{"id":292777,"date":"2023-10-23T13:24:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T13:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=292777"},"modified":"2023-10-23T13:24:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T13:24:05","slug":"andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/","title":{"rendered":"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Former Man United star Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition&#8230; and it&#8217;s all linked to his love for Brazil icon Kaka<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has revealed a bizarre pre-match superstition<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>The former Man United star admitted he keeps a pair of Kaka&#8217;s shorts in a safe<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast &#8216;It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!&#8217;<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Andreas Pereira might be able to boast the most bizarre pre-match ritual out of any footballer after revealing he rubs a pair of another player&#8217;s shorts on his legs before important games.<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian came through the youth ranks at Manchester United but struggled to cement a regular first-team place and subsequently joined Fulham in a \u00a310m deal last year.<\/p>\n<p>However, his time at the Red Devils gave him the chance to rub shoulders with some of the sport&#8217;s greatest names and a rare childhood meeting with Brazil icon Kakahas had a lasting impact on the midfielder.<\/p>\n<p>Like many rising stars at clubs, academy youngsters often work pitch-side as ball boys at matches.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Pereira was called on by legendary Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson prior to a Champions League clash against Kaka&#8217;s Real Madrid side and asked his fellow countryman for a pair of shorts at the end of the game.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/13\/76891535-12662007-image-a-25_1698065760081.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has revealed a bizarre pre-match superstition<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/13\/76891537-12662007-image-m-21_1698065509684.jpg\" height=\"436\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Pereira explained how he will rub a pair of shorts from Brazil legend Kaka on his legs<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/13\/76891545-12662007-image-a-22_1698065565333.jpg\" height=\"422\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Pereira revealed he got the shorts of Kaka while deployed as a ball boy during his Manchester United youth<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Now at the age of 27, the Fulham star told ESPN Brasil how he keeps the shorts in a safe but takes them out for important matches and rubs them over his legs to give him confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It was a Champions League match between Manchester and Real Madrid and I was a ball boy,&#8217; explained Pereiera.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Alex Ferguson asked the U21 and U18 players if they wanted to be ball boys, because he needed the ball quicker and so on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;After the game, I waited and saw Kaka. I asked for his shirt, but he said he&#8217;d already changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Then I said: anything then, a sock, shorts, I don&#8217;t know,&#8217; Andreas Pereira told ESPN Brasil.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;He said he had a pair of shorts, I said it would do. He gave it to me, it was incredible, and the shorts are still in a safe to this day.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Every now and then, before an important game, I go and get them to give me confidence, to rub on my leg.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Kaka is an idol in Brazil after winning the World Cup at 20-years-old with the South American nation in 2002. He starred for Real Madrid and AC Milan during an established career before retiring at the age of 35.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/13\/76891553-12662007-image-a-23_1698065569675.jpg\" height=\"459\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Kaka gave Pereira the shorts after a Champions League clash with Real Madrid at Old Trafford<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/23\/13\/76891575-12662007-image-a-24_1698065634799.jpg\" height=\"453\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Pereira further explained how he started crying when his Fulham team-mate Willian (pictured) called Kaka so they could speak<\/p>\n<p>However, his star status still has Pereira feeling like a child after the Fulham midfielder further explained he started crying after his club team-mate Willian called Kaka while the pair were relaxing together.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Two weeks ago, I was at Willian&#8217;s house and he asked me who I really admired,&#8217; added Pereira.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I said I&#8217;d always liked Kaka a lot, because of his style of play, he was an example to me. He said he knew Kaka and said he was going to ring him. I thought: he must be joking.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I kept quiet, it put me off. He called, I heard his voice and I couldn&#8217;t stand it, I cried. I spoke to him, to this day I can&#8217;t believe I spoke to Kaka. Everyone was in shock,&#8217; he said.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12662007\/Former-Man-United-star-Andreas-Pereira-reveals-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition-linked-love-Brazil-icon-Kaka.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Former Man United star Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition&#8230; and it&#8217;s all linked to his love for Brazil icon Kaka Fulham midfielder <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/\" title=\"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-292777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition - Sportstoft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition - Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Man United star Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition&#8230; and it&#8217;s all linked to his love for Brazil icon Kaka Fulham midfielder [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sportstoft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-23T13:24:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeanette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/\",\"name\":\"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition - Sportstoft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Andreas-Pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-23T13:24:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-23T13:24:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Andreas-Pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Andreas-Pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Soccer\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/soccer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sportstoft\",\"description\":\"sportstoft.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Jeanette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeanette\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition - Sportstoft","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition - Sportstoft","og_description":"Former Man United star Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition&#8230; and it&#8217;s all linked to his love for Brazil icon Kaka Fulham midfielder [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/","og_site_name":"Sportstoft","article_published_time":"2023-10-23T13:24:05+00:00","author":"Jeanette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeanette","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/","name":"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition - Sportstoft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Andreas-Pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-23T13:24:05+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-23T13:24:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Andreas-Pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Andreas-Pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition.jpg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/andreas-pereira-reveals-his-bizarre-pre-match-leg-rubbing-superstition\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Soccer","item":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/category\/soccer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Andreas Pereira reveals his bizarre pre-match leg-rubbing superstition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/","name":"Sportstoft","description":"sportstoft.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Jeanette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeanette"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}