There have been number of occasions when footballers have attempted to belittle some opposition players, either through words, actions or even career-threatening tackles. Whether it be down to the local rivalry coming to the forefront, egos clashing, or past incident, players tend to obtain revenge on their counterparts quite often.
Regardless of the league, team and media hype, players use their elephant-like memories to ensure the ones who crossed them on previous occasions don't walk away from the contest unscathed.
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Some incidents are more high profile than others, but here are five occasions footballers sought revenge on their competitors for damaging their ego or getting personal for no apparent reason.
#1 Roy Keane tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland – April 2001
When Manchester United played Leeds United in 1997, Roy Keane and Alf-Inge Haaland went into a challenge that resulted in the former suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
After the challenge, Haaland went over to Keane and stood over the Irishman - who was suffering from intense pain - and told him to get up and stop faking the injury to deceive the referee. Keane took nine months to return to full-fitness and never forgot the incident.
Four years later, Haaland – now playing for Manchester City, was up against Keane for the first time since the incident at Old Trafford. With the game level at 1-1, Keane took sickening revenge and hit Haaland with a career ending tackle - literally.
Keane then stood over Haaland and sneered at his agony. The challenge was truly sickening and one the majority of supporters still remember to this day.
#2 Scott Brown’s celebration vs Rangers – October 2010
In the build up to the Old Firm Derby in 2010, former Liverpool forward and ‘football maverick’ El-Hadji Diouf branded Celtic captain Scott Brown as the as a "nobody". Diouf was referring to the midfielder's lack of playing time, considering he himself had already represented his country at World Cup and Liverpool in the Premier League.
On the date of the match, Rangers were already Scottish Premier League champions and were in search of extending their lead over Celtic at the top of the table. With the hosts leading their bitter rivals 2-1 with 66 minutes played, Captain Brown took matters into his own hands and fired in Celtic's equaliser.
Brown swiftly brushed off the onrushing team-mates to ensure he could make his point to Diouf about being a "nobody". The image soon became famous amongst Celtic supporters and remains unforgotten.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Armenian supporters – June 2015
In June 2015, Portugal took on Armenia, bidding for a place in Euro 2016. The team from Western Europe travelled to the former Soviet satellite state with Cristiano Ronaldo in the side - much to the disapproval of the on watching home supporters.
Ronaldo and his team-mates were warming up for the contest in front of the hostile crowd. And Ronaldo suffered the wrath of the fans where he was issued with "Messi, Messi, Messi" chants throughout the 30 minutes long pre-match routine.
The game commenced, and Ronaldo was the one who had the last laugh as the Real Madrid superstar scored a hat-trick to silence the home supporters. After each goal, the forward would run towards the home crowd and mock them with his hands on his ears, encouraging them to chant.
#4 Didier Zakora tackle on Emre – May 2012
In 2011, Didier Zokora was playing for Turkish side Trazponsor when he came up against champions Fenerbache. Tempers grew when Zokora hacked down Emre and only received a yellow card.
After the incident, Emre was seen throwing racial slurs at Zokora under his breath. The game continued and Emre was set to be fined for 4 to 8 games, but the Turkish governing body opted to grant him just a three-game ban instead. A genuinely shocking decision which angered the on watching world media.
For the reverse fixture, in the pre-match handshake, Zokora snubbed Emre's proposal by placing his hand behind his back. Shortly after the game commenced, Zokora took his revenge by nearly ending Emre's career with a thumping challenge.
#5 Patrice Evra’s celebration in front of Luis Suarez – March 2012
In October 2011, Liverpool forward Luis Suarez was found guilty of racial abuse against Manchester United left-back, Patrice Evra. With little evidence to suggest Suarez was actually guilty, the striker was banned with "probable cause" after Evra came forward with the allegation.
Nonetheless, Suarez was then banned for a total of eight matches as a result of the incident. Months later, the two clubs, with both players featuring, met again in February 2012. Pre-match saw Suarez rebuff the proposal of a handshake from Evra before the latter’s side took all three points in front of a capacity Old Trafford crowd.
Suarez was on the scoresheet in Liverpool's 1-2 defeat to their bitter North West rivals, but it didn't prevent Evra from running in front of the striker and celebrate the victory with Stretford End.
Evra was ushered off the field of play without any reaction from Suarez.
