Visit any park in the country on a Sunday morning and you will find both men and children trying to recreate the actions of their footballing heroes.
This could be trying out a trick, wearing the same boots and quite often mimicking whatever the latest trend is in the Premier League. From celebrations to snoods there have been some truly brilliant and some equally bizarre football ‘fads’. Below are 10 of the best.
Snoods
- Now banned by FIFA, Snoods were a popular accessory amongst Premier League footballers the season before last. When at Arsenal Samir Nasri and Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez both sported snoods, which were nothing more than a neck warmer. One of the more bizarre fashions to grace football.
Singing Footballers
- Footballers turning their hand to music has long been a trend in the game. Though usually not a musical success, the likes of Liverpool legend’s John Barnes famous rap in World in Motion is popular. But Andy Cole’s ‘Outstanding’ is a perfect example of why footballers should stick to what they do best.
Applauding Away Fans
- Every fans experienced it. You travel the length of the country to watch your team put in a second rate display. Nowadays managers are keen to appease the travelling faithful by making the players go over and applaud the supporters for their efforts. Three points would be better!
Short Shorts
- During the 1970s and 1980s, extremely small playing shorts were the attire of choice for footballers across the globe. Thankfully now shorts have gotten a considerably longer.
Rock the cradle celebration
- Made famous by Brazilian striker Bebeto at the 1994 World Cup, the celebration has since been used by many a player to signify that they have recently become a father.
Stuttered Penalty Run Ups
- Gone are the days when a player would confidently run up the ball and hammer home the penalty. No, today it is all about mind games and the stuttered run plays a huge part in that, admittedly with varying degrees of success.
Nose Strips
- Robbie Fowler was an early pioneer and regularly sported a nose strip, which are supposed to it easier to breathe during the game. It has been proven that nose strips to not aid oxygen intake.
Kinesio Tape
- A relatively new trend, Kinesio Tape is designed to provide theraputic support to joints and muscles without restricting a players movement. A huge fan of this fad was of course Tottenham’s Gareth Bale.
Vapour Rub
- The unanimous choice of the ‘invincible’s’ at Arsenal. Vapour rub is applied to the chest area of a players shirt to make breathing easier. Amusingly responsible for many a young footballer squirting water on their chest in a desperate bid to recreate the dark patch left by the vapour rub.
Metatarsal Injury
- Did anybody have one before David Beckham was struck down with a metatarsal injury before the 2002 World Cup? Ok, slightly tongue in cheek. While players must have broken their metatarsal before Beckham a number of players have suffered since. Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Gary Neville have all broken their metatarsal injury since 2002.
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