At the Champions League Final in Munich, Heineken raised a glass to football’s most endearing—and irrational—traditions. When tens of thousands of fans descended upon the Allianz Arena, one supporter watched from a windswept corner of Germany, thanks to the beer brand’s latest campaign. Marco Simeone, a self-proclaimed jinx, was exiled to “Marco’s Far Away Pub From The Stadium In Munich,” a one-man bar built for superstition’s sake.
In a nod to the wonderfully illogical rituals of fandom, Heineken transformed Marco’s long-standing superstition into a full-blown statement of support. Convinced that his team loses every time he watches from the stadium, Marco believes the best way to help is by staying far away. Built hundreds of miles from the action, the one-man bar is a tribute to fans who’d do anything for a win—even vanish. It's a playful reminder that sometimes, believing in the irrational is part of what makes football so magical.
Few players understand the pull of ritual more intimately than Thiago Alcântara. Born into the game as the son of Brazilian World Cup winner Mazinho, Thiago spent his childhood in locker rooms, where he first encountered the game’s strange rhythms. “I remember a guy throwing out six pairs of shin pads and always choosing the same ones,” he recalls. “It didn’t make sense, but it worked for him.”
Now, as a two-time Champions League winner, Thiago is reflecting on the quirks that define both fans and players. “Because football is chaotic, we don’t control most of the game,” he says. “But we can control our routine... Choosing the right playlist, eating the same food — it’s about getting into your center again.”
“We see fans with complex superstitions for games they don’t control at all,” he says. “It’s funny, but also beautiful. It gives them a foundation.”
In a city where he once ruled the midfield, Thiago returned not just to honor the spectacle of the Final but to celebrate the heart of the sport: its unpredictability, beauty, and rituals that somehow make it all feel just a little more within reach.
Our conversation, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, is below.
Heineken’s campaign is about recognizing real fans, their superstitious quirks, and all. Can you talk a little bit about the campaign and your relationship with superstition at large?
Talking about the real fans and their superstitions, it's really great to see how people are attached to football, how the fans are having their daily routine, and the superstition towards a game that they don't control at all. We are having fun seeing the very complex superstitions, but it's nice.
Did you have any pre-match superstitions as a player?
Because football is chaotic, we don't control most parts of the game, but we can control our routine. And I think it's more about having or getting into your center. So, choosing a great playlist, having your nap, having the same kind of food you have the match day. So yeah, we’re having routines more than a superstition, but for sure we’ve seen teammates that have really awkward superstitions.
Can you share any of those?
My dad also played football, and I have seen that because I was in the locker room—because at the time my dad played, everybody can join the dressing room. I remember a guy throwing out six pairs of shin pads, and he always chose the same ones. It didn't make sense, but it's a routine that worked for him.
You talked about a pregame playlist. What does that look like?
Well, to get you in that competitive mood, but also a calm mood, then increasing until you are high-energy. I think you have to create that moment to know yourself a bit and to say, okay, which kind of music I need for that moment? To then increase until you get to the game, the match day, or the previous hour of the game—Then you're getting a bit more excited, you're getting a bit more energetic music. But I would go for Brazilian music, like samba-style.
We initially talked about the real fans. Do you have a fan moment that sticks out to you through your career?
I try to create the most organic and natural relationship with fans because for them, you can change the day, their life, with one interaction. But to make them feel that we are people as well, we go for the same issues that they have, for the same nervous moment as they do.
According to Heineken, 45% of fans stop watching games to avoid jinxing the result. Would you ever do that?
It happened to me in tennis, that probably you are sitting in one position and the player that you want to win the game is losing. You say okay, I have to change my position suddenly, and you think that the things you're doing will affect the game. But to be fair, it's about creating a good energy towards us players than going away. It is more about having a great energy.
Looking at the landscape of young footballers right now, is there anyone who particularly excites you?
Yeah, well I'm from Barcelona, and we can see that the team is having a very young talent, players like Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, that they are just different. They're just different than the rest. Lamine is in front, having this impact and making the right choices with his age and it's very tough. But then the defenders, they don't get into the spotlight as the attackers players, but Pau Cubarsí is just something different as well. How he is positioning the field, how his one-to-one, and it's amazing. It's amazing how they play.
I was at El Clasico - What a game.
I think the world is towards this kind of hype, young hype at the moment with content creators, music artists, and then you have football players that have everything. They are influencers, they're artists, and they play amazing football. So you say, okay, I'm in a different era right now.
Is that weird, to feel of a different era?
It is a bit because I'm very a football purist. So to see that and how can they manage everything that is away from football, but then they're focused on the game. I say, how can they deal with that? You know, that's great.
After accomplishing so much on the pitch, what does retirement look like for you these days? Is there a goal off the pitch that you're heading towards?
I think it's difficult for us to get away from the kid that we have inside while we play football. To say, okay, the kid inside of us has to perform in other things. And with the maturity that we have, with the curiosity we have, is just towards the sport, how we can help football, how we can help others with this.
What is one piece of advice you’d give?
Make life as simple or organic as we can. Just get your simplicity and be ready for the good things that you can live, because you will be ready for that.
What is your favorite way to be in that stillness and that simplicity?
To be surrounded with family, friends, and to do the things that you love most. That's the main reason for life.