{"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":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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; 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