Top 5 Infamous Football Press Conferences

Roy Keane’s made the headlines yet again after rowing with journalists during a press conference in Dublin yesterday.

He’s had his fair share of memorable press conferences over the years but we take a look at some others that have become infamous in the footballing world.

Rafa Benitez, 2009
The former Liverpool manager’s press conference rant in 2009 was always going to make this list and that’s a, well, fact.

It all seemed to be going quite normally until he was asked about Sir Alex Ferguson, who had recently suggested Liverpool may not handle the pressure of a title challenge. The Spaniard proceeded to produce a piece of paper from his pocket which contained some “facts” he wanted to talk about.

These “facts” included perceived refeering bias and fixture scheduling in favour of United. Whether he was correct in his assessment or not, Ferguson was – as Liverpool choked, allowing United to win the title.

Joe Kinnear, 2008
Kinnear’s not known for his way with words, perfectly displayed at his first press conference as Interim Newcastle United manager in 2008.

He admirably managed 53 swear words in a heated rant at the media, who he believed were unfairly reporting his leadership of the club.

He opened by asking for the Mirror’s North-East football writer Simon Bird to introduce himself. When he did, he called him a “c**t”. After telling several more journalists to “f**k off”, the Newcastle Press Officer interjected to ensure what had been said was “off the record” but Kinnear insisted they “f**king print it”.

Avram Grant
Having got used to Jose Mourinho’s charismatic briefings after introducing himself as “The Special One” at his first Chelsea press conference, journalists got the exact opposite from his successor Avram Grant.

He often cut a sullen figure, never more so than during a bizarrely monosyllabic press conference in 2008. It was one long awkward silence, interjected with the odd “yes”, “no” or “I don’t know” riposte. In almost 6 minutes he managed 137 words.

The pressure of the job was clearly getting to him and he was gone within a month.

Giovanni Trapattoni, 1998
The former Ireland boss’ performance in a 1998 Bayern Munich press conference is legendary in Germany. The placid elderly Italian that Ireland fans will remember was nowhere to be seen as he immediately let rip at his underperforming players.

He spoke in German, which made his diatribe sound even harsher, but his lack of fluency in the language helped some of his quotes enter popular culture in Germany.

He claimed his players were “weak like an empty bottle” and complained more than they played. When he finished his rant, he turned and said “Ich habbe fertig” (I have ready) and stormed out, stating that he could repeat his words if necessary.

Pep Guardiola, 2011
The normally calm and collected Guardiola lost it before a Champions League semi-final with Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.

He hinted at a media bias towards his rival before launching into an uncharacteristic attack on Mourinho, stating he could do whatever he liked with the media as he was “the f**king chief, the f**king boss”.

It was clearly the release a lot of pent-up frustration and anger, with a list of “300,000 things” he could complain about regarding his former colleague at Barcelona. Guardiola knew his rival well and was aware that Mourinho had spent months trying to wind him up and provoke a reaction.

He finally did but the Barcelona boss received a standing ovation from his players after the outburst, and won 2-0 in Madrid the following day.