Conventions are a strange thing. The human brain works in such a way that once it infers a pattern in something, it will automatically keep believing in that pattern while keeping the past as a base. The look of shock that one gives when she/he sees an Asian who is tall or a blonde who is a math genius is a testament to the tendency of people who believe in certain stereotypes.
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Typecasts exist all around the globe, it is present wherever the eye gazes. It is like gender specific organs: everyone has them, but only a very few talk about its existence out in public. Similarly, Stereotypes exist in football too—and here are 5 of the weirdest ones…
#1 Players of African origin players are strong
Admit it, when you see a player of African origin writhing on the ground in pain after a seemingly soft tackle, a part of you doesn’t want to believe that the said player is in pain. After all, the image that many have of black players is that they are genetically stronger than the rest. If that isn’t true for you, you are the exception to the rule.
While it is true that there are many African origin footballers who can boast of great strength and physical prowess, there are others who are as fragile as the heart of a baby. Abou Diaby is one of the first names that spring in the mind.
The former Arsenal man could literally get injured getting up off the toilet seat. Ledley King is another name, another player who could have been one of the best ever in their position but didn’t have the career he deserved due to constant injuries.
Among others, we could name Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, Louis Saha and many such names as some of the most injury-prone players of African origin out there.
This is a stereotype that needs to die a silent death and soon. All footballers are created equal. Our perception needs to change.
#2 Short players are good dribblers
Well, let’s just blame Lionel Messi for this. The Argentine’s mesmeric dribbling ability has been wowing the world for the past decade and it is for him—and Diego Maradona prior to him—that people sometimes overestimate the ball-controlling abilities of short players.
While it is true that short players have a lower centre of gravity and, as a result, better chances of being a good dribbler, being short doesn’t guarantee one’s place as a great dribbler. Theo Walcott, for instance, isn’t exactly an epitome of a dexterity on the ball.
Similarly, players like Vurnon Anita, Jay Spearing, Clause Makelele, Philipp Lahm, Paul Scholes, Andrea Pirlo and countless others were short but weren’t as great dribblers as shorter players are made out to be.
#3 Tall players are immobile
If one takes a look at Peter Crouch, they would think that this stereotype makes sense. After all, Crouch was so rigid that Jose Mourinho’s tactics feel like chewing gum. However, not all players are like the Englishman.
While it is true that having a bulky figure makes it a little harder for a player to be agile, players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic make this stereotype sound like most modern-day artists without auto-tune.
Didier Drogba, Thierry Henry and Diego Costa could be listed as examples to further testify this claim as all of these aforementioned were/are more mobile than a cell phone.
#4 British players are overrated
Once upon a time this was true—British players were highly overrated by its media. However, after years of failures in international tournaments, which bordered on self-mockery, British players are no longer overrated like they once were.
While the likes of Wayne Rooney and Theo Walcott were once believed to be the second coming of Pele, they are now labelled as the players who couldn’t live up to their potential. It is almost as if the British players intentionally failed in the international arena so that their media stopped being obnoxious hacks and became rational for a change.
Right now, despite stunning performances almost every week from the likes of Dele Alli and Harry Kane, we don’t hear the media making them look like Gods like they once did with the older generation of English players.
And thank God for that.
#5 Bald players are good headers of the ball
And this is the mother of all assumptions. If a mass of an object is high and it is continuously accelerating, then the force it exerts will also be high. This is physics. And if there is a bald guy among the many receivers of a lob pass, then he is most likely to head it before anyone else. This is bollocks.
For some reason, we tend to believe that bald heads have the ability to smash open the ball with their shiny heads like Poseidon splits open the sea with his trident. Maybe it is the fact that their hairless heads resemble the ball itself, so we tend to assume that, like magnets attracting magnets, football-looking bald heads attract the ball itself.
Have you ever seen Arjen Robben score a smashing headed goal? Neither have I.
