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The English Premier League is arguably the best football league in the world. The league has the most viewers owing to England's unique geographical location. It may not be the most technically sound like the La Liga, or well-structured like the Serie A, but is played at a rapid pace, and is extremely unpredictable. "Any team can beat any other team on a given day" is the Premier League's greatest charm.
While there have been numerous memorable moments on the football pitch in the Premier League, there has been no dearth of breathtaking off-field moments too. On that note, let us have a look at 6 of the greatest off-field moments in Premier League history.
#6 Andrea Bocelli celebrates Leicester City's improbable title win
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Date: May 8th, 2016.
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Venue: King Power Stadium, Leicester.
Occasion: Leicester City's title-winning celebration.
The Michaelangelo of singing and best-selling Italian artist across any genre, Andrea Bocelli, has done it all. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he's sung for Queen Elizabeth, he has multiple Grammy and Oscar nominations, and has also been featured on The Simpsons!
One of the greatest Premier League off-field moments was when he sang Nessun Dorma (Let no one sleep) at the King Power Stadium at Leicester City's title-winning party. Bocelli was invited to sing by compatriot and Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri. This moment almost never happened, as the Leicester fans were celebrating in their own ways in the stands when Bocelli reached the stage. Ranieri had to quieten the crowd for Bocelli to begin.
And when he did, the man of whom Celine Dion once said, "If God has a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli", mesmerised the world, and the fortunate few in attendance. It was truly a moment of enormous significance. Almost four years later, fans can't seem to get over it.
#5 Jose Mourinho: "I'm the Special One."
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Date: June 2nd, 2004.
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London.
Occasion: Jose Mourinho's unveiling as Chelsea manager.
Jose Mourinho's entry into English football was just how his managerial career has panned out: boisterous and box-office.
When Chelsea appointed the Portuguese tactician as their manager, replacing the aforementioned Claudio Ranieri in 2004, Mourinho announced himself to the country, and especially to the British press as 'The Special One'.
He was a breath of fresh air for the Premier League which had become monotonous, perhaps stale, as a result of the dominance of Manchester United and Arsenal from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. Manchester United had won the title in 7 of the last 12 seasons, and Arsenal had just gone a season unbeaten.
So when Jose Mourinho joined the now cash-rich Blues in West London, having won the Champions League with an unfancied Porto side that beat United en route to glory, things started to simmer. Arsene Wenger never won the Premier League again. Sir Alex Ferguson went three years without one and had to re-invent his gameplan and rebuild the team again.
It all started with Mourinho saying:
"Please don’t say I’m arrogant, because what I say is true. I am a European champion, so I’m not one of the bottles. I think I’m the special one."
#4 Roy Keane: "I'll see you out there."
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Date: February 1st, 2005.
Venue: Highbury, erstwhile home of Arsenal football club, London.
Occasion: Arsenal vs Manchester United, the most heated rivalry in the Premier League back then.
The teams were waiting to enter the pitch in the tunnel. Arsenal captain Partick Vieira, along with a couple of his teammates, finds Gary Neville. Vieira reminded Neville that the latter's tackling against Robert Pires in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, when United ended Arsenal's record 49-game unbeaten streak, was atrocious. Now since Neville was at the Gunners' home ground, he should probably expect retribution.
Having watched his opponents gang-up on his teammate, Roy Keane launched into one of his famous rants: The Irishman said to Vieira:
"I'll see you out there."
When the referee tried to stop the fracas, Keane said to him, "Tell him to shut his mouth. Picking on Gary Neville, try picking on one of us!"
Initially, it seemed as if Vieira would have the better day as he opened the scoring from a Thierry Henry corner. However, Ryan Giggs' deflected shot made it one apiece.
Dennis Bergkamp then restored Arsenal's lead, with nine minutes to go in the first half. That would be as good as it got for the Gunners on that day.
Four days from his twentieth birthday, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second-half brace. John O'Shea then put the icing on the cake with an outrageous chip over Manuel Almunia to seal the victory for United, as United completed the double over the reigning champions.
#3 Kevin Keegan: "I'll love it if we beat them, love it."
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Date: April 29th, 1996.
Venue: St. James' Park, Newcastle.
Occasion: Post-match press conference.
Roy Keane got his wish granted, Kevin Keegan was not so fortunate.
Former Queen's Park Rangers forward Les Ferdinand and Frenchman David Ginola made an instant impact following their moves to the Magpies in the summer of 1995.
With 23 games played in the 1995-96 season, Newcastle United led Manchester United by 12 points. At that stage of the season, Newcastle had picked up half a point more per game than the Red Devils. There was a growing belief in the north of England that the Geordies were building something exciting under manager Kevin Keegan.
But then came the slide for Newcastle. A torrid run of four defeats in six games led to Manchester United, buoyed by the return of Eric Cantona, closing the gap on the Magpies to a solitary point. United then took the top spot by beating Newcastle, with Cantona scoring the only goal of the game at St. James' Park.
After the penultimate game of the season, United sat two points clear at the top of the table, a position they never relinquished following their win at Newcastle. That was when Kevin Keegan had the worst moment of his managerial career.
In an interview that started rather on an amicable note, Kevin Keegan launched into an extraordinary tirade. When questioned about Sir Alex Ferguson's suggestion the previous week that the likes of Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, Newcastle's last two opponents, won't play as hard against Newcastle as they did against Manchester United, Keegan said:
"You can tell him now if you're watching it, 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!"
Keegan's charges could only muster a tame 1-1 draw at Forest, while Manchester United won 0-3 at Middlesbrough. Unlike Roy Keane, Keegan didn't have the last laugh.
#2 Alan Hansen: "You can’t win anything with kids."
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Date: August 19th, 1996.
Venue: ITV Studios.
Occasion: Match of the Day.
After being edged out of the title race in the last minute of the Premier League the season before, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson sold three of his most experienced and established players. Mark Hughes went to Chelsea, Andrei Kanchelskis left for Everton, and Paul 'big-time Charlie' Ince joined Inter Milan.
Following United’s opening-day defeat by Aston Villa by three goals to none, Alan Hansen quipped:
"You can't win anything with kids. "
"You look at that line-up at Manchester United today and Aston Villa, at quarter-past two, when they get the team sheet, it's just going to give them a lift. And it'll happen every time he plays the kids. He's got to buy players, simple as that."
You’d think a man like Alan Hansen would know what he was talking about, having won eight First Division titles with Liverpool, but how wrong he was proven to be!
Having sold those aforementioned stars, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a team with youngsters. Brothers Gary and Phil Neville, a quality central midfielder in Nicky Butt, a global superstar in David Beckham were in the United XI. The versatile Paul Scholes, who could play as an attacking midfielder or a defensive midfielder, was played as a striker, a role he donned for most of that season.
In arguably the most thrilling of all Premier League seasons, United justified their ‘Comeback Kings’ moniker. The Old Trafford club defied all expectations by erasing Newcastle's 12-point lead to win the title by four points. Sir Alex Ferguson is said to have inspired his team by constantly quoting Hansen in his pre-match team talks.
Kevin Keegan, who showed signs of extreme frustration in the “I’ll love it if we beat them!” rant, never fully recovered from the blow of losing the title from such a comfortable position atop the Premier League Table. He resigned in February 1997.
As for the kids, they formed the spine of the Manchester United team that won the treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. As a matter of fact, Paul Scholes would go on to win 11 Premier League titles with United - 3 more than Alan Hansen!
#1 Eric Cantona: "When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."
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Date: March 31st, 1995.
Venue: Jury's Inn Hotel, Croydon.
Occasion: Press Conference post-verdict in the assault case.
Eric 'The King' Cantona kung-fu kicked an abusive fan after being sent-off at Selhurst Park.
His initial two-week prison sentence had just been converted into 120 hours of community service. The lawyer employed by United in the case, Maurice Watkins, who presently serves as the Chairman of Barnsley Football Club, sat down with the eccentric star to draft a speech.
Cantona first asked him what a ship used for fishing is called in English. Then he asked about the birds that fly over the sea. Watkins answered both questions. At this point Cantona, who had by now formed the famous quote in his mind, stood up and left after thanking his lawyer.
In the press conference covered by Sky Sports, who drove the agenda against Cantona, portraying him as the ultimate soap opera villain to increase their subscriptions, came the most famous quote by a footballer. Asked for his views about the controversy, Cantona said:
“When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”
And then, Cantona got up and left, leaving everyone bewildered. The front pages of newspapers pondered over Cantona's words. Editorials were dedicated f the deconstruction of the Frenchman's words. Linguistics experts were engaged to unravel the meaning of those words.
Brought back into common parlance by Shia Lebouf in 2014, this was the most-watched and certainly the greatest Premier League off-field moment.
