Soccer superstitions

Soccer superstars can offer superb moments on the field, can score brilliant goals or give magnificent passes. However they are not gods, only humans. And like all people they have superstitions and things that scare them. Here are some of them.

In his personal blog Chelsea’s superstar Frank Lampard admits that he has a lot of little superstitions .For example he will throw away a pair of boots after a bad game and he always puts his right boot first. Also he listens to the same music on the way to the stadium and he will use the same route when he goes to the club restaurant.
In his blog Frank Lampard tells about his teammate John Terry, who seems to have worst superstitions. The defender wees in one urinal in the dressing room toilets at Stamford Bridge. If the spot is taken he waits until he can use it even though there are others free.
Manchester United’s defender Rio Ferdinand declared that he pours water down his face in the tunnel before he enters the field and he jumps over every time he steps over a white line. Gary Neville another defender from England national squad admits: “I’ve got lots of superstitions. I try to cut them down as I have too many. I wear the same belts, same shoes, same aftershave - I’ve worn the same aftershave all season…Just stupid things really. If we’ve been on a winning run of games I won’t change my boots. Someone pointed out to me last year that I’ve worked all my life to be a professional footballer, and yet it comes down to which aftershave I’m wearing as to how well I play!”
Gary Lineker, former superstar striker was not shooting at the goal because he didn’t want to waste a goal. He believed that in this way he will save the goals for the game. If he wouldn’t manage to score in the first half he changed the shirt .Also if he had bad runs he got a haircut.
Another funny superstition belongs to the Fiorentina’s forward Adrian Mutu. He declared: ‘Curses cannot touch me because I wear my underwear inside out.’ A little too much don’t you think?
The whole thing applies for soccer coaches also .Carlos Bilardo ex Argentina coach, relied on a lucky tie he wore throughout the 1986 and 1990 world cup final tournaments. Italy’s Giovanni Trapattoni relied on a greater power than ties, toothpaste or lucky numbers. He was often seen sprinkling holy water from a bottle provided by his sister, who is a nun. This practice caused controversy in Trapattoni’s homeland, but not nearly as much of a stir as the France coach, Raymond Domenech’s admission that he takes players’ star signs into consideration before selecting his team.
Some superstitions are, however, more palatable than others, and we can be grateful that Sergio Goycochea no longer keeps goal for Argentina. After all, the legendary keeper’s routine for facing penalties – which, until the final of Italy 1990, was remarkably successful - involved him hitch up his shorts and urinating on the pitch.
There are also superstitions at the team level. In World Cup 2002 the Costa Rica players who took plastic bottles filled with soil from the country’s seven provinces and sprinkled it on the pitch. It worked for the first two games!
How effective are these habits and rituals? Not much. Then again, what has superstition - or football - ever had to do with reason

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