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As a self-proclaimed klutz, I have had the experience of falling down and injuring myself a countless number of times. While most of my injuries have been really dumb, even I could not beat the weird and seriously funny injuries that some football players have suffered.
Now, if you are a footballer, there’s ALWAYS a chance of getting injured. You could call it an occupational hazard. You are always bumping into someone and there have been horrific collisions on the field to prove that. However, here’s a list of some of the most bizarre injuries caused off the field:
10 – Becks & the boots
Who isn’t aware of the famous spat between the then England captain David Beckham and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Apparently, Becks was given the boot out of Old Trafford after Manchester United were thrown out of the FA Cup against Arsenal in 2003. Fergie was so enraged after the game that he kicked a stray boot, which caused a cut just above Beck’s eye.
9 – I love Chicken wings (not)!
Can tasty delicious chicken wings be that terrifying? Manager Brian Lewis was so not happy with Ivano Bonetti after a 3-2 defeat at Luton, and hurled a plate of chicken wings at the Italian’s head. The poor guy was left with a broken cheekbone and left for Tranmere just five months later.
8 – Koffee with Rio
Dumb things sometimes come naturally to footballers. When Rio Ferdinanad was at Leeds, he suffered a tendon strain in his knee after leaving his leg propped on his coffee table for too long while watching the telly. Maybe he was watching recordings of his own game???
07) Revenge of the Jellyfish
Presumably, Newcastle was breeding sinister jellyfishes to sabotage the Sunderland team in the summer of 2004. The ruthless Julio Arca was stung by an exotic jellyfish when he was swimming in England’s North East during the Sunderland team’s training session. He broke into hives and a serious rash, and was frantically rushed to the hospital.
06) Infa”moose”
The early morning jog is the most peaceful and trouble-free activity ever…Or is it? The Norwegian Svein Grondalen found this in the weirdest of ways. Grondalen was forced to miss a game for Norway after he became the victim of an unusual ‘hit-and-run’, when a stray wild moose emerged from the roadside and catapulted him in the air.
05) Eye of the Pass-holder
And so it seems that even airports are not safe for footballers. The only people dumb players must fear is themselves. Milan Rapaic, the Hajduk Split player, unfortunately missed the start of Croatian season after jabbing his eye with his plane’s boarding pass at the airport. Beauty is in the eye of the pass-holder?
04) Attack of the thumb monster
Looks like Alessandro Nesta was responsible for increasing Sony’s sales overnight. The gutsy center-back got so involved while playing on his Playstation that he damaged the tendons in his left thumb, leaving it raw and inflamed. The injury cost him a month away from “real-life” football and later even required a surgery to treat the ruptured tendons. He probably was playing as himself in FIFA.
03) Oops, the wrong way
This anecdote will tell you why it is necessary to listen to the doctors very, very carefully. Brazilian striker Ramalho was laid up in bed for three days after swallowing a big pill which had been prescribed for a dental infection. Don’t see the problem in that? Well, check this. Apparently, the pill was a suppository. What’s that, you ask? Well, it had to be administered, errr…anally!
02) The puppy did it
Well, I love dogs too. But, they make a mess and here’s why cleaning it as soon as possible is very important. Darren Barnard would not have given that a second thought if he hadn’t torn a knee ligament and found himself out of action for 5 whole months. The reason? All because he slipped on his new puppy’s piss on the kitchen floor.
01) The smell of klutz
Perhaps the weirdest of all tales will be this – the dangerous bottle of cologne? Spain goalkeeper Santiago Canizares had to forcibly miss the 2002 football World Cup after a freak accident in his hotel room that severed a tendon on his right foot. What was he doing? He just dropped a bottle of aftershave on his foot accidentally. Talk about delicate porcelain hands.
And, bizarre but tragic on-field injuries…
Death by pork chops
Some pigs were so angry for being eaten that they went running wildly for revenge. The Indonesian footballer Mistair was so unlucky that he died at the young age of 25 when a herd of pigs came stampeding on the team’s training pitch in 1995.
Will you marry me?
Paulo Diogo, the Servette midfielder ripped his finger while jumping into the crowd to celebrate a goal. His wedding ring got caught on the fence and lost among the crowd. He did recover the finger but unfortunately, it was too late to mend and the remaining portion had to be cut so as to prevent infection. Case of the (un)true love?
