Enough of the roundabout. Football, like Coca Cola, also has a formula as magical as it is secret.
Football is about numbers, trends. And emotions. And a tiny part is luck.
That luck must be created, sought out and some footballers perform a series of rituals aimed at giving reasons to that luck to take their side.
Let’s start with the 1998 World Cup, in which France was crowned champion. Beyond a team worthy of fantasy, the team bleu had an amulet, no more and no less than the head of its goalkeeper Fabian Barthez. At the beginning of the games, the current coach Laurent Blanc kissed the head of the goalkeeper to predict a positive result at the end of the 90 minutes. The move proved so effective that it was also carried out at the 2000 Eurocup, in which the French team won again.
This article could not miss the figure of the charismatic Pepe Reina. Of all the superstitions, yours is the one I would most happily follow. During his stay in Liverpool, the night before the games he made sure to eat cheese, toast with ham and a glass of wine. At the same time, he checked that his car had enough gas. Although bizarre, it seems to have worked, does not it?
Finally René Higuita deserves a special mention, and this time it’s not for his Scorpion goal (which I encourage you to see if you have not seen it yet). By then he defended the colours of Atlético Nacional and visited a fortune-tiner to help them attack a title. She advised the staff to wear blue underpants and belts, which they followed to the letter. At the end of the season they had the Copa Libertadores in their hands.
Football has all of us, fans and players, hypnotized. It is that same witchcraft that keeps us day after day under the mantle of our club. May its magic never fade away.
Foot Renegades 