There are not that many people around the world that have not heard of the game of soccer at one point or another. With billions of fans and some of the largest sporting events on the planet, soccer has become something of an entire global industry of its own, and it now represents the vast majority of the world’s sports fans.
It’s also a game that’s been played for many thousands of years, so it makes sense that in that time there would be a lot of misconceptions and myths that would spring up about the game. While many of these might have been born out of some truth at least, for the most part they do not hold a lot of weight within the world of soccer and should be dismissed by most players and fans. Here we will look at some of the most common myths about the game of soccer.
1. Soccer Players Only Train Stamina
This is a relatively minor myth, but one that has long been believed. It’s centred around the idea that athletes that want to be able to run and sprint as fast as possible will only focus on building up their stamina and ignoring weight training as much as possible as it will make them slow.
This is obviously a gross misunderstanding of how training works, and anyone that follows a famous soccer player’s training regime will be well-aware that they engage in a wide variety of different kinds of training in order to perform at their very best while out on the field.
2. The Infamous India Barefoot Myth
Perhaps one of the most well-known myths in the world when it comes to soccer, this one dates as far back as the 1950s, and is about the national team of India and their missing the FIFA World Cup.
The national team was known for playing the game without wearing any shoes, and when they were invited to play at the World Cup in 1950 and declined, many assumed that it was because of the official FIFA rule that all players are required to wear shoes while playing in a competitive game. This myth is not true at all, and it didn’t take long for the Indian team to confirm that the reason they did not take part in the game was because of cost reasons.
3. Soccer Players Only Need Protein
This is a myth that has done the rounds a number of times over the years, and it’s the belief that a soccer player mainly needs to focus on getting enough protein in their diet in order to be able to perform on a professional level.
This is something of a laughable myth as anyone with any understanding of the human body and nutrition will be able to testify to the fact the body is extremely complex and needs a wide variety of vitamins and minerals in order to function properly. Soccer players need to maintain a fairly varied diet that consists of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
