In a senior professional career that included Manchester United and Bayern Munich, Owen Hargreaves has faced some of best players and teams in European football.
But he took a step into the footballing unknown last week when he joined fellow BT Sport pundit Michael Owen and presenter Jake Humphrey, as well as Tottenham Hotspur ambassador Ledley King, in putting on a blindfold and trying visually impaired (VI) football at the launch of the new Premier League and BT Disability Programme.
Their attempts to dribble with the special noise-making ball before shooting at goal were were coached by Roy Turnham, who competed for Great Britain's blind football team in London 2012.
"We take for granted how fortunate we are to play football," Hargreaves told premierleague.com. "You realise how important communication is in VI.
"Players need each other to guide them for where to be, to stand, where the goal is, so it was an amazing learning curve for all of us.
"The smiles on the faces of the visually impaired players, the passion they showed, are amazing. It's a privilege for all of us to be educated in how to play."
The VI football was one element of disability sport showed at West Ham United's London Stadium as part of the Premier League and BT Disability Programme launch.
The three-year initiative will create opportunities for disabled people to take part in sports across England and Wales, increasing participation and helping develop new skills and confidence.
"People just want to play football and this event is all about giving an opportunity to play the game that they love, in a safe environment, with the right coaching," Hargreaves said.
"Drawing more attention to disability in sport, giving these young guys a platform to play and an opportunity to try to raise awareness and investment is so important."
For Owen, the new programme has special significance because of a friend who has a disability after a car accident.
"Day to day I am with him, he is part of my team in many ways," the former Liverpool striker said. "He went on to be No 21 in the world in wheelchair tennis.
"He had an opportunity and so the more opportunities we give, and especially with football being so far reaching, the better. There's a lot of people who are going to benefit greatly from it."
More: 'This programme will change so many lives' | Premier League and BT launch Disability Sport initiative
