Socks: They’ve never been more celebrated. Whether it’s the “This Meeting Sucks” Happy Socks that your father discreetly wears to work or footballers risking it all to the tune of a $65,000 fine for wearing their beloved but banned hosiery at the World Cup, it’s all about covering your lil’ digits with the finest nylon. But how soccer players wear their socks has certainly come along way since the days slabbing together some leather or matted animal hair.
In the Laws of the Game, Law 4 stipulates that stockings must be worn. Also, any tape or material applied or worn externally must be the same color as the part of the sock which it covers. But that’s it, and so the tortured artist — usually the left winger — has been given historical license to express him or herself outside of the ol’ knee-high.
And in today’s world — where you’re a unique and beautiful sleeve tattoo (just like everybody else) — individualism and self-expression reigns supreme, giving us an oddly diverse array of sock-wearing fetishes. Let’s run the gamut over how soccer players wear their socks and perhaps inspire you to not be so damn boring.
Above The Knee (“I’m chilly, but I’m also quite chill.”)
Neymar
John Terry
Carlos Salcedo
Thierry Henry
David Beckham
Sock-Compression Shorts Onesie (“I just don’t want to pull anything, OK?”)
Arjen Robben
Ronaldinho
Low Socks (*takes a drag* “It gives you a whole new way of looking at the day.”)
Francesco Totti
Jack Grealish
Kenedy
Thomas Muller
Cut A Bunch Of Holes In Them ("I just want to provide media outlets with more SEO articles.")
TruSox ("I would give up my first born child in exchange for no-slip grip.")
Way Too Much Tape ("If my shinguards so much as think about moving, I'm going to off myself.")
Just An Average Bloke ("I'm just your average bloke.")
Lionel Messi
Gareth Bale
Cristiano Ronaldo
