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Oh, so good, isn't it? So, so good, these conspiracy theories are! It gives us a chance to open up another entirely reserved realm wherein our own beliefs find prominence as they are the be-all and end-all in the chambers of our thoughts.
Conspiracy theories are the only theories that can be applied ANYWHERE. Football, being a part of the anywhere, has also witnessed a lot of conspiracy theories attached to it. And here are some of the best of them...
#5 Bad food
The rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham is among the topmost rivalries in the game. Indeed, North London derbies almost always entertain us with goals. While Tottenham Hotspur might clearly be leading as the better team in this rivalry at the moment, most of the time it was Arsenal who were always ahead of their bitter rivals.
The fact that prior to the 2016-17 season, Spurs had to take a journey to 1995 to witness the last time they had finished above the Gunners is testament to how long they were in the shadows of their biggest rivals. However, in 2005-06, Spurs came mightily close to finishing above Arsenal, but failed to do so after losing on the final day of the league season.
All the Lilywhites needed was to match Arsenal’s result and that would have sufficed for them. However, a day prior to their final game against West Ham United, many players fell sick after having a meal from the team hotel.
And as every conspiracy theorist would do at this stage, some people accused the head chef of being an Arsenal fan, which led him to spike the food served to the Tottenham players – making them lose against West Ham while Arsenal pipped their rivals for a Champions League spot.
#4 Nike’s Just do It
School days were fun at times. Whenever we saw someone wearing an outfit made by Nike, we immediately teased that person by going near her/him and saying, ‘Just do it!”
Of course, that’s what the tagline of the famous sports kit manufacturer is. It is definitely a very catchy one since whoever knows Nike knows their tagline as well. However, there is a conspiracy theory surrounding the famous brand which takes the ‘taking things too seriously’ quote to another level entirely.
The 1998 World Cup was one of the best tournaments of the last millennium. Brazil were to football what Australia was to cricket – and both of them, coincidentally, wore yellow – and were the favourites to win the World Cup final by beating hosts France.
The day before the game, star striker Ronaldo Nazario fell sick and wasn’t supposed to play in the final. However, according to some reports, Nike forced Brazil to play the then young striker – who was sponsored by Nike – in the final.
In the end, though, France – sponsored by Adidas – won 3-0 and lifted the World Cup for the first time in its history.
‘Just do it’ isn’t always good after all.
#3 UEFALONA
To the Barcelona fans reading this, I sincerely apologise for the slider title – but be assured that I used it for creative purposes, which you will understand in while. At one time in this century, Barcelona were the greatest team in the world.
They were winning everything – by everything, I mean every freaking thing – that came in their path. La Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and the Club World Cup – the Catalans were basically unbeatable at that point of time.
However, their cause wasn’t without dents as they were often accused of being helped by the referees in high-profile encounters. The fact that Barcelona’s semi-final win against Chelsea is still remembered for Tom Henning Ovrebo’s atrocious performance rather than how the teams actually played is a huge testament in itself.
It was for this reason that people, especially Jose Mourinho, started to make up theories about Barca being helped by UEFA because of their connection with UNICEF – whose name were embedded in front of their jerseys.
Despite the fact that the Catalans played the best football back then, their tendency to get favourable decisions put a dent in golden era team because no matter how good they were, the part about referees help always comes up when discussing those days.
#2 1958 WC was a hoax
What the hell? I know right. This is a conspiracy theory that still makes people scratch their heads due to the extremity of the claim. The 1958 World Cup witnessed the genesis of the 17-year-old would-be legend, Pele. The Brazilian made a name for himself in the tournament and scored a brace in Brazil’s 5-2 victory in the final against hosts Sweden.
But here is the fun part: according to a Swedish historian, Bor Jacques de Waern, the 1958 World Cup was fake. Yes, FAKE. He claims that the World Cup didn’t happen in Sweden, but rather in the United States of America as a part of a CIA experiment to test the power of televised programs over the masses.
In a documentary released in 2002 named Konspiration 58, directed by Johan Lofstedt, Bor suggested that the buildings in the background of the stadiums didn’t look like the ones in Sweden and that the matches took place in America.
“The United States needed to test television’s power to influence people,” says De Wærn, who worked in the Swedish national archives for over twenty years. “It was a part of the Cold War that was raging at the time. I call it the ‘media race’.
“Right after the championship in 1958, I began collecting thousands of documents, photos and texts.
"I found one after another that pointed to the strange fact that the 1958 World Cup had never taken place.”
#1 Special agent Messi and Iniesta
Sometimes the horizon meets the stars, the sun, the moon and the other planets along with all the other constellations line up in a straight line while the otherwise beastly nature of humans turns into the mildness of a mother’s love.
These are actually signs of a peak Andres Iniesta teaming up with the best version of Lionel Messi. These two, together and at their very best, had the power to change the world and conjure spells with their mesmeric football to put people in a state of transcendence.
However, according to a Syrian TV channel, it is precisely this ability that Messi and Iniesta use to hypnotise the viewers while giving away coded messages to Syrian rebels about arms smuggling.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!
Yeah, that was also my first reaction. Apparently, the dribbling structure between the two and Pedro Rodriguez in 2012 revealed the best route to smuggle guns into Syria. This was reported after the Clasico played in March that year where Iniesta begins a move and passes the ball to Messi, who dribbles past a number of Real Madrid players to set up the ball for Pedro Rodrguez to score.
The whole move was said to have depicted the safest route of smuggling the guns from Lebanon to Syria. I mean, this world has had its fair of conspiracy theory, but this one pretty much takes the cake.
