Michael Ollis doesn’t like shin pads.
So much so that when the French winger came on as a substitute for Leroy Sane in Bayern Munich’s 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in November, he didn’t wear anything.
This was spotted by fourth match official Florin Andre, who instructed the 23-year-old to put on some clothes. Ollis reluctantly stuffed some into his socks, then tossed them out when the official looked away.
Michael Ollis appeared to have a brief exchange with the fourth official as he prepared to come on as a substitute for Bayern Munich’s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain.
Moments later, Ollis is seen putting his shin guard into his socks, but then slyly takes off his left guard and throws it away… pic.twitter.com/ep0mqMLG79
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 28, 2024
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules of the game state that all players must wear shin pads. There are no specific rules on size, but Article 4 states that “must be made of suitable material, of suitable size to provide reasonable protection, and be covered by socks”.
Over the years, many football players have been erratic in their interpretation of the rules. The low socks and micro shin pads trend, started by the likes of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Chelsea’s Lauren James, has become hugely popular in recent years.
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The art of football socks
“I don’t wear shin pads,” Aulis told a fan who recently tried to send him a pair, although the PSG incident may have been a one-off as the 23-year-old usually wears them during games Shin pads.
The former Crystal Palace man is not the only professional footballer willing to play without shin pads if he could.
“I really don’t like wearing shin pads – we never wear shin pads in training,” said former Sheffield United striker Ollie McBurnie. Competitor November. “I want to feel like I’m training every day, so I wear regular socks. I cut the socks off, roll them down, and put some foam in them, like padding, just to feel comfortable.
Manchester City’s Jack Grealish is a notorious shin-guard (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Sam Weller Widdowson invented shin guards as early as 1874. Weller Widdowson is said to have cut up a pair of cricket pads and began wearing them to protect himself during football matches, and his idea quickly caught on.
Greaves in sports were heavily influenced by greaves, an ancient piece of armor made by Bronze Age soldiers to protect the shins, which had little to protect them.
In 1990, FIFA (using FIFA laws) mandated that all players must wear shin pads in every match. Until then, players can choose whether to protect their calves and ankles. At the time, shin guards were bulky and designed to protect players’ ankles and shins.
The Diadora shin guards, custom-made for Roma player Francesco Totti in 2006, now look downright retro by modern standards (Giuseppe Cacace/Getty Images)
They have lost some weight over the past thirty years. Now, players can use credit cards — or, if you prefer, cookie-sized shin pads. The trend has become a concern for grassroots football clubs, some of whom are now trying to ban young players from wearing them.
Penistone Church, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, hit the headlines last August when they banned a 15-year-old player, Alfie, after he broke both legs during a challenge while wearing micro shin pads. .
“It’s not worth the extra speed that will keep you out of the football field for months. It’s not worth the risk. The shin pads the teenager was wearing during his tackle measured just 3 centimeters (1.1 inches) × 9 cm (3.5 inches).
@officialbhafc The smallest shin pads in the world… 🤣 #BHAFC #AFC #PL ♬ Original Sound – Brighton & Hove Albion FC
Warrington Town defender Peter Clark is 25 games away from his 1,000th first-team appearance since making his Premier League debut at Everton in January 2001. Bulky and bulky shin guards from the late 1980s and 1990s and early 2000s with built-in ankle protection and Velcro straps. While he’s wearing a smaller guard than he started his career with, that wealth of on-court experience ensures he’ll never shrink too much.
“The ones I’m wearing now are carbon fiber and they have chips and scratches and when I look at them I’m happy to be wearing them,” said the former Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic said the Tranmere centre-back.
“Twenty years ago, tackles would fly a lot more. I remember I got hit in the calf while making a full tackle. As the game went on, I realized there was blood on my socks – the studs went right through. shin pads, which left a two-inch gash on my calf. This is a contact sport and it’s wise to be well protected rather than wear as small a shin pad as possible.
Shin pads are designed to protect a player’s legs during impact (VI Photo via Getty Images)
His longevity means Clark is playing alongside teammates in the National League North with Warrington, who were born after his first professional game. Why does he think more and more players are choosing small shin pads now?
“I don’t like the feeling of them sliding down, so I wear sleeves to prevent that,” Clark said. “Whether that’s the case or what it looks like when a person is racing; but I’m not sure a seven-inch piece of plastic or carbon fiber is going to slow someone down that much. I’m not entirely sure, but things have changed, and that’s Not the best for player safety.
Clark estimates he has used five or six pairs of shin pads in a career that spans more than 25 years and saw him guarding Thierry Henry (then at Arsenal) and Cristiano Ronaldo (then at Manchester United). performance. He makes sure his daughter and son wear shin pads of adequate size to protect themselves while playing and encourages others to do the same.
While he opted for a more modest endeavor, his children customized their guards with photos of themselves and their families. This is now the choice of many players at all levels, with some elite players even having pictures of themselves on their shin pads.
Cristiano Ronaldo wears shin pads at Euro 2024 featuring photos of his nearest and dearest (Marcus Brandt/Photo Alliance via Getty Images)
Manchester City and Brazil goalkeeper Ederson, Crystal Palace and France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta are among those who have had their faces stuffed into socks on the pitch.
Luka Modric wore one with a picture of himself playing for Croatia and winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, and another with a picture of his wife and children (he often kissing them before taking the field), while Declan Rice prefers to keep his photo.
Luka Modric gives his shin pads a kiss for good luck (David S. Bustamante/Socrates/Getty Images)
England and Arsenal striker Alessia Russo features a selfie with her parents on the bottom, a photo of her iconic back-heeled nutmeg goal against Sweden at Euro 2022, which was scored in the same year Nominated for the Puskas Award.
Arsenal and England forward Alessia Russo’s shin pads (Molly Darlington – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
For players, shin pads not only serve as protection, but also serve as a positive tribute to help keep them mentally alert before a game.
Former Real Madrid striker Joselu wears a picture of a dog on his shin guards during last season’s Champions League quarter-finals (Gonzalo Arroyo – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Some football players choose to have shin guards specially fitted. Former Wales international Gareth Bale wore a pair of shoes produced by Podoactiva, a biotech company specializing in podiatry and biomechanics, while playing for Real Madrid. It also designs custom insoles for players’ sneakers.
Ultimately, the purpose of shin pads is to protect players from serious injury, but they have also become a fashion statement – and believe it or not, some are now being used to support some players in their search for a move during the transfer window.
Italy and Lazio forward Martina Piemonte, who joins Everton from AC Milan in 2023, will be credited in part with her move to the Women’s Super League thanks to the XSEED leggings created by Italian analytics company Soccerment The board helps her collect data during the game.
Aldo Comi is the co-founder and CEO of the wearable technology company, which has been fine-tuning its artificial intelligence shin guards since the product’s official launch in 2022. adjacent application, which enables players to interpret their own data. As a brand ambassador, Inter Milan full-back Federico Di Marco is one of the more high-profile male footballers to wear shin pads.
“We’re trying to give players ownership of their data so they can use it to improve, to get faster and better, but also to gain visibility,” Comey said. Soccer shin pads measure a player’s speed, sprinting, shooting, passing, passing and more. They also become the first wearable technology to provide expected goal (xG) metrics.
Football’s “connected” shin guards will be on display at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
The soccer team was recently in California for the six-day MLS NEXT Fest, the Major League Soccer youth championship. “In six days, we digitized 35 games and more than 220 players,” Comi explains. “Basically, what we’re doing is creating a scouting platform within the event.”
Comi says they are able to create data segments that identify players who outperform their peers in various areas (one of their goals is to create a global scouting platform based on this data). However, the company has noticed the recent trend of smaller shin pads, especially among younger players, and has reacted to it.
“The trend over the past two years has been toward shin pads getting smaller and smaller. In some cases, players aren’t even wearing them,” he said. “You can see a lot of professional footballers faking it by using these little sponges under their socks, which in my opinion is dangerous. What we (in football) need to do is combat this trend and that’s why we Efforts are underway to resize shin guards to make them smaller and lighter.
Former Blackpool inside forward Allan Brown (1953) shows off his old shin pads (Allsport UK/Getty Images)
But Football first focused on creating shin pads to protect players before capturing data and protecting the technology within each pad.
“We wanted to certify them as protective equipment, which is why we had to choose high-quality materials. For example, we chose a copolymer that is also used in the aerospace sector for its ability to absorb shock. This was important to us. Say it’s expensive, but it makes the shin guards truly protective.
“That should be the main purpose of shin guards: to protect your calves.”
(Top: Pau Barrena/Getty Images; Design: Dan Goldfarb)
