There are fears that footballers live with that you may not know about. Don’t let their extraordinary talents and abilities on the pitch fool you, these superstar, world famous footballers are human. Humans with hobbies, pet peeves, and even fears, just like you.
Fears that footballers Live With
And today, we want to focus on those fears that they have. Some are normal, some are funny, and some are weird.
1. Phil Jones – Foreign Elevators
Phil Jones is not scared of elevators, he’s just scared of the ones he encounters outside his country. The Manchester United defender feels absolutely nothing when getting into elevators in the UK. But the moment he travels, it becomes a huge problem.
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Apparently, it all started when he was a little boy and his parents took him on vacation to Greece. While they were there, they got in an elevator and got trapped in there for a couple of hours. Since then, Phil has not been able to shake off the trauma.
Could that be one of the reasons the lad has refused to leave Man United all these years? You know, if he has to leave the country to play football, he’d be condemned to taking the stairs until he retires. Doesn’t sound very fun.
2. David Beckham – Ranidaphobia & Ataxophobia
David Beckham played like a god during his prime, so you might be a little surprised when you hear that the lion is scared of frogs.
He talked about seeing an orange frog one time and his friend telling him it was dangerous, and since then he has just had a bad feeling about the amphibians. He revealed this in a BBC documentary which saw him visit Amazonia, where he categorically said that he hates frogs.
He also has ataxophobia which is the fear of untidiness or some sort of disorder. It’s sort of like OCD, but not really. David once said that because of this phobia, he has to always have everything in pairs or in a straight line, if not he won’t feel very comfortable.
Oh, also, word on the street is that Becks is also scared of birds. We don’t know how true that is, though.
3. Olivier Giroud – Alf
Many of you reading this probably don’t know who Alf is. Well, this is Alf.
He was a fictional alien character in an 80s TV show, and apparently, he also doubled as Giroud’s biggest nightmare.
The Milan striker said that back when he was a child, his brothers would tease him about Alf. They would say stuff like “be careful, Alf is going to get you tonight”, and he would get so scared. He thought his brothers went too far with the teasing and the fear sort of just became a part of him.
4. Dennis Bergkamp – Aviophobia
For a superstar who played all over the world and for different clubs across the continent of Europe, it is pretty unusual that Dennis Bergkamp has a fear of flying.
Many think it started at the 1994 World Cup when he was on a plane with the Dutch national team and the engines cut out during a flight. And then, during the period of that same tournament, a journalist joked about having a bomb on him and a flight had to be delayed.
Talking about this fear in 1996, Dennis said:
“I’ve got this problem and I have to live with it. I can’t do anything about it, it is a psychological thing and I can’t explain it. I have not flown on a plane for two years…I am considering psychiatric help. I can’t fly. I just freeze. I get panicky. It starts the day before, when I can’t sleep.”
Because of this fear, when he signed for Arsenal in ‘95, he told the club that he would not join the rest of the team if they had to travel for a game via an airplane. On those occasions, he would travel via rail or road, but sometimes it just did not work, and he just would not go. It really affected his appearances at away fixtures.
This fear earned Bergkamp the nickname: The Non-Flying Dutchman.
5. Wayne Rooney – Sedatephobia
While you’re probably shouting at your brother to go to bed so you can have some peace and quiet, Wayne Rooney is begging them to continue. Because you see that silence you crave? Rooney has a phobia for it.
And it’s a serious thing, too. He can’t sleep if everywhere is dead silent. So, usually, he’ll maybe turn on the vacuum cleaner or an electric fan or something. There just has to be some sort of noise in the background for him to be able to sleep peacefully.
6. Matt Holland – zoophobia
If you’ve never heard of Matt Holland, that’s okay. He retired from professional football in 2009 after playing for different English clubs like West Ham and Bournemouth.
Anyway, when you look at it on the surface, the Irishman has a pretty common phobia. He’s scared of animals. Sure, many people are. But on a closer look, it becomes a little weird.
Apparently, Matt is scared of virtually all animals except horses. So uhm, wait a minute, Matt wants us to keep a cute little puppy far away from him, but then he’ll turn around and go and be chummy with a 700-pound horse? Huh?!
Well, guess that’s why they call it an irrational fear, you can’t really understand it.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo – Thanatophobia
Thanatophobia is the fear of death, and that is the fear that Cristiano Ronaldo has. But not exactly, though. It’s not like he is just afraid of dying, he specifically has a fear of dying young. The Portugal captain doesn’t really have a problem with death, he just wants it to come when he’s 80 or 90.
And honestly, even we share this phobia with CR7. We surely do not want him to die young. What would football even be without him?
8. Harry Kane – Underachievement
Some years back, Harry Kane said that he has a fear of not achieving his goals at the end of his career. And what are his goals? To win trophies. The England captain said that he just wants to win as many trophies as he can, so that when he retires, he can look back at his career and be proud of what he achieved.
Unfortunately, that is not going too well for Kane. And it is not even for a lack of trying. He has come so close to winning trophies so many times in his career. He has played in the Champions League final, Euros final, League Cup final, but has been on the losing side at all times.
We just hope that the fears of this English football legend don’t come to pass. And well, he does have time to still achieve his goals. Do you think Harry Kane will win a trophy before he retires?
9. Kylian Mbappe – Disappointing
Mbappe is already one of the most successful players in the world at such a young age, but he still has a fear of being a disappointment.
During a conversation with another French great, Thierry Henry, Mbappe revealed how much he fears disappointing the fans and himself. In spite of everything he has achieved so far, he still feels the pressure to continue delivering each time he steps on to the pitch.
10. Peter Crouch – Phobia of being tall
Peter Crouch is one of the tallest footballers we have ever seen grace a football pitch. He towers at 6 feet 7, and ironically, his phobia is tied to his height.
The prolific striker joined Aston Villa back in 2002 and struggled for a bit to find the back of the net. His manager at the time, Graham Taylor, explained that his momentary lack of form was tied to his phobia for his own height.
If you were ever in doubt about how human these superstars are, sure this article has done a lot to prove to you that these players are regular human beings with fears and struggles just like the next person.
Of course, there are more footballers with fears, can you tell us some more in the comments?
