1. Adebayor's unbelievable struggles
Football taught him how to walk. Even at the age of 4, the Togolese couldn’t walk. His mother took him around many African countries to find a cure for her son’s condition but to no avail.
In the end, she was advised by the Church to pray for him every day for a week. If even that didn’t work, the Church said, all hope was gone. Nothing happened for the six days as Adebayor could still not walk, but on the final day of the prayers, a football was shot into the church by one of the kids playing outside.
“And,” said Adebayor, “the first person to stand up and run was me because I wanted to get that ball.
2. Coach for only 10 minutes
One of the shortest-serving coaches has to be Leroy Rosenior, who lost his job at Torquay in 2007. Rosenior lasted for just a humiliating 10 minutes at the club.
The departing club owner, Mike Bateson, wanted someone to manage the club until its sale was completed. As Rosenior was literally just about to be unveiled as the new manager, the sale of the club was complete and he was informed that his services were no longer required.
Poor, Rosenior. He must have felt like a guy who earned a date for the prom party but was ditched the moment they entered through the doors and the girl was asked out by someone else.
3. 3 yellow cards
Referee decisions continue to elicit mixed reactions from all quarters day in, day out. In almost every other game—regardless of the tournament—there is at least one officiating incident that becomes the topic of discussion. One such encounter that is remembered more due to terrible officiating than the football itself was a 2006 World Cup match between Croatia and Australia.
After having picked a booking in the 61st minute, Simunic was once again shown a yellow card for a rash challenge in the 90th minute. Players are usually sent off after the second yellow…that’s supposedly the rule, it seems.
However, referee Graham Poll failed to produce the red card, much to the surprise of even Simunic. He was shown the third yellow minutes later, and this time the red card finally appeared. The event was so embarrassing for Poll that he retired from officiating international games right after the World Cup.