The ten biggest fallouts in the world of football.
10. Joe Kinnear vs Charles N’Zogbia
During his time in charge at St James’ Park, the former Wimbledon boss did almost everything possible to alienate his players and fans.
And the final straw apparently came when he called French wide man Charles N’Zogbia, Charles Insomnia. Whether by design or by fate, the then 22-year-old didn’t take kindly to his new moniker and demanded to leave Newcastle in order to get away from the hapless boss.
“When you hear the manager say something like this about you, then you know he doesn’t respect you,” said the Frenchman. “If he doesn’t respect you, what’s the point of playing for him?” N’Zogbia said. Kinnear responded by telling him to move out of Fantasy Land. Ouch!
9. Ruud Gullit vs Alan Shearer
The Dutchman promised to bring his own unique brand of ‘Shexy football’ to St James’ Park in the late ’90s, but little did people realise that would involve dropping England’s greatest modern striker Alan Shearer. Gullit changed too much too soon at the club and the results eluded them he let the Magpies legend know just what he thought of him.
“I told him to his face he was the most overrated player I have ever seen,” Gullit said.
The final straw came when he dropped Shearer for the local derby with Sunderland, which Newcastle lost, and Gullit was given his marching orders soon after.
8. Rafael Benitez vs Alex Ferguson
Fergie enjoyed a somewhat jovial rivalry with Gerrard Houllier before Bentiez came along, but the Spaniard sought to turn things well and truly sour in 2009 with the amazing rant in this video.
With both clubs gunning for the title, Ferguson seemingly got inside Benitez’s head and the Reds handed the Premier League crown over to United promptly and quietly.
7. Edgar Davids vs Guus Hiddink
When Holland made their way to England for Euro 96 they knew that they stood a very good chance of bringing the title back to Amsterdam with them. However, a major tournament without the Dutch camp falling apart is like a day without sunshine and Davids was sent home by his boss from the competition in England after the player said that “Hiddink should stop putting his head in some players’ asses.”
6. Kevin Keegan vs Alex Ferguson
Just watch the video…
5. Jose Mourinho vs Anders Frisk
When Chelsea met with Barcelona in the Champions League of 2005, Frisk was the referee that gave striker Didier Drogba his marching orders during the second leg, and Barca eventually went on to win the tie by two goals to one.
Not happy with the referee’s performance, Mourinho called Frisk out on it and set in motion a chain of events so severe that Frisk soon retired from the game thanks to death threats made against himself and his family.
Bit harsh, Jose…
4. Cristiano Ronaldo vs FIFA
Ronaldo won the Ballon D’or in 2008 thanks to a barnstorming season with Manchester United that saw him march off with the Champions League amongst other things and he was expected to collect the most prestigious player award from then on upon his move to Real Madrid that following summer.
However, no matter how well he played he just couldn’t scoop the prize away from arch-rival Lionel Messi, who won it for the next four years running. FIFA president Sepp Blatter hinted that Messi was a more deserving winner, and Ronaldo replied with a pop of his own by saluting during a goal celebration.
Ronaldo walked off with the prize again this year, but in truth there was no way that he couldn’t after Blatter’s monumental cock up.
3. Alex Ferguson vs The BBC
In 2004 the Beeb looked into the controversy surrounding football agents and the bungs they reportedly receive during transfer dealings. The documentary targeted Ferguson’s son, Jason, and since then the former United boss cut off all ties with the BBC despite regular fines.
Match Of The Day couldn’t get near him, Football Focus daren’t ask him to comment, “They [the BBC] did a story about my son that was whole lot of nonsense,” Fergie said, but in the end it was all smiles as he dropped the ban recently, just in time for his retirement.
2. Raymond Domenech vs France
France are always strong favourites to make an impression at a major tournament, and the World Cup in South Africa was no different. However, Nicolas Anelka soon put the skids on that by falling out with the zany national team boss after telling him to “Go **** yourself, you son of a whore,” during the halftime break of their game against Mexico.
His outburst earned him an early ticket home and matters were only made worse when captain Patrice Evra was caught trying to instigate a coup against the manager. Domenech stepped down soon after.
1. Roy Keane vs Mick McCarthy and the FAI
During the build up to the 2002 World Cup, Keane had been growing increasingly frustrated over the Football Association of Ireland’s (FAI) preparation for the tournament. No balls or bibs, pitches with too much sand and not enough water were all at the top of Keane’s grind list, and tensions boiled over one night in Saipan when McCarthy called a clear the air meeting with his players.
Keane felt as though he was being singled out and exploded, telling McCarthy to “stick the World Cup up your b******,” before being sent home to miss out on the showpiece event.