How a 'gut feeling' saved Socceroo legend John Aloisi from a life-threatening illness

Australian sporting hero John Aloisi has followed his gut instinct throughout his distinguished career as a player and coach. He told Insight how trusting his 'gut' has steered him in the right direction both on, and off, the field.

Former Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi. Source: AAP

Insight meets people who use intuition to make decisions and find out what impact it’s had on their lives. Watch Insight's episode, Intuition, on SBS On Demand here.

John Aloisi, who was the Socceroos’ star striker for 11 years, is a big believer in intuition.

John Aloisi, who was the Socceroos’ star striker for 11 years, is a big believer in intuition.

At the end of 2019, Aloisi wasn’t feeling like himself, despite feeling no physical symptoms.

“Just by chance I went to the GP and he sent me over to the cardiologist and he said, ‘Yeah, you're bleeding. Fifty per cent of your blood that goes through that valve is coming back down and you need open heart surgery next week’,” Aloisi said.

The doctor had discovered a tear in his mitral valve which required surgery. The operation was a success.

Aloisi concedes that if he hadn’t followed his intuition, things might have been different.

“That just went through because I was not feeling right and I went with my feeling…what my gut was saying to me.”

John Aloisi converts his penalty against Uruguay in 2005. Source: Getty Images

What exactly is intuition?

Neuroscientist Professor Joel Pearson describes intuition as a way of tapping into unconscious information in the brain.

“The bulk of information in our brains at any one time is unconscious…so it's utilising unconscious information to make better decisions, faster decisions, more confident decisions.”

A study led by Professor Pearson at the University of New South Wales has found evidence intuition does exist.

“We know from lots of research that you can tap into it with an action - so flying an aircraft or playing a sport - your body can use that information to move in a certain way without you being aware of that information,” he said.

“You can also tap into it as a feeling. It can be like a gut feeling, a positive feeling or a negative feeling, and that can guide you.”

On the sporting field, Professor Pearson said expertise and experience determine how well intuition works.

“The brain has to learn what that information can predict,” he said.

“Whether it's the movement or the sound…or something about the way people are moving on a soccer field, you have to associate those things, all that information with outcomes, and you have to do that over and over again.”

I think that a lot of goal scorers, they say are born with it…they just know and they've got that instinct to find space in that penalty box.

John Aloisi

Aloisi is best known for scoring in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay in 2005 - helping Australia qualify for the World Cup for the first time in over 30 years.

Even before walking onto the pitch that day, Aloisi said he had a feeling he would kick the winning goal, which still ranks among Australia’s greatest sporting moments.

He said he followed his intuition from a young age.

“I think that a lot of goal scorers, they say are born with it…they just know and they've got that instinct to find space in that penalty box,” Aloisi told Insight’s Kumi Taguchi.

That instinct is crucial on game day, when players often have mere seconds to make a decision.

Aloisi said he followed his gut while scoring a goal against Germany in the 2005 Confederations Cup.

“I don't even look at where the goalkeeper or the goal is at the time I'm striking the ball, or even before I'm striking the ball, because if I looked up to see where the goal was, that split second the defender would have got in front of me and blocked that shot,” he said.

“So the intuition does come into play because it's like I know where the goal is, I know where the goalkeeper will be and I know how I have to hit the ball to actually put it in the back of the net.”

Aloisi believes athletes hone their intuition over years of training and knowing their teammates.

“You see with a lot of [sports], especially sports that are very continuous and they don't have time to think, a lot of it comes automatic and that's through a lot of your training through the years,” he said.

Aloisi also followed his gut during his coaching career, while managing teams like Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Heart.

His analytical thinking took over when it came to creating game plans and training – but intuition came into play on game day, when it came to making quick decisions like substituting players or changing formation.

Aloisi said he often did what felt right, despite facing backlash from the media, supporters and critics.

John Aloisi coached Western United to victory in the A-League grand final in May 2022. Source: JOEL CARRETT

He was criticised for a decision to recruit striker Jamie Maclaren, who was not playing in the A-League regularly at the time.

“I had to say, believe me, I know that he will suit our system and he'll be the right player for us…and he actually ended up being leading goal scorer of the competition two years in a row,” Aloisi said. “Now he's leading goal scorer of the A-League.”

However, Aloisi admits his intuition can sometimes be blocked.

He said his intuition works best when he’s feeling mentally and physically well.

“Most of the time it does work, but sometimes you're clouded in your judgement because either you're going through a stressful situation, you're emotionally not right, you're fatigued physically…I think that’s when you go away from your intuition.”

Professor Pearson said our gut feeling can often lead us astray in emotional situations.

“If you're sort of anxious or depressed or highly emotional…probably not a good idea to use intuition. You can't tap into those feelings. You're going to be misled.”