Snippets

Football catastrophes, unique speeches and more

*Famous Football Arena Catastrophes

Apr 2001: More than 40 individuals died in a crush at the overcrowded Ellis Park arena in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Oct 1996: About 80 individuals died in a stampede prior to a Guatemala-Costa Rica World Cup qualifying match in Guatemala City.

Jan 1991: At least 40 individuals passed away in a stampede after riots at a friendly match in Orkney, South Africa.

Apr 1989: 96 individuals were crushed to death at a Liverpool-Nottingham Forest cup match in Sheffield.

March 1988: 93 individuals passed away in a stampede after fleeing a hailstorm at the nationwide arena in Kathmandu, Nepal.

May 1985: 39 individuals were eliminated when a separation wall collapsed at a Liverpool-Juventus European Champions Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) final at Heysel Stadium in Brussels

May 1985: 56 individuals died in a terrace fire during a Bradford City-Lincoln City match in Bradford, England

Oct 1982: More than 300 reportedly eliminated in a stampede on a narrow, icy staircase at a Spartak-Haarlem match in Moscow.

* IMPRESSIVE: Here's the greatest man-of-the-match speech of all-time!

Yes, over the years, there have been unique speeches in football but this beats them all... hands down!

Ghanaian footballer Mohammed Anas made a humorous blunder in what is being tagged 'the greatest man-of-the-match speech of all time.'

Anas grabbed the award after putting in an excellent performance for his Free State Stars team in their 2-2 draw with Ajax Cape Town.

After bagging the man-of-the-match award with a standout two-goal performance, Anas started his mandatory post-match interview with a revealing slip of tongue.

" Firstly I thank Almighty God who is above," he started ...
"And I appreciate my friends also"
"( And) my wife and my girlfriend."

Anas stumbled for a second before realising his blunder, rapidly clarifying that he planned to thank his beloved wife.

" I'm so sorry, my wife!" he exclaimed. "I love you so much from my heart."

"You must keep on supporting me and thanks for coming to the game," he stammered on.



* 24-0 ... Football or Basketball Scoreline?

For a basketball fan, a scoreline like 24-0 would be invited, if it remained in his/her team's favour. For a football (soccer) fan, this scoreline would be unimaginable, either way. Well, it really occurred!

Mamelodi Sundowns' Dutch coach, Johan Neesken had absolutely nothing however but appreciation for his side after they recorded the biggest win in South African soccer history on that eventful Sunday in the 2011/2012 Football Season. Sundowns beat fourth-tier side Powerlines FC 24-0 in a cup match!

"I wish to hail my players for entertaining the public while taking their task seriously. There was no 'gallery' football since they understand I will not endure that", stated Neeskens.

Neeskens, a midfielder in the Netherlands teams who lost the 1974 and 1978 World Cup finals, backed his choice to extremely expose Powerlines throughout a cup tie televised live throughout Africa.

"My directions were to score as many goals as possible," stated the previous Barcelona assistant coach, who signed up with Sundowns in the middle of the previous season. "This outcome benefits our self-confidence and what I truly appreciated was the way the team kept it very simple, even when dominant".

Played in swelteringly-hot conditions in Kimberley, midfielder Hlompho Kekana completed the game with 7 goals, Zimbabwe's Nyasha Mushekwi notched 6, while fellow striker Richard Henyekane bagged 5. It might have been much more awkward for the home side as Sundowns actually had 2 goals disallowed and rattled the crossbar once as they moved into the last 16 of the yearly competition.

Powerlines goalkeeper Thabang Louw wore a remarkably broad smile after the game, informing reporters he was bound to gain from "an extremely difficult experience" against Sundowns.

STRANGE BUT TRUE: Would you believe that Sundowns' 24-0 scoreline is NOT the African record?

Well, the record margin of victory in African football is the 149-0 (yes, 149 goals to nil!) win by Malagasy club, AS Adema over Stade Olympique Emyrne!

So, how did it happen? 

Well, the losing team intentionally scored limitless own goals to object a refereeing decision. Yes, this is weird, but it is real!