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For Luck? For Victory

From a future forecasting octopus to game day ritual, fans and footballers alike seem to believe it takes more than skill to win the game.

by Magdalena Kalata

Virtually every culture has a set of traditions, charms and rituals that are meant to bring good luck. Some can be traced back to pagan times, while others are deeply rooted in religious beliefs. There are also those that seem to be completely out of place in their setting or unfounded in any deeper wisdom, but which nevertheless find loyal followers. Footballers and their fans are certainly familiar with this last set and with the World Cup quickly coming to an end, some have been left disappointed by their superstitions and some are elated that their specific routine has finally paid off.

Portuguese superstar forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, has often graced the covers of magazines not just of the sports variety. Deemed a metrosexual early on in his career, the 25 year old may not be so well groomed just for the sake of his own vanity. Rising to fame while at Manchester United, the football newbie created his own luck inducing, pre-game prep - getting his hair trimmed at the same hairdresser prior to every match. Considering that his career high began a downward slide shortly after he moved on to Real Madrid and away from his coiffure in 2009, culminating in a measly performance at this year's World Cup where he only managed to score one goal and Portugal exited after the Round of 16, perhaps Ronaldo was on to something.

Now former French coach, Raymond Domenech, has certainly never been one to mock less than scientific beliefs. An avid adherent of astrology, Domenech has been said to use the study of stars and tarot cards when choosing his team and line-up. Players like Johan Micoud and Robert Pirès may have even been overlooked simply due to their star signs. Paying little attention to such critique, the coach was quite confident in his decisions prior to the start of the football tournament in South Africa.

"I'm convinced this team have a date with destiny in 2010," Domenech said.

Destiny certainly met them, but she was hardly the loving mistress that Domenech presumably expected, forcing France to make a quick and dramatic departure from African soil.

Germany's much more pragmatic approach was shaken when the players decided that their four-goal per match streak was brought on by coach Joachim Loew's blue sweater. They insisted Loew help them continue on by not only wearing the sweater, but if necessary not washing it.

"I do not know how many sweaters he has that are blue. But I hope he has the one or two left in his suitcase," said midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Despite Loew faithfully donning the lucky blue sweater, Germany fell victim to the prediction of Paul the oracle octopus during their semi-final match against Spain. The cephalopod predicts winners by choosing mussels from one of two transparent containers, one with a German flag and the other with that of the opposing team. The one he reaches for is his pick for the winner, a pick that has not yet been wrong during this World Cup. Though traditionally he has only been summoned to choose winners of games Germany participates in, his rise to celebrity status has made the demand for his suggestions much higher and Paul will also be foretelling the winner of Sunday's final game.

As the Netherlands and Spain hold their breath awaiting which team the octopus will select, fans are taking matters into their own hands. Some Spanish fans claim that wearing team colours on match day brings bad luck and though jerseys are acceptable, kissing the badge at the first whistle is obligatory. The Dutch could not be more opposed to the viewpoint. To them, nothing screams twelfth man on duty more than a sea of the rather loud shade of orange customarily worn by both footballers and fans. In fact, home of Oranje defender Joris Mathijsen, the town of Goirle has taken the habit of ridiculous outfits one step further. The town's Irenestraat covers all of the buildings in orange canvas for the duration of the World Cup.  Though it seems to be working for the Dutch thus far, it remains to be seen whether the national colours stand a chance against Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas' newly shaved off beard, his own attempt to reverse a bad luck trend.

With their very different styles of play, the Sunday teams are quickly nearing collision, a collision for which a likely winner is still unclear. For some, however, the fever of big tournaments has propelled them further from reasonably grounded beliefs and into the realm of emotions and superstitions that at least create the illusion of a clear victor. It seems that when winning is on the agenda, statistical models take a backseat and every prediction or ritual suddenly gains crucial importance to the outcome. Thus began the stardom of Paul, after all.