’m not even going to mention Arsenal because I don’t want to be the reason why they lose.’”

How does Embiid think Arsenal can get over the top? He joked that he’d try to recruit a fellow Frenchman — Kylian Mbappé. Embiid said the team does need to get healthy, but that he thinks they can finish in the top 3.

Embiid’s triple nationality contributed to his lifelong love of soccer, but it also forced him to make a hard decision in the offseason on what team he wants to represent in the 2024 Olympic Games. Embiid ultimately chose to represent Team USA, and he elaborated on that decision on the podcast.

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“The first choice was always Cameroon,” Embiid said. “I’m from there. I always wanted to represent and I always will represent anyways. I just felt like, you know, growing up, me watching the Olympics was, it was just amazing … I want to be part of the Olympic experience … with Cameroon, that’s the first choice, but it was not a guarantee that I could have that opportunity … It was a tough decision.

“Having my family in the U.S. and my son being American, that played a huge role into it. There’s a lot going on on the political side between France and Africa in general. I just wanted to make sure that everybody was on the same page because I just didn’t want to disrespect anybody. Ultimately, my dream combined with what I represent and my family being in the U.S. it just made a lot more sense to play for the U.S., which I’m extremely excited about.”