Do you believe in good luck, or do you think that hard work trumps everything? Believe it or not, the footballers in this list of superstitious athletes want to get every ounce of luck they can get when it comes to winning a game against their rival.
Let's take a look at these footballers who believe in good luck so much that they follow strange superstitions!
Here are the footballers who are willing to do strange acts for good luck.
Real Madrid And The Garlic
The Spanish stars have bagged one trophy after another over the years. However, in 1912, things were not looking good for Real Madrid. They had been failing year after year for five years. To stop the ‘curse' people planted a clove of garlic right in the center of the football field. Believe it or not, Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey that season!
Christiano Ronaldo
Christiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese football star needs no introduction. You may think that Ronaldo wouldn't have any superstitious rituals; however, you're wrong.
From stepping on the football pitch with his right foot to sitting on the plane in the first row to sitting in the bus at the last row to adjusting his hair during half-time, the guy has a lot of ways he believes bring good luck.
Sergio Goycochea
Sergio Goycochea is another one in our list of superstitious athletes. In the World Cup of 1990, the Argentinian goal-keeper Sergio Goycochea urinated on the field before the penalty kicks. When the team won the match, Sergio tried his luck again in the semi-finals by urinating again on the field before the penalty kicks. And yet again, his team won. Well, that was one way of unsettling your opponents!
Neymar
According to Neymar, he is the best player on the planet, explaining that Messi and Ronaldo are from another planet! His amazing confidence and competence is somewhat dependent on certain rituals he does before every match.
Before every match, Neymar would pray with his father. He would then step on the ground with his right foot and touch the grass with his hand to say another prayer before starting the match.
Bastian Schweinsteiger And The Case Of Soggy Socks
The hero of the Football World Cup in 2014, Bastian Schweinsteiger played with a bloody face in the season. His determination is exceptional, no doubt, but did you know that he wears wet socks to every game to bring good luck? Weird, we know! But if it works for the team, we're not complaining!
Laurent Blanc And Fabien Barthez
Laurent Blanc, former captain of the French national team, would kiss the shaven head of Fabien Barthez, the goalkeeper. The ritual apparently brought Blanc good luck, and he would do it before every international match. Believe it or not, as they started piling up their wins, the entire French team started kissing the goalkeeper's shaved head, believing it brought them luck!
Eric Cantona And His Bath Time
Doctors and healthcare professionals usually advise against hot baths or saunas before football matches. However, Eric Cantona dismissed such advice and got into a nice warm bath at 8 a.m. for five minutes on each match day!
Romeo Anconetani
Romeo Anconetani, the president of AC Pisa club from 1978-1994 believed that sprinkling salt on the four corners of the football field would bring his team good luck. The more crucial the game, the more he sprinkled the salt. During a very crucial match with AC Cesena, Anconetani sprinkled as much as 26 kg of salt at the corners of the field!
Mario Zagallo
Mario Zagallo, the Brazilian coach, had a peculiar connection with the number 13. He worshipped Saint Anthony, his patron day being June 13. Zagallo preferred to live on the 13th floor of a building, got married on the 13th day of a month, and always wore the number 13 on every match. Zagallo won the Football World Cup in 1994!
Carlos Bilardo
In our list of superstitious athletes, we have to add the case of Carlos Bilardo, the Argentinian football coach. He forbade his team to have poultry in 1986, told them to exchange their tubes of toothpaste, because he had done it himself in order to bring good luck. Believe it or not, the Argentinians won the World Cup that year!
Wrapping Up
This was our list of superstitious athletes who go to extreme ends to attain victory. With sprinkling salt on the field to even urinating on the ground, from stepping on the ground with the right foot to kissing your bald goalkeeper's head, from boycotting poultry to wearing soaking wet socks on the ground, these footballers can do anything to win their fans' hearts. Whether you believe in good luck or not, when your favorite team wins the match, that's all you need, right?
