5 bizarre pre-game superstitions practised by footballers

Javier Hernandez’s pre-game prayers are nothing compared to these ritualsWe all have heard of fans having different superstitions before and during games, but it should be no surprise to know that even well-known footballers have their own rituals before or during the games.From the common tendency of players to touch the ground and cross their heart as they come onto the pitch, to the player who prepares for matches by reading Dostoevsky on the loo (Gennaro Gattuso), football is full of some of these weird rituals followed rigorously by the players. If it works then who are we to knock it?Here are the 5 most weird pre-game superstitions practised of footballers:

#1 Kolo Toure has to be the last player to enter the pitch

Toure received a yellow card for his bizarre ritual during a Champions League match

Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure insists on being the last player to enter the pitch before the start of play. His superstition got him in a spot of bother during a Champions League game for Arsenal against Roma. His desire to be the last person out meant that he waited for William Gallas who was receiving extra treatment by the side.

Arsenal were playing for a short while with fewer players on the pitch, Toure came on without asking the referee. This got him a yellow card as he came in after the game had already started.

Toure still keeps follows this weird ritual and has never for once failed to be the last one to enter the pitch.