Perfect Days is a Wim Wenders film that was released last year.
It tells the story of Hirayama, who works as a cleaner at a public toilet in Tokyo, dedicating himself every day to cleaning its surfaces as thoroughly and diligently as he possibly can. The film was lauded at the Cannes Film Festival, winning two awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award at last month’s ceremony. The Guardian called it a “zen meditation on beauty, fulfilment and simplicity”.
Advertisement
It is the film that Alfie Whiteman, Tottenham goalkeeper, points to when discussing the mentality of a backup keeper. Whiteman is a valued and popular member of the Spurs squad, but he has not been involved in a match this season after recovering from a broken leg in pre-season. But his answer to the question of where he finds his motivation to keep performing to his best in training every day is typical of Whiteman.
First, because it underlines his personal commitment to his craft; his determination to keep his own standards high in everything that he does. And second, because not many other Premier League footballers would illustrate a point about their own career with reference to arthouse cinema portraying a Japanese toilet cleaner.
“He’s cleaning toilets,” Whiteman says of the character Hirayama, “but he does it to the best of his ability, so they’re clean as a whistle. It shows that no matter what you’re doing, you need to do it well. There’s no point in doing something badly; just don’t do it then.”
Whiteman, 25, has been at Tottenham for 15 years, made a first-team appearance under Jose Mourinho, and has had two loan spells at Degerfors in Sweden, where he lived by himself in a log cabin with water provided by a nearby lake.
Perhaps it should be no surprise that Whiteman recently read Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, part of the 1854 book Walden by Henry David Thoreau, in which the transcendentalist writer lives by himself by a pond so that he can “front only the essential facts of life”.
Whiteman (centre) pictured in Tottenham training last season (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)
Whiteman is a fascinating interviewee — not only for his football life but also for his one away from the game.
Not many players have a hinterland quite like he does. Whiteman is creative, enthusiastic about his photography and art and, in February, he recorded an hour-long show on independent online radio station NTS called “Sweet Tooth w/ Alfie”. It starts with The Warnings by jazz producer David Axelrod and goes from there, skipping genres, taking in Cocteau Twins and Elliott Smith along the way.
The idea for the show came about during the 2022 World Cup. Whiteman had just returned from his second loan spell in Sweden and had some time off. He went on holiday to Tokyo and a friend introduced him to Femi Adeyemi, the founder of NTS. The two connected over their shared interest in music and stayed in touch. Adeyemi suggested that Whiteman put together a show.
Advertisement
Music has always been a huge part of Whiteman’s life. His father was a jazz guitarist and Whiteman starting his NTS show with Axelrod was a personal tribute to him — a nod to how a young Whiteman used to hear that song in his car. Whiteman senior used to take Alfie to the famous Soho jazz club Ronnie Scott’s and thus, growing up, he saw performances by Roy Ayers, Lonnie Smith, Eumir Deodato and British funk pioneers Cymande. Even now, Whiteman still raids his dad’s record collection.
What Whiteman most likes about music is the sense of exploration. He goes to Reckless Records in Soho and buys some records online, but he also frequents car boot sales to buy cassette tapes, on the off-chance he might love what he hears. “I’m not looking for a specific thing where I know what it sounds like and I’ve got a favourite album,” Whiteman says. “I like the music discovery aspect of it.”
The last gig he went to was to his friend Pigbaby supporting Vegyn at EartH in Dalston. “That was a great show; all quite experimental.”
Whiteman’s particular music taste slightly marks him out from the rest of the squad, but he laughs at the suggestion that he forces his team-mates to listen to Boards of Canada before games. The changing room playlist, he reveals, is usually chosen by a member of staff, or James Maddison, or sometimes Giovani Lo Celso, now that Eric Dier has left. Drake and Lil Baby feature heavily. Sometimes they just listen to Smooth Radio.
In the past, Whiteman has tried to maintain the distinction between his life as a professional goalkeeper and his many hobbies and interests. When he first published a mix online, he did so under his mother’s surname.
“I’ve always kept my private life and football separate,” he explains. “I feel the stigma of, ‘You’re a footballer, that’s it, and anything else is a distraction’, which I think is a complete fallacy. You need a broad range of things in life that stimulate you to be a rounded person.”
Whiteman making his Spurs debut against Ludogorets in the Europa League in November 2020 (Ian Kington/pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Ultimately, what is the difference between spending your spare time trying to get your handicap down and spending it listening to records or taking photographs? (Whiteman has an interest in documentary-style photography and admires how Jeff Wall and Alex Prager structure their scenes.) Why would it be a distraction to spend time off at Pirate Studios but not at a golf course? For Whiteman, it is just about being authentic to who he is.
Advertisement
“As ‘the stereotypical footballer’, we are pigeon-holed and painted with the same brush,” says the goalkeeper.
“If you talk about hobbies, a lot of footballers play golf. They spend a whole day off and dedicate a lot of time to it, and I don’t see any difference between doing that and doing a show on NTS, for example, or taking photographs. People are into different things in every walk of life. It should be celebrated. That’s also kind of a reason why I kept it quiet, my life away from work. I’m just Alfie with my friends.”
In part, Whiteman does not want to use his football career as a “platform” for his other interests, which he wants to develop organically. He has already worked very hard to get to where he is in the game, having signed for Spurs when he was 10. Tottenham scouted Whiteman as a boy playing for Norsemen, a popular amateur club based not too far from Spurs’ Enfield training ground. He also played Sunday league for Edmonton All Stars.
Whiteman was always a Spurs fan and of all the players who have gone from the academy into the first-team squad in recent years, no one could claim to be more Tottenham than him. He grew up near Broadwater Farm, the housing estate just over a 20 minutes’ walk south west of the ground. He attended Park View School, just a bit further down the road. He then moved to near South Tottenham station, just off the High Road most fans use to get to games, and now he lives just “two roads away” from the stadium, meaning that he walks there for games.
Whiteman’s commitment to the local area is evident at this event at Project 2020, a community centre a short walk from the stadium. There is a recording and podcast studio where Whiteman takes questions from a long line of schoolchildren about football, music, career choices and how to handle disappointments.
“I’m also a local resident, so I’m talking to my fellow residents,” Whiteman says afterwards. “The kids had some really interesting questions. It’s always fascinating, a child’s mind, because they don’t know the rules. They haven’t quite yet been affected by the world’s pressures and the things you can’t do. Their curiosity is really inspiring.”
Whiteman answers questions during his session with Project 2020 (Tottenham Hotspur FC)
This has been a frustrating season for Whiteman, who did not go out on loan but stayed to be part of the squad for pre-season under Ange Postecoglou.
But after a good start, Whiteman broke his leg and then had to spend months recovering before he could return to full training. He feels “very fortunate” to be working with Guglielmo Vicario (“an incredible professional and an outstanding keeper”), who has made the No 1 spot his own since arriving from Empoli. With Fraser Forster established as No 2 and Brandon Austin there as well, Whiteman knows how tough the competition to play is.
Advertisement
“The reality of the position of the goalkeeper is that there is only one,” he says. “You’re not subbed in and subbed out and, playing for a big club, there is going to be fierce competition. When you’re not playing, it’s always difficult because everyone wants to play — hence why I went on loan to go and play games. The main thing is just focusing on today’s training, doing well, and then the day after that — and being ready, because you never know when your opportunity may arise.”
So every day, Whiteman goes in and trains as well as he possibly can because those are the standards and values he holds himself to. A bit like Hirayama from Perfect Days.
“It’s all very intrinsic motivation,” he says. “I feel with everything I try to do — if that’s making the bed, or eating the right things, or just picking up a piece of rubbish — I want to do things well. I feel like people don’t understand how intense training can be. It’s not just a kickabout. It’s competitive and it’s high-paced.
“You’re performing every day on the training pitch to try to prove to the coaches and the gaffer that you deserve to be there, you deserve to be in the team. The motivation just comes from me wanting to do well in whatever I’m doing.”
Which makes me wonder whether, given the frustrations of working hard but not being in the team, Whiteman’s hobbies provide him with a much-needed creative outlet.
“I feel like I’ve always had it,” says the former England Under-19 international. “It’s just me being who I am. I’ve been taking photos and have been into music for a long time.
“Whatever you’re doing, you need a switch-off. If you have a bad day, you can’t let that just dictate everything involved in your life. That’s why it’s good to have good people around you and things you appreciate. These creative endeavours, or whatever you want to call them, really benefit my work life because it gives me a broader purpose. And I’m learning. I definitely think it’s beneficial.
“You need to have variety in your life.”
Whiteman was speaking at Project 2020, a community hub in Northumberland Park, which offers a range of free engagement activities for young people across Tottenham.
(Top photos: Tottenham Hotspur FC and Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images)
