Substitutions are an integral part of football. When the chips are down, these substitutions come in handy and the new man on the pitch sometimes turn the game on its head. Indeed, more often than not, the quality of a team is a defined by the quality of the bench.
However, substitutions don’t always work out the way one expects them to. In fact, there are times when this basic football move becomes the source of immense laughter for the viewers. And here are five of the most hilarious substitutions of all time.
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#1 Man-marking gone too far
Change is one of the only constant things in life. Change prevails in every aspect of life, including football. The art of man-marking has somewhat been lost in time as defenders are now asked to mark zones instead of marking a single man.
However, Werder Bremen defender, Niklas Moisander, rolled the years back to the good ol’ days with his diligent marking of Javier Chicharito Hernandez. In a Bundesliga fixture between Werder and Bayer Leverkusen, the former Real Madrid striker was being subbed off while Leverkusen were preparing themselves for an attacking corner.
The Mexican chose to run out of the pitch from the byline instead of the good ol’ ‘tag-your-are-it’ way of coming off from the touchline. Niklas Moisander, who was marking him as Leverkusen were readying themselves, thought it was an intentional trick from the former United striker and kept following him out the byline!
In the end, the Finnish defender did realise his mistake and the two had a good laugh about it.
#2 The football gladiator
If there ever was a football version of the Gladiator styled, ‘are you not entertained,’ this substitution would come close. As the fourth official’s board read number 9 in red and 35 in green, Marko Pentalic couldn’t believe it.
“Meee?!” was the reaction that ensued once he had the epiphany that he was the player chosen to be subbed out for a young Christopher Samba. In fact, his team-mate had to nudge him to get out of the pitch.
But that was when Pentalic’s theatrics escalated further. As he was walking off the pitch, he was bowing to the crowd and applauding them as if he had gifted them the show of their lives. When the referee had enough of it, he stopped the outgoing striker and showed him a yellow card for his exaggerated actions.
But Pentalic further infuriated the referee by bowing down to him as well.
#3 Gaddafi’s appreciation
Back in the early years of this millennium, when Mummer al-Gadaffi was still the leader of Libya, their national football team found it very difficult to convince other teams to play against them. However, in 2003, the Canadian national team agreed to play against them—and Saadi Gadaffi, Mummer’s son, was very humbled.
Saadi was a striker for the national football team and was playing against the Canadians when he was substituted off. As an act of gratitude, he shook hands with every—I repeat, every—Canadian player before going off the pitch, where he then shook hands with the Canadian staff and coach.
However, that’s not what made this substitution hilarious, it was what Saadi did right at the very end. Saadi approached a Libyan security, perhaps mistaking him for a Canadian, with his hand held out. But when he realised that the security was his compatriot, he instantly turned back and left, making the security look dumbfounded.
#4 Redknapp subs in a fan
While there is no video evidence of this, Harry Redknapp shares a hilarious story of how he substituted a big-mouthed drunk fan during a friendly game for West Ham United. ‘Arry was West Ham’s manager back then and was overseeing a pre-season friendly game against Oxford.
A fan in the stand, named Steven Davies, was drunk out of his wits and wasn’t shy to voice his opinions by yelling from the stands. During one such incident, Davies shouted towards Redknapp that he could have done a better job than the then West Ham striker, Lee Chapman.
That was it—Harry had enough. The former Spurs manager, to the surprise of many, pulled the fan out of the stands, got him a kit and subbed him in—but the story doesn’t end here.
Yes, you have guessed it right (if you did), Davies actually went on to score in the 71st minute of the game, making it a perfect icing on the cake moment.
#5 John Terry send-off
John Terry is a legend in every sense of the word. After serving Chelsea for over a decade, he finally called it quits in Chelsea’s final Premier League game against Sunderland last season. But he was not someone to go out without a bang.
Now Terry is someone who loves to get into the thick of things, just as he showed on the pitch over the years. Indeed, when Chelsea won the Champions League, John Terry—who was suspended for the game—ran into celebrate wearing a full kit.
So when Antonio Conte called in for a substitution right in the 26th minute of the game, it had John Terry written all over it. As he walked off the pitch, all the Chelsea players gathered to give him a guard of honour for one last time.
Terry might be a legend, but one can’t deny that this was a hilarious stunt by all means.
