How can AC Milan convince ball-hogger Adel Taarabt to start passing? Money? Fast cars? Bunga-bunga? Nope. Just buy shower caps.
Dry hair won’t make Taarabt share the ball, but if Clarence Seedorf can convince Mario Balotelli & Co. to don the headgear in training, the Moroccan might start noticing his team-mates.
Just ask Edson Souza, coach of Brazilian fourth division side Nova Iguacu. He swapped differently-coloured training vests for shower caps, forcing the players to get their heads up.
“Using the caps improves peripheral vision. It stops players from getting unnecessarily fancy – it makes them look up to see where their team-mates are instead of just running around like crazy,” he tells FFT.
But the former Fluminense player is not sure the game’s stars will be so co-operative.
“Convincing a player who earns £50,000 a week to wear a shower cap in training will be hard,” he says. “Most think they know everything about football, but this method works whether you’re a pro or an amateur.”
And it did. Nova Iguacu recorded a better pass completion rate than top-flight Fluminense when the two met. So, Clarence, all you’ve got to do is tell Mario to slip on a frilly pink number. Good luck.
