In their Premier League match against Liverpool, football fans were perplexed to see Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana applying Vaseline to his gloves.
Despite having the opportunity to catch Mo Salah’s curling shot, Onana instead chose to push it around the post. Afterwards, he got up and applied some Vaseline to his gloves.
Social media users were left confused as to why he was utilizing a product typically used for improving skin care to enhance his grip on his gloves.
Two fans noticed Onana rubbing Vaseline on his gloves, with one tweeting, “Am I the only one who noticed? No wonder he can’t catch a ball.”The other fan also observed, “Onana just put Vaseline on his gloves after parrying two catchable shots.”
Despite its unconventional approach, there is a method to the madness as many professional goalkeepers claim that using Vaseline actually enhances their handling abilities.
In explaining the reasoning behind the slipperiness of modern footballs, both former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster and current Coventry City goalkeeper Ben Wilson shared their thoughts.
During his appearance on the FozCast, Wilson expressed his belief that no matter how much practice a goalkeeper puts in, there are days where they go into a game with the mindset that they won’t be able to catch anything. He also noted that many goalkeepers now wear Vaseline on their gloves, but he personally refuses to do so.
Foster responded, saying, “This is just goalkeeper talk. I apologize, but can you clarify the Vaseline thing for me? The first person I saw using it was Joe Hart during the Brazil 2014 World Cup and he claimed, ‘Honestly Fozzy, it’s a game changer.’ I was skeptical at first and thought, ‘There’s no way that could make a difference.’”
Wilson reiterated, “No matter how wet or damaged my gloves may be, I refuse to put it on them. Fortunately, Simon (Moore) applies it to his gloves, so there is always some on the ball, making a noticeable difference.”
“During my time at Cardiff, Martyn Margetson advised me to apply Vaseline on my gloves. Despite my initial doubts, I decided to try it out when it was pouring rain. To my surprise, it worked wonders and I was amazed. I’m not sure of the scientific explanation behind it, but it definitely helped me on the field.”
Foster claimed that he could easily identify which players were using Vaseline on their gloves during a training session. He explained that when he grabbed the ball, he could feel a difference in grip, making it obvious who had applied Vaseline.
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