The Problem with Shin Guards 🤕🩼 

those tiny ass shin guards must be a joke 😭😭

I’ve never had a problem wearing shin guards. Over the years mine got extremely scuffed up, glad it wasn’t my shin.

I had big shin guards and it never made the slightest difference, so I don't understand the people who say "oh it restricts my movement" no it doesn't, its probably the one part of your body that moves the least

Feel like having a leg in 3 peices might inhibit your ability to play a lot more xD

That ref held it up like it was a shin-card 💀

Shin guards have never inhibited me, people just don't like shin guards because it's "cool" to hate them.

Used to play in some with ankle supports built in, they were sick and improved my game.

In 1990, you could tackle someone with both feet and maybe just get a warning from the referee. The decline in bone fracture injuries isn’t due to shin guards. It’s because FIFA has tightened the rules on tackles, leaving it to the referee to decide if there was excessive force, carelessness, or intent to injure. Regular shin guards can be heavy, hot, uncomfortable, and often don’t stay in place. Smaller shin guards alleviate these issues while still complying with the laws of the game. Many professional players wear small guards and don’t seem overly concerned about the risk of injury. If you have to wear big shin guards, you’re likely playing with players who aren’t very skilled. Additionally, shin guards are designed to take head-on impacts, but 90% of tackles don’t involve head-on force. None of the tackles you showed were protected by shin guards.

It's called football I started a war in the comments

Bro i always hear people saying "oh my shin guards limit my movement" and whatnot, i wear shin guards and they dont even make the slightest diffrence in my movment.

I can see why some people don't like wearing them because sometimes they can slip around and get uncomfortable or hinder foot movement and I'd say playing without them is like the same as wearing compression shorts or a shooting sleeve in terms of performance gains

If the shin guard doesn't fit, get ones that fo fit.

Mini shin guards are usless because its purpose is defeated just by it being small.

I'm sure they helped escape a number of breaks over the years. And never felt they impacted my ability to play.

I had a match yesterday and if I hadn't wore shin guards my leg would have snapped in half.

You telling me almost all the top players in Europe and south America aren’t good 💀

i have only ever been grateful to have shin guards

As someone with literal divots in my shins and general numbness below the knees from playing (American) football - I wish I shin guards. The fact people are playing a kicking focused sport with practically none is baffling

I loves the shin guards with ankle protectors. I'd always thank them when i got a kick on my ankles, basically every game.

American football fan here: that’s insane. That would be like an NFL player deciding not to wear shoulder pads because it limits their mobility, when before those pads came along they were averaging over 1 player a year dead or permanently disabled due to bone fragments shredding organs

My theory to why they have gotten so small is so they get injured easier and thus get more freekicks and penaltys because diving wasnt enough.

First misconception being calling it soccer

Right. Hanson brother here knows that people who wear mini pads (he's clearly a maxipad guy) aren't probably that good. Shin pads are sweaty, uncomfortable, weigh up to like 10 ounces, and there's a reason why some professionals who make millions want to use the tiny tiny one oz pads.

Shin guards are fuking cool, too.

The old shin guards - you know those big ones with a socket for your foot and plastic covers over your inner and outer ankle - certainly limit movement. Its not impossible to play with them at all and you get used to it quite quickly, but after i changed to the more modern ones myself, i absolutely wouldnt go back. That being said, wear adequately big modern ones. Wearing this ridiculously small ones absolutely do not make a significant difference.

Good lord i forget people take kickball seriously. The flopping made it laughable since i was 8

The game is also a lot less physical than in the 80’s . With the way the game is played td you almost never get direct impacts to the tibia and for the small chance that you do either even the small shin pads you are wearing will protect you and if not chances are the big ones would not anyway either. They’re too bulky and uncomfortable it’s nothing to do with range of motion

I used to love wearing those shin guards

i have messee up shhins, and wearing shinguards acctuslly hurts more than any kick i got against my shin

Broke my leg playing in college while wearing pretty big/hefty guards as a GK, where there's arguably less need to have small shin guards. The guards kept it a pretty clean break that didn't even need to be set. Without, probably would have been compound fracture and I likely would have ended up with a bunch of extra hardware in my leg to get the TSA excited everytime I fly. Tl:Dr - Wear your shin guards.

Ive noticed a trend of absolutely tiny shinnpads only 3-4 inches in length and wondered what the point was. Other than to tixk a box for FIFA.

There is a reason why so many pro’s have extrmely thin or small guards

They think it makes them quicker. But just go look up videos of old are nine when he was at PSV and Barcelona he’s wearing some huge shinguards basically cover up his whole shin.

I LOVE YOUR ROME SHIRT!

Its a fashion thing, the idea they restrict movement is just an excuse. If anything big shin guards are an advantage as they give a bigger area to control the ball in the tackle and make you a little less likely to get nutmegged.

Bro That Last Sentence is just facts bro, if you cant Play with Shin guards, then your just shit. they always say that it gets in the way of their control, but some just do to show of their muscles, and If you cant play with Shin Guards, I am 100% sure you cant play with your Legs Broken Into pieces

The ones with ankle sleeves limit movement, the ones with straps are very uncomfortable, and the one where you can slip on never stay in a place. So you end up just tapping to your leg

I agree giant ass guards can get annoying but there’s no reason to have nothing protecting you there, I’d be terrified to challenge any ball knowing the other guys has armor plated shins and I don’t 😭

Lol, i played ice hockey for 25 years, the shin guards you were in hockey is likened to a mid evil suit of armor, and I'm 110% convinced that playing hockey is just as. If not more athletic as soccer.

It def boosts shooting agility

I hate shinguards because they always slide down to my ankles

even if they didnt absorb the force getting kicked in the shin still hurts like a bitch and i’d still wear them

Even a muay thai boxers shin bone would break under that much force.

I don't think misconceptions is the word you're looking for

Shin guards do slip down the sock sometimes and it is distracting and I'm tired of pretending it isn't

Required in matches but never wore in training. And yes i played at a higher level than most

I used to crack and break shinguards all the time. No way i would play without them.

Or they’re playing at such extremes already that they want every edge they can have on the competition.

Had the same pair of guards for 20 years, not huge...not small...fit me perfectly, couldnt imagine going into a game without them...practice i can leav them behind tho

lots of the best players in the world wear mini shin pads, at least in the US MLS NEXT youth soccer, almost everyone wears these cut shin guards.

I always hated shin guards. My favorite receive was to put my shin up and bring the ball from air to the heel. This technique is fucked if you have shin guards. A lot of times u hit bad angle and ball just yoinks into oblivion. I hated that

Growing up, my family was very poor and to be able to play, my mom "found" some random pair of shin guards so I would be able to play in the league (Required as part of the rules). They fitted very poorly and actually caused shin splints as they were too tight. It would press against the muscle and rub it as I ran. So yeah. It did inhibit my ability to play. Even with better fitting ones, it still is uncomfortable and starts to hurt after a while.

Not a futbol fan but I can think of some reasons like it has to do with the player positions, if you're the defense for example, you'll be most likely the one breaking people's shin, so why would you have one?

I played lots of sports growing up and i never wanted to play without my shin guards, helmets, knee pads. Like idk man, its all so simple

Anyone who’s ever played knows how absolutely necessary shin guards are. They’ve saved me so many times…

I remember in high school how people would take the piss out of you for wearing shin pads but my rule was you always wear them regardless. But if people want to be the idiots and not wear them then it’s their fault if they get injured

I used to use cardboard because I couldn’t afford shin gaurds. I could barely afford the $50 to put myself in public soccer.

Id have broke my leg at least 3 times playing football if it wasnt for shin pads

In 2025 I plan to introduce micro shin guards, followed by nano and pico shin guards in 2026 and 2027. The Pico shin guards will be so small I'll have to invent special socks so they don't fall out of the sock pores

All these professionals talking about their shin guards is hilarious

It’s crazy this thing I always felt was super ingrained in soccer was added right before I started playing

Ive never understood this. Like if you leave them on for a long time and dont clean your guards regurlarly I get that it could become uncomfortable, but I dont understand when ppl say it inhibits their play. What exactly is being inhibited?

Same shin guard that broski uses

The better you are at something, the smaller the margin for error. If you say guards don’t inhibit play, but pros say they do, why on earth would I be inclined to believe you

The most stupid thing for me is they say shin guard interfere with they play in sport where you kick the ball with your feet

Yeah, if shin guards somehow make you “worse” then you’re just not good. I mean I literally can’t understand how it would make you worse. It doesn’t restrict your ankle mobility, or knee mobility. So how does it affect you? Maybe get different socks? Or a better fitting boot. It’s definitely not the shin guards.

Nah it's cause when you run they wiggle around and turn and go further up your sock and you have to stop and fix it

Teams should manage their players’ equipment. FIFA should stop over regulating

I don't really think you know alot if you think it doesn't as the size of those shin pads have been proven to be do big that they make It harder to control the ball and when your playing at the top level for hundreds of thousands of pounds your gonna want every single advantage possible (I yes I do agree its ridiculous how small some shin pads people use are)

They don’t wanna wear a shin guard because it “restricts their movement”. Wait until they find how much a broken leg restricts their movement.

Damn how did I survive 9000 N to the leg back in street ball

It's not soccer it's football

I don’t get how it restricts your movement like, what are you gonna do bend your calves?

Playing field hockey i've always been extremely grateful for my shin guards. Well, except when i get hit directly in the knee instead... thanks a lot

And first miniature shin pads are for kids 3+

Ref walks over. Oh no, is it a yellow or a red flag? Gets mini shinned

Had a late slide tackle legit crack my shinguard in half, safe to say I’m glad I was wearing them. I never play without them even during scrimmages or pick up games

My mans telling grealish hes not very good ahaha

It's FOOTBALL!! ⚽

If the goal is to get the ball across the field and into the net, then the best way to do that is with an air cannon. If you're gonna be a mad man and try to use your body to be the best, then you have to accept broken shins

I dont get the "i cant move properly with normal ones" it covers ur shin and ur shin doesnt move. If it covered a joint, id understand but a shin?

Not soccer it’s football ⚽️

This American has just called like half the premier league bad a football 😂😂😂😂

Those are chin guards. Obviously 😂

It’s true. If they wear the nano shin pads they just like to “look good on the field” more than they actually care about their body and gameplay.

If you're playing the ball with your shin you're doing something wrong anyway, shouldn't affect gameplay.

There isn’t even a joint there, what movement is it limiting?

As an Amarican it’s football

as a kid I used to ask my mom if she could put them on the outside because it hurt my feet 💀💀💀

nah them big ass shin guards with the ankle thing attached are trashh felt like it used to mess up my first touch

Bought a pair when we were crushing concrete, end of day thought that was waste of money didn't get hit once today. looked at the shin guards and the Wilson logo was almost worn off from cobbles hitting them

How are you supposed to fake an injury if you're really hurt?

IT,S Football SON WE KICK THE BALL WITH OUR FOOT

Not wearing shinnys is all about ball control and when hitting one time, with pads they can give the ball an unwanted connection you weren't expecting and ping off uncontrolled

I don't like shin gaurds, my legs feels wobbly with it, its never in its place.

I dunno I'm not wearing those bulky things

"We don't need shin guards any more, shin fractures are so uncommon now!" "We don't need seatbelts, car crash fatalities went way down since they were introduced!" "My child doesn't need the measles vaccine, measles is basically non-existent!"

Big up hinshy by boy

I use to use the cover of composition notebooks when I forgot my guards

Your use of "momentum" hurt my soul.