Spain Men’s National Football Team This is one of the most favorite of this European Cup. It’s not for less money. Having not lost the group stage and having played very well in the 1/8 finals and quarterfinals, they go to the semifinals to face another favorite: the French team. But the Spaniards have something that makes them favorites in science: their red equipment.
There are numerous studies that show that athletes who wear red tend to top scores than their opponents. One such study was conducted on football players wearing shirts of this color. Given that the Spanish team’s first kit is red and that it is actually associated with this color, it may have more potential from a scientific point of view.
Although not all scientists support this hypothesis. There are studies that show that in fact there are differences between athletes who wear red clothes and those who wear other colors are not of significant importance. Despite this, it cannot be ruled out that there may be a certain connection, as there are several hypotheses based on psychology and biology that make a lot of sense. One thing is clear: to win the European Football Championship, it is not enough to have a red shirt. You also need to have many of the best footballers in the world. The Spanish team has clearly demonstrated that they meet this condition. If we add the influence of the kit color, the possibilities become even more.
The Curious Influence of Red on Sports
The colour of a player’s shirt can be crucial for many reasons. In 1996, Manchester United manager Alex Fergusonmade his players change at half-time in a match against Southampton. They were losing miserably in their grey kits, so he thought it might be because of a visibility problem between them. Although he would have had to pay a fine for changing, when he entered the dressing room he made them put on their second kit with the blue and white stripes. The performance improved, although not enough to win the match.
However, it was an example that went down in history as an explanation of how unconventional team colors. Many colors have been discussed in this regard, but especially red. There are those who think that this color can greatly influence the performance of athletes. For this reason, many scientists have conducted studies to prove this and have received interesting results.
This has been particularly analyzed in wrestling and football. For example, in 2005 it was published in Nature a study that found that in 19 of 29 categories boxingand also in Greco-Roman Wrestling, Wrestling and Taekwondofighters in red won more victories than those in blue. Later, in 2023, another similar study conducted only on taekwondo fighters came to the same result and concluded that it could be a psychological impact on the perception that judges and referees They have fighters dressed in this color.
What about football?
As for football, the most famous of these was released in Great Britain in 2008. The results of the league in this country were analyzed. since 1947 and it was found that the win rates of teams wearing red uniforms were significantly higher when they played at home. This study was widely discussed in another study published in 2022. methodological shortcomings The study and the new study did not find such significant differences. However, given that similar results have been repeatedly observed in other sports, it is difficult to rule out the influence of the color red. Therefore, there is hope for the participation of the Spanish national team in the Eurocup.
What could be the reason for this red color effect?
It should be noted that this connection between good results of red color in athletes observed only in men. This is consistent with the fact that in nature, red is often associated with testosterone. People themselves, when they have high testosterone levels, often have redder skin, the tone of which increases with anger and decreases with fear. Curious effects of red have also been found in birds. For example, stripes of this color on the legs male zebra finches are associated with better results in competition for resources.
The latter is interesting because the color red can cause sense of threat in other individuals. This is what has been observed in the main primate species used as a laboratory model: rhesus macaqueScientists have noticed that if experimenters wear red clothes, they are more suspicious of monkeys.
This may indicate that the influence of red in football is related to the perception of form. about the opposing team and the referees. In fact, there are already colors that evoke certain emotions in judges. For example, some studies show that clothing black color in different sports they cause more fines because players who wear them are perceived as more aggressive.
Something similar could happen with the color red. The truth is that in the European Cup match against Germany we saw a referee who was very unfavorable to the Spanish team. Let’s assume that the color has nothing to do with it. But what about the opponents?
The situation of the Spanish national team in the Eurocup
We have already seen that some scientists have noted that the color red has a strong influence on sports performance or the perception of opponents. Others believe that there is nothing significant about it. One thing is clear: the Spanish team has achieved semi-finals in the Eurocup on their own merits, not because of the colour of their shirt. But it’s nice to think that it might help. Let’s see what happens tonight. Whatever the result, it’s sure to be an interesting match.
Source: Hiper Textual
