Being a football manager is hard. It’s hard to keep your cool when you’re receiving criticism from every possible angle, so naturally, some managers don’t. Sometimes that pressure gets too much and it boils over.
Whether it’s a contentious decision, an annoying journalist or a disappointing result, these moments often make headlines. The unrelenting schedule of interviews and media duties, unsurprisingly, begin to take their toll.
Football FanCast takes a look at ten of the angriest press conference moments that left us all stunned and bemused.
10 Giovanni Trapattoni lays into his own team
Bayern Munich, March 1998
In 1998, during the legendary Italian coach’s time as the Bayern Munich manager, he delivered an impassioned rant to address his team’s recent poor performance against Schalke, which marked a third successive league defeat.
Firstly, he went after the media, frustrated at the fact they had been unimpressed by Bayern’s style of play. “No team in the Bundesliga plays as offensively as Bayern,” he said, going on a tirade about how he had three forwards on the pitch in the last game.
Speaking in broken German with an Italian accent, Trapattoni unleashed a fury of emotions, exclaiming, “These players complain more than play.” He criticised his players, in particular Thomas Strunz, whom he bemoaned was “always injured.”
Despite being pretty funny, this reflected Trapattoni’s intense commitment to the game and his frustration with Bayern’s lacklustre form. It may have happened before the internet was as big as it is today, but it’s still remembered as one of the most shocking press conference moments.
9 Roy Keane fumes over journalist's ringtone
Ipswich Town, November 2009
Roy Keane isn’t known to be a man who lets things go. He had great success as a player, less so as a manager. During his spell at Ipswich Town, he was less than impressed by a journalist whose phone went off.
“Whose phone is that? That’s the second time it’s gone off,” he said menacingly, his eyes darting around the room to find who the culprit was. Eventually, a journalist sheepishly admitted he was at fault, but for some reason, he just let it ring.
This infuriated Keane further. “Why don’t you turn it off? Or put it on silent?” he said while staring down the no-doubt terrified journo. After he let it ring out, Keane bemoaned his lack of manners.
Keane didn’t see out his contract at Ipswich and was promptly dismissed after a disappointing run of form in 2011.
8 Sir Alex Ferguson takes offence to 'struggling' label
Manchester United, November 2011
If you thought Roy Keane had a temper, wait until you find out about his old boss Fergie. The term “hairdryer treatment” was coined due to the fact that he would yell at a player with such ferocity, it was like having a hairdryer blowing in your face.
Fergie had a frosty relationship with the press; when you’re in a job for that long, there will no doubt be times you lose your rag a bit. After he received a question about Manchester United struggling in the Champions League, he had enough.
“Struggling… are you serious?” he said as the blood rushed to his face. “We’re not struggling.” He then turned away with a terrifying smile on his face, got up and walked out. Fergie was done, he would take no further questions.
We could probably write a top 10 times Fergie lost it, but for the sake of this list, this will be the only time the Manchester United great features.
In fairness to the reporter here, United didn’t make it out of their group…
7 Arsene Wenger gets hot under the collar
Arsenal, February 2013
Wenger was the opposite of Fergie in many ways – that’s why their rivalry was so perfect. But every now and again, he had it in him to be a little feisty. That’s exactly what happened during his press conference preceding a Champions League game against Bayern Munich in 2013.
When asked about a possible contract extension, he angrily told the journalist that he had the “wrong information” before asking a question back: “Why do you look at me?”. Bemused, the journalist responded with, “because it’s your press conference.” To be fair, he wasn’t wrong.
Wenger then went on to get even more frustrated when asked about his commitment to the FA Cup, a competition Arsenal had just been knocked out of by Championship side Blackburn Rovers. “I have won the FA Cup four times. Who has won it more? Give me one name.”
No one responded with Sir Alex Ferguson, who had won it five times, although it must have been tempting.
6 Rafa Benitez goes on legendary 'facts' rant
Liverpool, January 2009
OK, let’s talk about facts. Benitez was another manager who had a famous rivalry with Fergie, and another manager to crumble under the pressure of the Scotsman’s mind games. Of course, according to Benitez, “I don’t want to play mind games.”
Benitez was growing increasingly annoyed by the FA’s apparent reluctance to punish Sir Alex for his touchline antics. “He is the only manager in the English league that cannot be punished for these things, it’s a fact.”
This 2009 meltdown, along with Benitez’s prepared list of “facts” is without a doubt one of the most memorable press conference moments, it’s ingrained into the minds of Liverpool and Manchester United fans alike.
5 Ian Holloway gets fed up with transfer rumours
Crystal Palace, January 2013
When you’re the manager of a smaller club, and the big boys are circling your best player, you’re going to get annoyed when you’re constantly being asked questions about their future. The lines are fine, as losing that player could cost you your job.
That must have been exactly how Ian Holloway felt when he was Crystal Palace manager. Talismanic winger Wilfried Zaha had been linked with a move to pretty much every big club in the Premier League before joining Manchester United, and Holloway was tired of it.
After Zaha got a slight injury, Holloway said, “He might be out for about six months, to stop you from talking about him all the time.” He then sarcastically smiled before adding, “Get my message, do you?”
His phone then rings and he jokes about it being Arsene Wenger on the other end. That joke quickly turns and he starts to have a go at the journalists in the room, saying they need to “get a life” instead of writing articles about Zaha. We’ll keep that in mind, Ian.
4 Pep Guardiola gives in to foe Mourinho pre-Clasico
Barcelona, April 2011
It’s hard to imagine Pep Guardiola losing his temper, he’s just too cool. Before he was winning Premier League after Premier League, he was Barcelona manager, while Jose Mourinho was the Real Madrid boss. It was one of the greatest managerial rivalries we’ve ever seen.
Guardiola came in hot, ranting and raving about how well Mourinho manipulates the media into being on his side. “In this room, he’s the f****** chief,” he said in his native Spanish. “He has already won the battle off the pitch. He has been winning it all season.”
This was his breaking point. Mourinho had poked and prodded all season, and at the back end of the 2010/11 campaign, he finally broke and the Portuguese coach got exactly what he wanted – except, perhaps, the better of Barcelona on the pitch.
3 Joe Kinnear welcomes journalists in his own unique way
Newcastle United, September 2008
This one is going to be a little tricky. Not because there isn’t enough to cover, but because there are so many expletives, it’s difficult to quote it while doing it justice. This is by far the most swear-filled press conference on this list.
Before his spell at Newcastle in 2008, Kinnear had been without a club for four years. it was a bemusing appointment that didn’t go down well with fans or players. After reporting that Newcastle players took the day off from training the day after he was appointed, journalists were on the receiving end of Kinnear’s fury.
Kinnear cursed out the two journalists responsible and an argument ensued. The journalists questioned whether Kinnear had even read the pieces that brought about his ire, but he wasn’t having any of it. He called them very rude words to their face. Kinnear was unable to stop Newcastle from being relegated that season.
Here’s the clip, for those who are unfamiliar (viewer discretion is advised).
2 Ian Holloway wades into heated Rooney debate
Blackpool, October 2010
Oh Ian, did you think we were done with you? This time it was during his spell at Blackpool. He did an incredible job to get them up to the Premier League, as they became everyone’s second club during the 2010/11 season. They even managed to do the double over Liverpool.
Interestingly, this outburst wasn’t aimed at any of his own players, or the press, but at Wayne Rooney and his agent. Rooney had expressed his desire to leave Manchester United on a free, and Holloway wasn’t happy about it.
“They bought him for 30-odd million, and he’s going to be allowed to walk out of there if he stays and sees his contract out for nothing.”
He then went on to defend Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, “If Alex Ferguson is being bullied by a player and his agent, whatever you wanna call it, how wrong is the game!?”
He then called on FIFA or UEFA to act against such player power.
1 Kevin Keegan falls for Fergie's mind games
Newcastle United, April 1996
It’s hard not to feel a little sorry for Kevin Keegan. He was such a fantastic footballer, and he was doing a great job as Newcastle’s manager. All of that has become a meme thanks to one moment: his rant about Manchester United in 1995/96.
It will be on ‘Premier League’s most shocking moments’ TV shows until the end of time. Newcastle had fallen off after an impressive start to that season’s campaign and Manchester United had caught up.
Keegan had had enough of Sir Alex’s mind games. “I’ve kept really quiet,” he yells into the camera. “You tell him now if he’s watching it, we’re still fighting for this title, and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something.”
Then he said the famous line, “I would love it if we beat them.” As soon as that happened, it was as if Manchester United had won the league there and then. Keegan’s head was gone.
High-pressure situations are hard to deal with, no matter how successful a manager is. There will surely be more meltdowns along the way.