Cocktails for success

Chilli & coconut mojito

Ingredients

• 4 lime wedges

• Chopped chilli (to taste)

• 75ml coconut cream

• Mint

• Splash of soda water

How to make

Squeeze lime wedges into a tall glass and drop in with fresh chilli. Muddle together. Give 8-10 mint leaves a rub to release the aromas and drop in. Add coconut cream and crushed ice and stir. Top up with ice, a sprig of mint, a chilli slice and a couple of straws.

How it helps

“If you’ve had a post-season blow out, this cocktail is perfect for a detox,” says Tottenham and Manchester City nutritionist, Matt Lovell. “It’s packed with Vitamin C and limonene, which help give the body a good cleanse.”

Pomegranate & grapefruit seltzer

Ingredients

• 50ml pomegranate juice

• 1/2 pink grapefruit (squeezed)

• 1tbs sugar

• Soda water

• Pomegranate seeds

How to make

Add pomegranate juice and sugar to a tall glass and stir to dissolve. Squeeze in half a pink grapefruit and fill glass with ice, then top with soda. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds on and add a grapefruit slice.

How it helps

“Grapefruit juice can help fat loss as it increases insulin sensitivity,” explains Lovell. “Pomegranates are loaded with antioxidant protection and they help to keep the heart healthy.”

English garden

Ingredients

• 4 blackberries

• 25ml lemon juice

• 12.5ml agave syrup

• 25ml pressed apple juice

• 25ml cranberry juice

• 1 slice of apple

• 1 wedge of lemon

How to make

Muddle three blackberries and add other ingredients, shake together and strain into a short glass filled with ice. Garnish with a blackberry, lemon wedge and apple slice.

How it helps

“It’s packed with polyphenols and flavonoids,” says Lovell. “These are active parts in fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices, which regulate inflammation to help repair your body after the season.”

Virgin  Mary

Ingredients

• Salt and pepper

• Celery salt

• 3 wedges of lemon

• Tabasco

• Worcester sauce

• Dried chilli flakes

• 100ml tomato juice

• 1 cherry tomato

• Leafy celery stick

How to make

In a tall glass squeeze in two lemon wedges and add a pinch of salt, pepper, celery salt and chilli flakes. Then add a few dashes of Tabasco and Worcester sauce (to taste). Put in tomato juice and stir, then add cubed ice and stir to chill. Garnish with a celery stick, chopped cherry tomato and lemon wedge.

How it helps

“This is a great source of nutrition, anti-inflammatory spices, electrolytes and black pepper,” informs Lovell. “It’s also rich in zinc and chromium, to help repair and rebuild your muscles.”

Cucumber & celery Collins

Ingredients

• Celery

• Cucumber

• 25ml lemon juice

• 1tbs sugar

• Soda water

How to make

Blend half a stick of celery and an inch of cucumber with lemon juice and sugar. Pour in a tall glass over ice and top up with soda water. Garnish with celery and cucumber.

How it helps

“This would make a great rehydration drink with a little added salt,” recommends Lovell. “Cucumber is a naturally cooling plant – in traditional Chinese medicine a balance between ‘heat’ and cooling nutrients must be attained for optimal health.”

Apple & elderflower julep

Ingredients

• 1 lemon wedge

• 25ml elderflower cordial

• 75ml pressed apple juice

• Mint

How to make

Squeeze one wedge of lemon and drop into a metal cup. Add elderflower cordial and pressed apple juice. Give 8-10 mint leaves a rub and drop in. Fill with crushed ice and stir together. Top up with more ice and garnish with a sprig of mint and a couple of straws.

How it helps

“This is a nice little restorer,” says Lovell. “Elderflower is a traditional remedy for coughs, colds and mucus production. Mint is known for its digestion soothing properties, which is handy during BBQ season.”

What your cocktail says about you

Do you prefer it shaken, not stirred? Or do you ask for a tropical paradise in a glass? Here’s how your drink reflects your game...

The James Bond

“A player who likes his drink to look minimalistic and classy is an aspirational smoothie – cool, charming and seductive,” explains body language expert Judi James. “This drinker can be a bit of a social lone wolf and dilettante. On the pitch he’s bit of a technical perfectionist, looking for ways to impress, but not always for the benefit of the team.”

The Del Boy

“Either this guy has a strong sense of irony or he really is an instant-gratification loudmouth,” says James. “A chatty type who’s busy on the pitch, he darts about gaining A for effort, but not always the same score for accuracy and technical skill. But he’ll keep team morale high.”

The Fish Bowl

“Drinking out of a bowl, with straws to share around, this guy is generous – but sharing can be an act of controlling too,” says James. “He’s cocky, but smarter than he looks and can be a strategic player. He might have a tendency towards leadership, better at giving direction and orders than taking them."