This article reveals the light-hearted and interesting side of English soccer. For example, do you know the middle name of Roman Abramovich? Read to find out!
The mad soccer scene does not seem to quite go away, does it? Certainly not after Manchester United’s emphatic victories en route to last season’s English Premier League and Champions League titles. Then came the European Championship in June where perennial under-achievers Spain stole the limelight and emerged champions.
And who can forget about the epic tussle of Cristiano Ronaldo between Manchester United and Real Madrid that hogged the sporting headlines every single day during off-season?
As the world focus its attention on the Olympics held in Beijing, the newest EPL season started on a quiet note with the Big Four – Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal – once again expected to lord over the rest.
Thankfully, amid the brutality and competitiveness of the English game, there are many interesting incidents which are quite laughable. Enjoy yourself here with a few amusing ones.
1) Liverpool were one of the last top-flight English teams to install an electronic scoreboard at Anfield, its home ground. But an electronic error once caused the board to read “LIVERPOOL 54 EVERTON 0”. What a smashing game it would have been!
2) Ex-Irish international and Liverpool player Jason McAteer was asked on a credit card application form to fill in his position at the company he was working for. He wrote, “Right back”. Unbelievable!
3) Manchester United great Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who just had his testimonial match last month, once trained as a wrestler before he became a soccer player. Incidentally, his dad Oyvind was Norway’s Greco-Roman wrestling champion from 1966 – 1971.
4) John Burridge became the oldest player ever to appear in the Premiership match in April 1995. Then he kept goal for ManchesterCity against Newcastle United at the grand age of 43 years, 4 months and 26 days. What a sport, I say!
5) In a country where racism rears its ugly head commonly, Uriah Rennie became the first black referee in the Premiership in August 1997. He was placed in charge of the Leeds versus CrystalPalace match and has a Master’s in Business Administration and Law, in addition to his black belt in martial arts!
6) DerbyCounty, one of the oldest professional soccer clubs in the world, were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1884. Their original kit was in chocolate, amber and pale blue and has (thankfully) changed to black and white now.
7) Streaker Mark Roberts ran onto the pitch and managed to score a goal in the Liverpool versus Chelsea game in 2000. He was slapped by a magistrate with a £100 fine. Loose change for some infamy!
8) Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who bought over Chelsea has an unusual middle name. Try pronouncing ‘Arkadievich’.
9) Fabrice Fernandes who played for Southampton in 2003 against Bolton highlighted his annoyance with a dubious free kick given against his team by falling to the ground and rolling in front of the referee. He was booked instantly.
10) How about something from a lesser team instead? Torquay’s manager Leroy Rosenior is the most short-lived manager in football history. He was in charge for only 10 minutes before the club owner Mike Bateson agreed to sell his stake to a consortium.
And there you have it – all 10 of them. I hope you have enjoyed smiling at these trivia as much as I have enjoyed digging them out for you. Have a nice day ahead!
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