Today we take a look at some soccer star's ritualistic method
of getting dressed before matches features in the latest of our series
chronicling the extraordinary power of belief
A whole raft of footballers have bizarre beliefs
when it comes to getting changed for the match. Borussia Dortmund
striker Marco Reus insists on putting on his right sock, boot and
shinpad first when he's getting changed, but then always puts his left
foot first onto the pitch.
The problem with having such an
intricate routine is that team-mates, keen for a wind up, like to play
havoc with your system. On several occasions, Reus's colleagues have
hidden his shinpads, and before a game against Cologne two years ago,
Mario Gotze deliberately shoved him in the back so that he stumbled, and
put his right foot on the turf first. Reus insisted on walking back to
the tunnel and repeating his routine so that he put his left foot
forward first.
Reus is careful about the order in which he needs to put his clothes on
Other
famous footballers who were fussy about the order in which they get
dressed include Bobby Moore. writer Desmond Morris noted that the
former England captain would stand around holding his shorts, waiting
for everyone to finish dressing, before he put his shorts on, and that
Martin Peters used to enjoy taking his off and putting them back on,
forcing Moore to follow suit, and even the great RAUL was always kissing his no7 shirt before wearing it and if he does not do that he might not score goals.
Still, none of those examples are
as extreme as former England keeper David James, who admitted that his
pre-match routine was "so complex it could fill a page". As well as his
intricate dressing process, he insisted on then going to the urinal,
waiting until the dressing room was empty and spitting on the back wall.
Still we also have chicarito own style of getting into the field of play if he is to come in as a substitute and he explain his believe and how his believe works for him.