During their careers, many soccer players develop certain rituals, something that they believe helped them win. Some of them can be certain habits before the game, superstitious rituals or even something they do during the training. Some players do it subconsciously without even thinking too much about it, as it just happens to be something they are used to doing. We comprised the list of some of the most interesting rituals famous soccer players try to uphold.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney claims that he is not superstitious nor that he has a pre-game ritual.
However, instead of a steak or chicken meal before the game, Rooney eats a bowl of cereal.
Coco Pops are his absolute favorite, but the regular ones and not the Moons and Stars.
Cesc Fabregas
Fabregas believes that 4 is his lucky number. He began kissing the ring his wife had given him four times before placing it in a locker and going to the field. Same as Rooney, Fabregas says that he is not superstitious, but it is a habit that brings him good luck.
Neymar
Neymar is highly religious, and before every game, he has a prayer with his dad and a small pep talk which brings him good luck. At the same time, he has a great relationship with his fans and always makes sure to post a photo on social media before the game.
John Terry
John Terry is highly superstitious, and after every win, he seems to be adding more and more superstitions to his list. He tapes his socks three times; he used the same shin pads for ten years before losing them, and he sits on the same seat in the bus and listens to the same CD. He even goes as far as to use the same urinal.
Gary Lineker
Lineker had a very specific warm-up regime as he never shot a ball towards the goal while he was warming up. He believed that if he took a shot and scored, he would have potentially wasted a goal that he could have scored during the regular game.
Leighton Baines
Baines has a ritual that involves his shoelaces.
Namely, before every game, he unties them and ties them back again.
Yes, he unties the shoelaces that he had tied in the dressing room and ties them up again.
Not even he is certain as to why he does it since he doesn’t consider it a ritual or a superstition.
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez is known for two things; being a ferocious striker that every defense is terrified of and his teeth. However, he has an adorable ritual that he does before each game or every time he scores when he kisses the tattoo on his wrist that has the names of his children written on it.
Conclusion
Some of the rituals and traditions the players do are funny, some adorable, while some outright bizarre. Whichever the case, as long as they believe it helps them perform and they continue to play at the top level, the fans are guaranteed to love it.
