Top professional athletes constantly seek advantages to enhance their performance. Even minor changes in lifestyle, training, and diet can significantly impact results.
Recently, yerba mate has become popular among footballers. This trend originated in South America and has spread to Europe. Interestingly, the drink was also favored by the late Pope Francis.
Mate offers various health advantages and is also traditionally consumed as a social ritual. But what exactly is it? Let`s explore what mate is, which football stars drink it, and how to prepare it.
Understanding Yerba Mate
Yerba mate, often called simply mate (pronounced mah-teh), is a traditional hot beverage from South America. It`s brewed from the dried and chopped leaves of the yerba mate plant and contains caffeine.
The drink has a characteristic bitter taste and is especially favored in countries like Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It`s also consumed in Syria and Lebanon.
Known as chimarrão in Portuguese or cimarrón in Spanish, mate originated with the indigenous Guarani and Tupi peoples of South America.
Traditionally, mate is a communal drink, shared among friends from a single gourd using a special straw.
While most commonly consumed hot, mate can also be enjoyed cold as iced tea.
Footballers Who Drink Mate
As a traditional South American beverage, it`s no surprise that many prominent players from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay regularly consume mate.
Lionel Messi, the eight-time Ballon d`Or winner, is perhaps the most famous advocate of the drink. The Inter Miami forward is frequently seen holding a mate gourd in photos and on social media.
Luis Suarez, Messi`s teammate at Inter Miami, is also a mate enthusiast. Other Argentine players who enjoy it include Sergio Aguero and Liverpool`s Alexis Mac Allister.
French World Cup winners Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba are also reported to include mate in their routines, as is Brazilian star Neymar.
Former Argentina international Gonzalo Higuain was featured drinking mate in the Netflix series “First Team: Juventus.” He has also shared the drink with other South American players like Douglas Costa and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Interestingly, the custom of drinking mate spread to England before the 2018 World Cup. Several Tottenham Hotspur players introduced it to the English national team. Eric Dier mentioned that the strong South American presence at Spurs, including players like Erik Lamela and Juan Foyth and manager Mauricio Pochettino, helped popularize the drink.
Since 2018, players such as Dier, Danny Rose, and Dele Alli have incorporated mate into their diets. Dier was quoted in 2018 saying, “At Tottenham quite a lot of the players have started drinking it. I am a bit addicted to it now.”
Health Benefits of Yerba Mate
Yerba mate`s popularity among footballers is largely due to its reported health benefits. As a caffeine-rich drink, similar to tea or coffee, it serves as a stimulant and is believed to sharpen focus, improve mood, and even aid in promoting better sleep.
Thanks to its high content of polyphenol antioxidants, mate is considered a beneficial addition to the diet, particularly for those aiming for weight loss, much like green tea. Additionally, the beverage provides vitamins B and C, vital for metabolism and immune function.
How to Prepare Yerba Mate
What You Will Need:
- Dried yerba mate leaves
- Gourd (or cup)
- Bombilla
- Flask (for hot water)
Preparation Steps:
Preparing mate is quite simple, similar to making other infused hot drinks.
Mate is traditionally served in a gourd, often made from calabash, and sipped through a metal or bamboo straw called a bombilla. The bombilla acts as a filter to separate the leaves.
Fill the gourd approximately half to three-quarters full with the dried yerba leaves. Then, cover the top and give it a shake to settle the leaves.
Insert the bombilla (straw) into the leaves. Add a small amount of cold water first to wet the leaves; let it absorb briefly. Then, add hot (but not boiling) water to fill the gourd.
Newcomers might find the taste quite bitter. You can add honey or sugar to sweeten it, although traditionalists often disapprove of this.
Gourds and bombillas can be elaborately decorated; silver is a traditional material for them.
Rupert Caldwell