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Football is a beautiful sport, but the characters in it are not the same. Football players, coaches and especially managers are well known for their public outbursts. So, here is a look at the top 8 footballing rants of all time.
Manchester United and Newcastle United were fighting it out for the 1995/96 Premier League title. Sir Alex Ferguson, United’s manager, had said that other teams tried harder to defeat Manchester United than they did against Newcastle. This kind of angered Newcastle’s manager, Kevin Keegan. In reply, he let out this famous rant.
“I’ve kept really quiet but I’ll tell you something, he went down in my estimations when he said that. We have not resorted to that.
“You can tell him now, we’re still fighting for this title and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something. And I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it.
“But it really has got to me. I’ve voiced it live, not in front of the press or anywhere. I’m not even going to the press conference. But the battle is still on and Man United have not won this yet.”
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Technically not a rant, but still good enough to be included in the list.
After Chelsea were defeated by Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League semifinals, the players were visibly upset with the decisions of the referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. Drogba, in particular, was out of his mind. He repeatedly hassled the referee and shouted the words “Its a fu*king disgrace” into the camera.
Drogba was punished with a six-match ban for the incident.
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For Sir Alex, ranting comes naturally
Sir Alex Ferguson is famous for his trophies. He is also famous for his swears. After signing Juan Sebastian Veron for a mammoth fee, the media were not impressed with him. Fergie however had this to say to them:
“People are always going on about f—— Veron. You tell me, what’s wrong with Veron?
“What’s this thing about fights and all the rest of this s—? It’s absolute nonsense, you know it’s nonsense. Absolute lies. On you go. I’m no f—— talking to you. He’s a f—— great player. Yous are f—— idiots.”
Now, on another occasion when an interviewer wanted to know if Cristiano Ronaldo had dived or not, it led to this:
Shreeves: ‘I asked him’
Fergie: ‘F*****g bastard.’
Shreeves: ‘Don’t talk to me like that.’
Fergie: ‘F**k off to you.’
Shreeves: ‘Don’t talk to me like that. Don’t even think about it.’
Fergie: ‘Don’t you think about it, you ****. F**k off. Right?’
Shreeves: ‘Listen, are you going to do the interview in a professional manner or not? Do you want to do it or not?’
Fergie: ‘You f*****g be professional. You be professional. You’re the one.’
Shreeves: ‘I’m entitled to ask . . . . Cristiano gave the right answer.’
Fergie: ‘F*****g hell with your answers.’
Shreeves: ‘Don’t talk to me like that. Go away. If you want to behave civilly, fine. Don’t talk to me like that.’
Fergie: ‘F**k off.’
Leyton Orient were nearing bankruptcy in 1995. So, they made a deal with a local television channel and allowed TV cameras inside their dressing room. This move captured one of the greatest managerial meltdowns of our time.
John Sitton, Leyton’s manager went on and on for around four minutes and finished with this: “…and you can bring your f***ing dinner. ‘Cos by the time I’ve finished with you, you’ll f***ing need it.”
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Roy Keane, as you might have already known, is not a pleasant man. Here he is, blasting his own national coach Mick McCarthy.
“Mick, you’re a liar … you’re a fucking wanker. I didn’t rate you as a player, I don’t rate you as a manager, and I don’t rate you as a person. You’re a fucking wanker and you can stick your World Cup up your arse. The only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you are the manager of my country! You can stick it up your bollocks.”
People have described Keane’s rant as fierce and earth-shattering.
Rafael Benitez – speaking Facts
FACT is a term which we relate with Rafa Benitez even today. Here he is, speaking facts about Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United during Liverpool‘s title chase in the 2009 season.
It starts with this:
“But I want to talk about facts. I want to be clear, I do not want to play mind games too early, although they seem to want to start. But I have seen some facts and ends with this - “We had a meeting in Manchester with managers and FA about the Respect campaign. And I was very clear, forget the campaign because Mr Ferguson was killing the referees, killing Mr Atkinson, killing Mr Hackett. But he is not punished. How can you talk about the respect campaign and criticise the referee every single week? You can analyse the facts and come to your own decision and ideas.”
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Paolo di Canio, Swindon’s manager, decided to substitute his 21-year old goalie Wes Foderingham just 20 minutes into the game.
After the match, he decided to verbally kill his goalie, going on to say:
“He was one of the worst players I have ever seen in a football match. He is a player like the others.
“Why can’t we change the goalkeeper? Is the goalkeeper is an element who plays on with another team because he has a different colour on his shirt? I know my players, I know Wes – he was the crappy player even against Stoke.”
And it went on and on for 5 more minutes.
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After Joe Kinnear was officially appointed as the interim manager of Newcastle United in late 2008, he went on a verbal tirade against the journalists who were not happy with him. He swore around 52 times during the interview. It started with this:
JK - Which one is Simon Bird [Daily Mirror's north-east football writer]?
SB - Me.
JK - You’re a c**t.
SB - Thank you.
JK - Which one is Hickman [Niall, football writer for the Express]? You are out of order. Absolutely f**king out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you you can f**k off and go to another ground. I will not come and stand for that f**king crap. No f**king way, lies. F**k, you’re saying I turned up and they [Newcastle's players] f**ked off.
