Soccer AMs most famous skill skool players from Henderson to Raheem Sterling
Welcome to Skill Skool. You know the rules, three rounds, best skill wins. Let's get the lesson on.
Those immortal words still live with a generation of football fans who grew up watching Soccer AM during the late 2000s.
Back at the show's height, Skill Skool was one of the most popular features each week.
Presented by Soccer AM favourite Rocket, the segment involved two academy players facing off in a battle of skills at the club's training ground for the right to be crowned Skill Skool winner.
Daily Star Sport is taking a look back at five stars who entered the Soccer AM classroom and showed off their skills to the iconic music of Shy FX and T Power's, Don't Wanna Know.
Without further ado, let's get the lesson on. Skills.
Raheem Stering vs Christian Nanetti
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Manchester City star Raheem Sterling was still making his way in the QPR academy when he took part in Skill Skool in 2010.
At the tender age of just 15, the forward produced an exquisite display of flicks, tricks and skills against Christian Nanetti.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to convince the Soccer AM studio guests, who gave the result to Sterling's QPR team-mate.
Sterling would later join Liverpool and Man City, while Nanetti embarked on a nomadic career in non-league at the likes of Dover Athletic, East Grinstead Town and Whitehawk.
Danny Ings vs Muzzy Holmes
Danny Ings isn't known for his dazzling array of skills, so it might come as a bit of surprise that he was – and shall forever be – a Skill Skool champion.
Now at Aston Villa, Ings beat Muzzy Holmes during their time at Bournemouth's academy, coming out on top with some top tricks and a ball in the groin.
Rocket loved it – and so did the striker's team-mates who promptly pulled down his shorts after he was announced as the winner.
Jordan Henderson vs Nathan Luscombe
These days, Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is best known as a tough tackling midfield general with a keen eye for a pass.
But back in 2008, the Reds captain clearly fancied himself as something of a freestyle king as Skill Skool rocked up at Sunderland's academy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a fresh-faced Henderson, whose hairstyle looked more in keeping with the corridors of Waterloo Road than the pitch at the Stadium of Light, lost out to team-mate Nathan Luscombe.
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Henderson has since won the Premier League and the Champions League, while Luscombe was last seen playing for Celtic Nation in the Northern League.
Britt Assombalonga vs Stephen Hamilton-Forbes
Britt Assombalonga isn't as big a name as the former Liverpool trio of Henderson, Sterling or Ings, but he's still a worthy inclusion on this list.
Now plying his trade in the Turkish Super Lig with Adana Demirspor, Assombalonga has come a long way since his days as a 17-year-old in the Watford academy.
The striker failed to make the grade at Vicarage Road and was shipped off to Peterborough in 2013, where he scored 33 goals in 58 games to earn a move to Nottingham Forest.
From there he went to Middlesbrough and after a prolific spell in the north east joined Turkish side Adana Demirspor this summer.
It's not clear whether Assombalonga actually won his Skill Skool battle, but he did produce a magnificent piece of improvisation towards the end which we think is worthy of the victory.
Nathan Redmond vs Akwasi Asante
It might seem like Nathan Redmond has been in the Premier League since forever, but believe it or not there was a time when he was an up-and-coming-star in Birmingham City's academy.
Born in the Midlands, Redmond learned his trade with the Blues from 2002 to 2013 and took on Akwasi Asante in Skill Skool around a decade ago.
Ever the trickster, he impressed with some neat footwork and a trick which involved booting the ball at his team-mates and knocking them all over.
While Redmond has enjoyed a near unbroken spell in the Premier League since making his breakthrough at St Andrews, Akwasi Asante has spent most of his time in non-league and now plays for Chesterfield.
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