Using lucky charms, many great athletes think they’ll have Lady Luck on their side before, during, and after every game. Some superstitious footballers have rituals such as wearing a certain colour of underwear, coming onto the field last, or kissing the bald head of a specific teammate.
These rituals are typically kept very private out of fear of being mocked by the public. But occasionally, the most bizarre fetishes are inadvertently made public, and the media takes note, bringing them to the attention of the public while largely maintaining their mystique. Discover more about the most well-known lucky charms in professional football by reading on!
Most superstitious footballers:
1. John Terry:
The captain of Chelsea is full of the silliest charms and superstitions. The London football club’s official magazine revealed in 2010 that the star defender for the team makes it a point to always use the same locker room stall for his urinal needs. He’ll wait until it’s free if it’s already taken.
“That is accurate. For some reason, I was limited to using the dressing room once it was installed. Additionally, the foreign guys don’t really understand why I’m standing behind them when there are plenty of other spots available.” Terry admitted it. Aside from that disgusting habit, good ol’ John listens to the same CD during every concentration and has a reserved seat on the team bus.
- Using lucky charms, many great athletes think they’ll have Lady Luck on their side before, during, and after every game.
- The London football club’s official magazine revealed in 2010 that the star defender for the team makes it a point to always use the same locker room stall for his urinal needs.
2. Pele:
The most significant football player in Brazilian history is Pele. He is regarded as the greatest player of all time by some. That seems reasonable given his 767 official goals, 26 National Championships, and 3 World Cups. But even the greatest have faith in good fortune.
The Santos idol went through a dry spell in the 1960s where he failed to score any goals. He linked this to a single incident: after his goal-scoring performance in the previous game, he gave his jersey to a supporter. He hasn’t been able to get the ball over the goal line since.
Keeping in mind that particular detail, he requested that a member of the club’s staff locate and retrieve the jersey. The man carried out the man’s instructions, gave Pele the jersey, and Pele scored once more. However, the worker acknowledged cheating a few years later. He had just snatched an identical jersey from the team’s changing area and was acting like it was the original.
- The most significant football player in Brazilian history is Pele.
- The Santos idol went through a dry spell in the 1960s where he failed to score any goals.
3. Kolo Touré:
Since his first professional games, this Ivorian defender has followed an extremely strict ritual: he never arrives on the field ahead of his teammates. Playing for his national team or his club, Liverpool F.C., the ritual doesn’t change. This strange behaviour earned him a yellow card in 2009. Touré, who was then an Arsenal player, was waiting for the medic to finish examining his colleague William Gallas’s leg outside the pitch.
The match’s second half was commanded to begin by the referee, who had had enough of waiting on them. A warning was issued to Touré after he entered the field without the referee’s consent.
At the conclusion of the game, Touré gave an explanation of the circumstances, saying, “Perhaps William’s adjustment of his boots saved him. However, I’m glad I was the only one who was reserved. If it’s the two of us, I think that could be a problem.”
- Since his first professional games, this Ivorian defender has followed an extremely strict ritual: he never arrives on the field ahead of his teammates.
4. René Higuita:
Perhaps the most captivating goalie in professional football history is René Higuita. To be honest, he had a few very odd quirks, both on and off the field. Apart from his impressive acrobatic skills, which could rival those of a circus act, such as “the scorpion,” Higuita possessed a personal good fortune charm, which required him to wear blue underwear whenever he played professionally.
That’s not the end of his excesses though. FIFA’s rules of the game were changed because of Higuita personally. The goalkeeper cannot handle the ball if it is passed to him by a member of his own team. This rule, known as the “back-pass” rule, was specifically drafted in response to the goalkeeper’s team abusing this tactic in Italy in 1990.
- Perhaps the most captivating goalie in professional football history is René Higuita.
- Apart from his impressive acrobatic skills, which could rival those of a circus act, such as “the scorpion,” Higuita possessed a personal good fortune charm, which required him to wear blue underwear whenever he played professionally.
5. Johan Cruyff:
While Johan Cruyff was a player, he observed two peculiar customs. He would use the Ajax to start any game with the first one executed. Cruyff used to go up to the team’s goalie, Gert Bals, and give him a belly pat for good fortune.
The second one involved him spitting on the opposing team’s side the gum he chewed before each game. He attributed his team’s defeat in the 1969 European Cup Final to neglecting that custom. Johan would never forget the day that Ajax lost that 4-1 match against Milan.
6. Iván Zamorano and Juan Sebastián Verón:
Bandages have been used as lucky charms by Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron and Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano. Zamorano once had to wear a wristband to prevent ligament damage. In that game, he scored three goals, and he would later wear a white wristband on a regular basis.
Conversely, Veron experienced persistent discomfort in his right knee, which his team’s medical professionals tried to relieve with a straightforward bandage placed just below the joint. The midfield player chose to wear it for the duration of his professional career because he was so happy with his performance in that game.
7. Laurent Blanc:
Just before kickoff, the French defender Laurent Blanc would always plant a kiss on the bald head of his team’s goalie. Furthermore, following a few successful games, the entire squad developed the custom of occupying the same seats on the bus that would transport them to the stadiums.
Blanc subsequently admitted to a third custom the team followed the evening before each game: they would gather and listen to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” Apparently, these rituals worked wonders, because the French team went on to win the World Cup while enacting them.
- Bandages have long been associated with good fortune, particularly for Chilean strike Ivan Zamorano and Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.
- The French defender Laurent Blanc used to kiss the bald head of his team’s goalie right before kickoff.
8. Gary Lineker, Hugo Sánches and Ronaldo:
The three greatest strikers in football history all followed the same regimen: they would avoid scoring any goals in the days leading up to a crucial game to ensure good fortune was on their side.
Ronaldo is renowned for using his right foot when entering the field. But out of all of them, Lineker was the most superstitious. At halftime, he would exchange his jersey for a new one if he hadn’t scored any goals in the first half. In addition, to update his look whenever he was having a slump, he would visit the nearest hair salon. He thought that by making this superficial adjustment, his performance would supposedly improve.
- The three greatest strikers in football history all followed the same regimen: they would avoid scoring any goals in the days leading up to a crucial game to ensure good fortune was on their side.
- At halftime, he would exchange his jersey for a new one if he hadn’t scored any goals in the first half.
9. Sergio Goycochea:
Goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea, who captained Argentina during their wildly successful Italy ’90 campaign, was fortunate to have a bad habit. He had to relieve himself of his bladder before the penalty kicks that would decide the quarterfinal match against Yugoslavia.
According to the game’s rules, players cannot leave the field until the match is over. I had to urinate there because of this. After the second successful match, Goycochea told The Guardian, “I decided to repeat it since we won and the semi-final was also decided in a penalty shoot-out.” After that, he would follow this protocol each time he had to defend the goal from penalty kicks.
10. Malvin Kamara:
Football player Malvin Kamara, originally from Sierra Leone, has played for a number of English teams, such as Cardiff City, Huddersfield, and Grimsby. This midfield player would make the extra effort to watch “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” from beginning to end before every game.
The player continued to explain his strange ritual’s purpose to the media after they learned about it. “Every game, I have to watch it. It helps me feel at ease. I’ve loved this movie since I was a child because it makes me feel lucky and calms me down,” Kamara told the shocked reporters.
So, this was all about the superstitious footballers in the world. Also read, Former coach Ravi Shastri mocks viral yawning ball boy
