To err is human, so goes the saying. No man or woman is perfect, in fact, it is our imperfections that make us humans. The illusion of the limelight makes us believe that people with celebrity statuses are more than just humans.
However, the truth is that they are just humans like you or me. Okay, maybe not losers like me, but they are humans nonetheless. When it comes to football, we have seen many a time when a player or a manager makes mistakes that hurt the team. Indeed, as the legendary late Johan Cruyff once said, the team that makes the least mistakes, wins.
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Mistakes are bound to happen, but some mistakes look very silly to the eye and could be avoided with a little bit of mindfulness. And here are five of the silliest mistakes made by famous players.
#7 The John Terry slip
For most Chelsea fans, this is perhaps the most painful moment of their history. And why wouldn’t it be? Ever since the club was bought by Roman Abramovic, the Russian had only one motive: to become a European elite.
With the signing of Jose Mourinho and several other star players, the Blues managed to become a Premier League giant. However, they couldn’t replicate the same dominance in Europe as their quest to be Europe’s best just kept failing every season.
However, it seemed as though the wait was finally going to be over when John Terry went up to take the 5th and last penalty before sudden death. Cristiano Ronaldo had missed Manchester United’s third kick, so now it was time for Terry make the best of that mistake.
And so he goes up, playing with his captain’s armband all the while, before slipping right at the moment of impact and shooting it wide in the process. In the end, Anelka missed his kick during sudden death and Manchester United won the Champions League from under Chelsea’s nose.
#6 Luis Suarez bites
I am not actually sure whether I should classify this as a mistake given that the Uruguayan did it three times – and once you do something three times, it is more of a decision than a mistake.
The first incident took place in the Dutch league when Suarez was playing for Ajax. The striker bit Ottmar Bakkal in the shoulder and was given a seven-game ban for it. However, it seems as though one of Luis Suarez’s life’s goals was to bite footballers while playing for three different teams.
The next incident took place in a match between Liverpool and Chelsea while the current Barcelona forward was playing for the former. This time, the Uruguayan bit the Branislav Ivanovic’s arm and was handed a 10-match ban for it.
One would have thought that it was the last time he would do such a thing, but he struck once again – this time while playing for Uruguay – when he bit Giorgio Chiellini in the 2014 World Cup. He was subsequently banned for the next four months and could only return after missing 11 games for his new club, Barcelona.
#5 Mario Balotelli throwing away his Inter shirt
While presenting Kenyan midfielder, McDonald Mariga, Jose Mourinho took a sly dig at Mario Balotelli, claiming that the Kenyan has “millions of brain cells, so he works hard in training,” while “some at Inter have only one.”
He might not have mentioned any name, but it was obvious that he was talking about the volatile Italian. Mario Balotelli was supposed to be the next best thing from Italian football. Indeed, even he himself once claimed that only Lionel Messi is better than him.
Of course, it was nothing more than just trash-talking like we boys did back in kindergarten, but the former Milan striker did really have a lot of talent, however, he lacked the attitude to make use of it. And this moment perfectly depicts that as, in a rush or blood to his head, he threw the Inter shirt on the floor after winning the semi-final tie against Barcelona.
Apparently, it was because he didn’t play enough minutes.
#4 Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi
When we talk about Zinedine Zidane, silly is not a thing one would use in the same sentence as the legendary Frenchman – but as we all saw in the final of the 2006 World Cup, the man had a temper in him.
The calm-looking former midfielder graced the pitch with his divine presence. Most players dribbled with the ball, but Zinedine Zidane caressed it with his feet. Every move that he made oozed class and attracted respect.
So when France reached the final of the 2006 World Cup with an over-aged team led and carried by Zidane, it was only natural to expect that the former Juventus midfielder would take them all the way. And he might just have, had it not been for this incident.
#3 Pepe kicking Casquero
Apparently, this shook Pepe so much that he considered retiring from the game. Things were never really the same for the Portuguese after that incident. And he did himself no favours by stamping on Lionel Messi some years later, but the incident with Carlos Casquero was what truly put a black mark on his name.
The Portuguese defender always had a dark side to his game – and it all spewed out in this incident. As Madrid were losing and the ball was running out of play, Javi Casquero was chasing it and Pepe was chasing him.
What happened after that is truly something that we would never again want to witness on a football pitch. If Pepe did that anywhere outside the pitch, he would have been jailed for it. It was silly as well as vile.
#2 Steven Gerrard slip
When it comes to blowing a lead, no-one does it better than Liverpool. When the Merseyside outfit won their 18th league title, Manchester United had only seven under their belt. Right now, however, the Red Devils have two more titles than the Reds.
United were not the only Manchester club to which Liverpool blew their lead. During the 2013-14 season, after gaining a three-point lead over Manchester City with just three more games to go. The Reds were inches away from wining the Premier League for the first time.
However, then-captain, Steven Gerrard, failed to control a pass from Mamadou Sakho and then slipped in his own half, allowing Demba Ba to run free towards goal and score the opening goal of the game. In the end, City came out as the real winners as they won the title by a margin of two-points – making Steven Gerrard arguable the greatest player in the league to have never won the Premier League.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo kicking Gabi
Cristiano Ronaldo is the reigning Ballon d’Or holder and is likely to defend that honour come the next gala. He is the only one good enough to compete with Lionel Messi and has been showing that consistently for almost a decade.
However, he has his fits and they are not very pleasant to watch. After being gunned down by a tackle from Atletico Madrid’s Gabi, the Portugal captain forced the trailing leg upwards towards the Spaniard’s face.
Luckily for Gabi, the boot only just whiskered against his face as Cristiano Ronaldo was shown a red for his actions. This was not the only time he did something like this as the former Manchester United winger was shown the red card in a match against Cordoba in January 2015 for kicking their player, Edimar.
Sometimes he can completely lose this shit.
