Editor’s​​ note:​​ This​​ is​​ Superstition Week​​ on The Athletic​​ Soccer. We’ll​​ be​​ exploring​​ the far-out​​ rituals and​​ beliefs​​ that​​​​ underpin the Xs and Os, the hard work and dumb luck, of some of soccer’s most compelling teams and personalities. Check here for our full roster of stories and check back as we add more.



There are the mild habits, like Virgil van Dijk wearing a long-sleeve top underneath his kit, Jürgen Klopp turning his back to the pitch when a penalty is taken, and Naby Keita phoning his mom on matchdays. But at Liverpool, which Michael Robinson once referred to as “the most superstitious club” he’d ever come across, these don’t even crack the top tier of mystifying rituals over the years.



What follows are...