Calcio, religion and superstition – faith or folly?

It goes without saying that every team and every player strives to achieve the highest level of performance possible. Players will train intensely and coaches will study their opponent in every detail in order to get the advantage they desperately crave to defeat the adversary. However, sometimes study and hard work is not considered enough by these professionals and something extra is required to reach the desired level of greatness.

To get that all important ‘edge’, tacticians as well as players turn to powers beyond that of mere mortals. They look to seemingly mystical or spiritual forces, that are not of this earthly realm, to make them the more worthy or deserving champion.

A country steeped in Catholicism, it is only natural that some players look to religious assistance within their sporting life. Examples of this are rife in Italian football, especially when many of the foreign players also hail from strongly Christian backgrounds, brought up to praise God both on and off the pitch.

How many times have we witnessed players make the sign of the cross as they enter or leave the field of play? Roma’s Rodrigo Taddei crosses himself repeatedly as he runs onto the pitch, as do many other South American footballers. Either that or they look to the heavens and offer a prayer asking for what we assume to be protection, though it is likely that victory is ultimately the basis of this blessed request.

Former AC Milan forward Kaka often stripped to his ‘I belong to Jesus’ t-shirt, worn under his football top and pointed towards the sky after master minding another win for the Rossoneri. Catania defender Nicola Legrottaglie wears a similar garment, only the inscription is in Italian, ‘Io appartengo a Gesu’.  Both these players, along with others such as teammate Ciro Capuano, Lazio’s Hernanes and Napoli’s Edinson Cavani are all part of a movement known as ‘Atleti di Cristo’ or ‘Athletes of Christ’. The website, www.atletidicristo.org, states that these sportsmen and women ‘share a common love of Christ’ and that they will ‘take on the responsibility of living a life as God would want them within the world of sport’.

Profound stuff, I am sure we all agree and refreshing to know that the materialistic world is not the main focus of every mega-rich idol we pay to watch each and every weekend.  Though the fact that these players insist on affirming their faith on the field, suggests that they hope God is also with them during the 90 minutes of play.

But, it is not just players that pin all their hopes on divine intervention. Coaches are also known to have called upon the powers of the beyond to aid them in their sporting endeavours. Giovanni Trapattoni will forever be remembered for washing his hands, during an Italy match from the 2002 World Cup, using Holy Water given to him by his sibling Sister Romilde.

‘Il Trap’ was not the only Italian national coach to perform such a pious act. During the 2012 European Championships, Cesare Prandelli and his staff walked the 11 kilometres from their hotel in Poland to the Divine Sanctuary of Lagewniki, the same holy site which was twice visited by Pope John Paul II in 1997 and 2002. The Italian coaching team made the pilgrimage after both victorious matches against England and Germany at around 2am, as they reached the final of the competition.

The strength of this belief stretches to the fans as much as it does to the players and coaches. Walter Mazzarri and Napoli were forced to put back four saintly pictures that hung in the San Paolo tunnel that lead on to the football pitch, after a decision was made to move them into the home team’s dressing room. When supporters noticed that the pictures, which included Padre Pio and San Gennaro, were no longer in view, they demanded they be put back. Players were known to privately kiss these photos before a game but the club suggested that their opponents did the same and would also benefit from the potential holy assistance that was handed down to them by showing such affection. For this reason, the images were moved so that only the Napoli players could have access to them. Mazzarri explained this to the Partenopei faithful and offered to put the frames back in the tunnel if the fans so wished.

Superstition is a somewhat more difficult practice to understand than the actions offered by calcio’s religious players. These ‘rites’ are seemingly based on either myth or in most cases, nothing at all. But superstitious actions, often defying any credible logic, are just as common, if not more so, in the Italian game.

Some instances write themselves into the history books, for example the behaviour of the now legendary former president of Pisa, Romeo Anconetani. The fiery patron felt that by covering his pitch with over 25 kilos of salt, he could ward off any impending bad luck for his team and help them to victory.

West Germany’s former Inter striker Karl Heinz Rumenigge, would insist on sitting in the exact same seat on the team bus. The ex-international hit man explained this by stating, “For a footballer it is indispensible to be superstitious.”

Another Inter player, 1960’s striker Luis Suarez along with his coach Helenio Herrera had the most bizarre ritual which they would re-enact during the pre-match meal of any crucial game. Suarez believed that if his glass of wine was spilt he would undoubtedly score a goal. So, at some point during their dinner, Herrera would purposely nudge the table in order to knock Suarez’s glass over and spill his drink. The forward would then dip his finger in the ruby red Chianti and touch both his foot and head to make sure that whatever mystical powers were contained in the escaped beverage would be passed on to his body.

These peculiar instances of superstition are endless. Former Ascoli president, Costantino Rozzi would always attend games in red socks. This became such a huge part of Ascoli matches that to commemorate the 10 years of his passing, the team played their next match in similar red socks. Livorno owner Aldo Spinelli attends his team’s games in the same yellow waterproof jacket, regardless of the outdoor climatic conditions.

These are but a mere smattering of the ‘rituals’ that help relax the protagonists of our beloved sport. Many need to carry out these routines or habits regardless of how successful or not they truly are. It becomes part of their preparation and are deemed necessary if they are to perform at their best. As we have seen, some trust in forces of a spiritual nature whereas others have practices that are so bizarre that we cannot begin to understand what force might be guiding them!

No matter how out of the ordinary or strange some of us perceive these beliefs to be, there is nothing anyone can do to convince these sportsman of the potential futility of their actions.

But let us be clear, anyone who tells you that during the 1986 Mexico World Cup it was the hand of God that scored and not Diego Maradona, then that is one instance were we can safely say, ‘What a load of nonsense!’