Superstitious football fan suffers Champions League disaster

Sport and superstition are a match made in irrational heaven. Every week, millions across the globe tune in to watch their favourite team, player or even animal compete. And you can guarantee that a good percentage of those fans firmly believe that their quirks or actions could influence the result for better or worse. It might be some lucky socks, a ritual meal or a specific chair of choice. You name it, it’s probably someone’s superstition. Touch wood.  

Football is no stranger to this world of irrationality. The beer giant Heineken found in a global survey that 43% of fans have blamed themselves for ruining a match, while 22% will ignore a game entirely under the belief it could earn their side the win. 

But is it madness or sound logic? Ahead of the Champions League final in Munich, Heineken decided to put this pseudo-science to the test. And they just so happened to find one Inter Milan fan so straddled by superstition his game-day experience has been booted into row z. 

Marco genuinely believes he puts the blues in the blue side of San Siro. In a conversation with JOE, he revealed his first four trips to see Inter live resulted in them losing. His friends declared him ‘The Jinx,’ and his fate was sealed. San Siro’s charming grim reaper was banished from the ground, and he has watched the Nerazzuri’s games from home under a strict regime of quirks ever since. “I am very rational in the rest of my life, but that all changes when it comes to football,” Marco said, adding “maybe it’s the Neapolitan superstitions in me.” 

As part of their “Cheers to the Superstitious Fans” campaign, Heineken tracked Marco down, and built him his very own bar in an isolated part of Germany to watch his beloved Internazionale in the Champions League final. Think of it as an away day in Munich but from a safe distance. “My friends are very happy about this,” Marco told JOE. “Not just because it’s fun, but I won’t be jinxing the game!”

It’s important to remember that it’s not just fans who are possessed by superstitious traits. England legend and Heineken ambassador Jill Scott explained to JOE how she always put her right boot, sock and shinpad on first when preparing for a game. “If I didn’t do these things, I genuinely believed it would impact the performance of the team.” But that wasn’t all. “I’ve played with girls who had massages at the same time on the same part of their body before every match despite no specific injury,” Scott explained. “We also had an American goalkeeper at Manchester City called Karen Bardsley who had a baseball glove and insisted on doing some catches in the changing room before a match.” Talk about touching base!

So is there any substance to the superstitions? Well in the case of Marco, not exactly. An imperious Paris Saint-Germain steam-rolled Inter Milan 5-0 on the night, shattering Nerazzurri hearts. Frankly, no lucky socks were stopping Luis Enrique’s side from putting PSG on the throne of European football. 

Still, Marco saw the positives. “Watching from the Unlucky Charm Bar didn’t break the curse this time, but I did my bit.” It sounds like Marco’s superstitions won’t be subsiding any time soon, so roll on the new season and all the weird and wonderful fan culture that comes with it!

Do you have any sporting superstitions? Let us know in the comments!