Top 4 Best Foam Rollers for Soccer Players (+ Exercises to Do)

Are you looking for the best foam roller for soccer players?

Great! I am a retired professional soccer player and rolling on foam roller was a part of my everyday routine!

Since foam rolling is a proven way to speed up the recovery, I prepared a buying guide and picked the 6 best foam rollers for soccer players.

Let's have a look at the actual list:

Best foam rollers for soccer players	Main Features	Price
The Best Overall	The Original Body Roller Best for soccer players 3D texture Multiple massage zones	Check price
Best on budget	LuxFit - Best cheap foam roller Great for daily use Very affordable Softer material	Check price
Best set deal	3. 321 Strong - Best foam roller set Great deal Contains 5 products Great quality & price	Check price
Most popular	321 STRONG Foam roller Most popular option 3D texture Multiple massage zones	Check price

1. The Original Body Roller - Best foam roller for soccer players

I picked this high-density foam roller massager due to:

1. Reviews on amazon (almost 12,000 positive reviews at the time of writing)
2. Price - sweet spot (some are way more expensive)
3. Quality - great quality

I think this is one of the best deals you can get for that price point. I myself use this one exact foam roller for my daily stretching routine after soccer practice. I am very happy with this one - and that's why I chose this as the best foam roller for soccer players.

This roller has a nice 3d texture that basically replicates the fingers, thumbs, and palms of the human hand. So essentially it feels like you are getting a massage!

I have to also say, that the foam rolling with this one is not that painful - probably due to a softer material. In case you are looking for a harder "massage" stimulant, you might want to look at some of the options below.

2. LuxFit - Best foam roller on budget

If you are short of money, I'm very happy to tell you that you are able to get a great foam roller for literally a few bucks! It is very affordable, and in many cases, this roller is enough.

One big disadvantage I see is that it doesn't have a 3D texture. But on the other side, it's definitely less painful to release the knots and tension in the muscles.

It is made in the USA, it comes with 3 year warranty, and you are able to pick the size that is convenient for you.

Again, if you don't want to spend a lot of money on a foam roller, get this one!

3. 321 Strong - Best foam roller set

If you are serious about your recovery after soccer, you want to have a look at this foam roller set. I was really surprised (in a good way) by what it contains, and the price you pay.

With this foam roller set comes:

• Foam roller
• Muscle stick roller
• Stretching strap
• Lacrosse ball
• Spiky massage ball

If I'm being honest with you - I should have placed this as a first place. I didn't only because most soccer players want only the foam roller.

But in case you are an exception and you want to speed up your recovery - this set is ideal for you.

4. 321 STRONG Foam Roller - Most popular foam roller

As a retired soccer player, I can tell you that this is the most common foam roller in the world. We had exactly the same in the club (like 30 of them) and we always used them after soccer training.

With this option, you just can't go wrong. It's maybe a little bit more expensive than previous products, but this roller is really good.

It's lightweight and it has a 3D texture that basically replicates massage.

In fact, this roller has 3 zones for massaging:

• Thumb zone
• Finger zone
• Palm zone

So basically thumb zone is the most intense one. If you feel too much pain, you probably want to switch to the other two zones. That's what I really love about this foam roller!

Are foam rollers good for soccer players?

So you are considering buying a foam roller, but you are still not sure. And I get it. The very first time I saw this tool in the gym, I was confused.

I was thinking "how on earth this can help me" or "how this replaces a real massage"? I was very surprised when I found out.

So how do foam rollers work, and are they good for soccer players?

Foam rollers are an effective tool for soccer players, that want to warm up, cool down, and recover faster. They utilize the self-myofascial release (SMR) technique. Studies found that foam rolling is an effective way to relieve muscles from tightness, inflammation, soreness, and increase the joint range of motion.

There are three ways you can use foam rollers: warmup session, cooling down and recovery routine.

A few more benefits of foam rolling are:

• Reducing inflamation in the recovery process
• Helps to deal with Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)
• Prevents injuries
• Increases blood flow and elasticity of the muscles
• Great relaxation technique

I am telling you, foam rollers are so worth spending a few dollars.

You see, the way they work is that they kinda replace massage. Of course, personal massage is way more beneficial - but not everybody wants to spend month $100 for massage sessions.

Now imagine that you spend $25 one time and you have a completely effective massage replacement for a fraction of that. Massage could cost you literally around $1,000 - $3,000 per year, depending on how often you are getting it. Having a foam roller definitely saves you money. The decision is yours.

Personally, I had my own foam roller in the house and also in the locker room - while I was also getting a massage.

Is it good to foam roll before soccer?

As I mentioned, there are multiple ways you can use a foam roller. Even more than that, you can use a foam roller at different times.

But is it good to foam roll before soccer?

Foam rolling with a combination of proper stretching is a great way to warm up before soccer. It helps to increase the range of motion, which results in a smaller chance of getting injured. It's a very common practice to foam roll before a soccer game, as it is very beneficial.

Honestly, I think it can only help you. But..

Everybody is different, everybody reacts differently, and everybody prefers something else. This is something I say always in my articles. You want to do things that feel right to you.

So my advice would be to test it out and see for yourself how you feel on the pitch after foam rolling.

But - I always recommend foam rolling after exercise, game, or training. It helps with Delayed-onset muscle soreness (also known as DOMS). It helps to combat that pain you usually feel a day or two after an intense workout.

Here are also other ways you could use foam roller:

1. Warmup session - before you head off on the soccer field, you can include foam rolling into your warm up routine. Many soccer teams actually do this together in the gym. I remember that it was a required part of our training warmup (before traning and soccer match as well) - however some soccer players find that they enjoy foam rolling way more after the game.
2. Cooling down after performance - you can also use foam roller as a way to cool down after performance. Many soccer players prefer foam rolling after the traning, so they don't have sore muscles the very next day.
3. Recovery routine - another way of using foam rollers is to use them as a tool to improve your recovery. Professional soccer clubs usually have very first training after the game more funny, easier, focused on small funny games and recovery. If you have something similar, don't forget to use foam roller!

Foam rolling exercises for soccer players

So as I promised, here are a couple of foam rolling exercises for soccer players:

Short version:

Longer 30-minute version:

Wrapping it up

Foam rolling is one of the most effective ways to deal with soreness, fatigue, and inflammation after intense soccer training.

If you want to take care of yourself, and want to become that "healthy player" that never gets injured, this is your chance to do it!