Several goalkeepers, like Andre Onana, apply Vaseline on their gloves. But why?
The 29-year-old Onana made headlines Thursday night when he was responsible for both of Lyon’s goals in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal in France.
Thiago Almada gave Lyon the lead 25 minutes in, but Leny Yoro’s first goal for the Red Devils just before halftime tied the score for United.
Joshua Zirkzee’s late goal gave United the impression that they had won it, but Onana made another mistake by parrying a shot that was headed for Rayan Cherki, making it 2-2 heading into the second leg at Old Trafford next week.
Although Onana has frequently been seen applying Vaseline to his gloves before to games, it is unclear if he did so during Thursday’s contest. What is the rationale behind this?
Onana prefers “a substance designed specifically to improve grip” to Vaseline, according to The Athletic.
However, Vaseline, an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products, is used by other professional “keepers.”
Coventry goalie Ben Wilson talked about the subject on his podcast, “Fozcast,” which was hosted by former Manchester United player Ben Foster.
According to Wilson in 2024, “I won’t let myself do that because a lot of goalkeepers these days are wearing Vaseline on their gloves.”
“Tell me about Vaseline,” Foster said. “Because I recall that Joe Hart was the first player I witnessed doing that during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.”
“Fozzy, really, it is a game changer!” he exclaimed after applying Vaseline to his gloves.
“Yes,” Wilson continued. However, I will not let myself to do so, regardless of how wet and ruined my gloves are. The contrast is astounding.
“At Cardiff, I worked with Martyn Margetson, who advised me to apply Vaseline. It was incredible when one of the guys did it while it was chucking it down. I could feel it at that moment.
Foster said, “It’s difficult to explain, but if we were in a training session, I could tell which one had Vaseline on their gloves because it does feel grippier as soon as you caught the ball.”
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