He was the indomitable “Lion King” who led Brisbane to a thrilling hat-trick of AFL premierships in 2001-03. “There’s been no more valuable footballer,” declared coach and all-time great Leigh Matthews when his captain bowed out at the end of 2006. “The combination of playing ability, leadership ability, the role model, the ambassador – there’s been no one in the game better.” But Michael Voss never looks back on his heavily decorated career. The father of three, Channel 10 sports news presenter, football commentator, newspaper columnist, AIS coach, budding businessman and potential AFL coach is always looking to top his football achievements. To be forever known as a triple premiership captain is a dream for most footballers; for the big-thinking Voss, it’s a disappointment.

How are you finding life a-year-and-a-bit out of the weekly combat fatigues?
I’ve found it very busy. I was just so ready for football retirement and stepped into it really easily. I’d just had enough mentally. We hang in there physically as long as we possibly can, but once the brain goes, you’re better off giving it away, and that’s where I was: gone.

Is it true your wife, Donna, had to be talked into your retirement more than you did?
Yeah, that’s right. She knew the people who I confided in and she was always saying, “Speak to this person, speak to that person.” And they were all telling me that I should play! But I think when you know, you know. The hardest part was telling my little boy. He broke down crying.

You’d think a football wife would happily say “Yes!” to retirement.
There’s a bit of a misconception about how much you have your footballer back (after retirement). If anything, I would say that you have them less. To any wife or girlfriend who thinks they’re going to have their husband more after they retire, I would say: realign that thinking very quickly.

You must feel young again now, hanging out with middle-aged journos. You’re the baby again.
Well, I am, and that’s the difference in the corporate world. With my leadership stuff that I’m doing (as a director of Brisbane-based marketing and management group Velocity Sports), it’s often the case that you’re speaking to executives who are much older. You’re gaining credibility in a completely different field.

When you’ve been such a warrior, what gets the adrenaline thumping these days?
That’s a really good question. I’ve always looked at sport as a phase in life – it’s not the complete package. So you look for other things to push you on. The business interests that I have at the moment, the leadership stuff that I’m doing, I have a real passion for.

Has seeing football as just a phase in your life and not the be-all and end-all smoothed the transition to a post-playing life at all?
Yeah. When you’re 17 to 20, 21, you think football is all you’re ever going to do. It’s hard to think 10 years ahead. You think, “I don’t know what I’m doing next year, let alone in 10 years.” But yeah, very early on, I sort of thought, “This is a phase in my life. I’ll really enjoy it and maximise it. But I only see it as a stepping stone to hopefully something bigger.”

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