Kiricocho or Quiricocho is a word that is part of the football vocabulary in Argentina and is used as a kind of superstition to attract bad luck to the opponent.
Origin of the expression
According to an urban legend in La Plata, Kiricocho, or Juan Carlos, was an "unlucky" fan of Estudiantes de La Plata. Whenever he was in the stands, his team ended up losing. His bad reputation grew so much that the club's coach, Carlos Bilardo, started bringing Kiricocho along with the delegation, so he could greet the rivals before the matches. The truth is that Estudiantes ended up being Argentine champions in 1982, losing only one game, precisely the one in which Kiricocho couldn't shake hands with their rivals.
It is not known for sure if Kiricocho really existed, or if it is just a legend that is part of Argentine football folklore. But the legend spread, and it began to be used by fans around the world as a superstition to attract bad luck to the opponent when his name is chanted. A clear example occurred in a match of the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League between Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla. When Erling Haaland took a penalty, the Sevilla players shouted "kiricocho," and it was saved by the Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. [[Category:Football in Argentina]] [[Category:Estudiantes de La Plata]] [[Category:Association football terminology]]