This document lists and rates the stupidity of various football player superstitions, including burying garlic under the center circle, refusing to allow Scorpios on a team, and swimming in a river full of hippos and crocodiles. It provides examples such as Real Madrid burying garlic in 1917 and a Zimbabwe football team swimming in a dangerous river in 2009. Each superstition includes the player or team, time period, a brief assessment, and a rating of stupidity from 1 to 10. The document concludes by advising readers to rely on skill rather than superstition for safety.

1. http://www.4dfoot.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/mancini.jpg
All facts and figures correct as of April ‘14
OF THE
SUPERSTITIONS
MOST
STUPIDFOOTBALL
10

2. When the happiness of thousands of fans depends on your
performance, you can understand a footballer’s choice to
abandon all logic and resort to weird superstitions.
Well, sort of...
http://citizen.co.za/wp-content/uploads/afp/2014/03/02/f72243f6b1b1af2cdb3f61eadf739564335f90cc.jpg?df3fd4

3. http://www.photosof.org/view/football_with_empty_green_field-other.html
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1002/530420892_ed2f4b782e.jpg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Burying a clove of garlic under the
centre circle on the pitch
Bit random, but it supposedly
helped them win a trophy.
Real Madrid 1917
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
2/10

4. http://www.aapt.org/photodirectory/C-1st.jpg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Slapping your goalkeeper’s stomach
and spitting chewing gum out on the
opponent’s side of the pitch
Is violence and vandalism
really the answer?
Johan Cruyff, Holland 1960s
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
5/10

5. http://emilyanddrew.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/imagen-058.jpg
http://www.goalazo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/pro-vercelli-vs-sudtirol-videos-2-0-apr-13-2014.jpg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Throwing 26kg of salt onto the
pitch before an important game
Where would you even get that
amount of salt in the ‘80s,
besides the sea?
Romeo Anconetani, Pisa 1980s
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
6/10

6. http://www.soccerx.ca/assets/images/product-main/adidas_tango%2012%20glider_z27831.jpg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Deciding not to shave until yourteam is knocked out of the FA Cup
If you’re anything like Alan, you’ll looklike a bald, bearded retiree. But theydid get to the final, so…
Alan Cork, Sheffield 1992 - 93
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
3/10

7. http://www.davidreviews.com/images/1201/2012012202-PDF.jpg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Listening to Gloria Gaynor’s feministanthem ‘I Will Survive’ in the dressingroom
While girl power is indeed a force to bereckoned with, we’re not quite surehow it would influence agame of football...
French World Cup squad 1998
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
7/10

8. © BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-khglKf_E8MQ/UBbaqnN2ukI/AAAAAAAAHEE/4me-OYbYfpw/s1600/Michael_Phelps_American_
Legend_Swimmer_United_States_Hd_Desktop_Wallpaper_citiesandteams.blogspot.com.jpg
http://jdegre.net/photo.php?id=37
WHAT
WHO
WHEN
VERDICT
Swimming in a river full of hippos,
crocodiles and strong currents
The intention may have been to go in
and “cleanse the team of bad spirits”,
but not everyone came out
again.
Midlands Portland
Cement, Zimbabwe
2009
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
10/10

9. www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/arts/knowledge-exchange/themes/dressandtextiles/lace/
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/870735/thumbs/o-DOMENECH-570.jpg?2
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Refusing to have a Scorpio on yournational squad
They may be a bit intense, butScorpios are also passionate, filledwith desire and determinedto succeed. Why wouldn’tyou want one on
your team?!
Raymond Domenench,France
2004-10
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
9/10

10. techcrunch.com/2008/10/07/nerdcore-street-fighting-mathematics-at-mit/
http://cartophilic-info-exch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/top-trumps-match-magazine-world_22.html
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-MswJpFEHpTk/U1b0TNX7DUI/AAAAAAAAAGs/RlmYwzacz-U/sergio-goycochea-212-
mundial-italia-90-figurita-panini-7748-MLA5278103379_102013-F.jpg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Urinating on the pitch before everypenalty shoot-out
It’s gross. And you might get papped.
Sergio Goycochea,
Argentina
1990
onwards
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY 8/10

11. http://www.frankautoservice.com/
WHAT
WHO
WHEN
VERDICT
Driving to a petrol station to fill upyour car even if you don’t need it
Bit of a waste of time, but doesn’t do
any harm if you lose the match and
want to make a quickget-away.
Pepe Reina, Spain Current
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
4/10

12. triblive.com/usworld/nation/3874178-74/fat-weight-studies#axzz2vweWyKoowww.martincuff.com
10
http://atlanta-appliance-repair.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/o-MAN-WATCHING-TV-facebook.jpg
http://www.papermag.com/uploaded_images/gene-wilder-as-willy-wonka-1335876825_b.jpg
WHAT
WHO
WHEN
VERDICT
Watching the 1971 film Willy Wonka
& The Chocolate Factory before
every game
“If you want to view paradise, simply
look around and view it...”
What a film! How could
it not make you feel
invincible?!
Malvin Kamara, Hampton
& Richmond Borough
Current
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
1/10

13. triblive.com/usworld/nation/3874178-74/fat-weight-studies#axzz2vweWyKoowww.martincuff.com
10
http://img0.cfstatic.com/wallpapers/d5ca70617e44ca83f8af158c29a88a70_large.jpeg
WHAT
WHO WHEN
VERDICT
Saying “Curses cannot touch me
because I wear my underwear
inside out”
A little bit presumptuous there,
Adrian.
Adrian Mutu, Romania Current
LEVEL OF
STUPIDITY
7/10

14. It’s all very well to rely on fate or
superstition but, as we’ve seen,
you may not come out alive.
So, just to be safe...
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