Revenge is always bitter but ironic, so they are in football. In the heat of the moment, we have seen ironic events happening on and off the pitch, here’s the most fascinating part; “THE REDEMPTION”.
Footballers have this habit of making things even, and the truth is, such moments make this beloved game even more amazing. For today’s article, we will go through the top 5 most ironic revenge taken in football. Get ready for this bumpy ride!
5. JOSE MOURINHO VS JUVENTUS
Jose Mourinho never misses a chance to give fans entertaining moments. But this one wasn’t just entertaining; it was also iconic. In 2018, Jose Mourinho was still managing Manchester United. In the Champions League that year, the Red Devils faced Juventus. After the kick-off at Allianz Stadium, Jose Mourinho was booed massively by the Juventus fans due to his defensive tactics.
Wait for the Irony! Manchester United were 1-0 down, they went on to turn the tables around and scored two goals to make the comeback. The match ended in the favor of the Red Devils and Mourinho entered the pitch and mocked the whole Juventus Stadium with his gestures. Mourinho got under the skin of Italians with his revenge. This event was hyped up by the media a lot, but Mourinho isn’t a person to hold back, and that’s what we love about him!
4. PATRICE EVRA VS LUIS SUAREZ
Luis Suarez has been a part of many controversies throughout his career, from Racism to biting the players on the field, Suarez has all under his wings. But that doesn’t take anything away from his legendary status and he will surely go down as one of the greatest strikers in the history of the game.
During his time at Liverpool, Suarez was accused of racially abusing the Manchester United Legend; Patrice Evra. Patrice didn’t let this event go and when Liverpool and Manchester United came head-to-head again in 2011. The legendary defender made sure to make Suarez pay. Evra dropped a masterclass during that fixture as the red Devils won against Liverpool. After the match, Evra went in front of Suarez to celebrate ironically! The justice was served!
3. NEYMAR JR. VS ERLING HAALAND
One or two things that one should know in football is to never challenge the likes of Neymar, Messi, or Ronaldo. Although Erling Haaland is also on his way to becoming a legend of the game, but he made the mistake of mocking Neymar’s team. Here’s what happened.
In the 2020 Champions League, Borussia Dortmund and PSG came head-to-head to settle the tie of Round of 16. In the first leg, Erling Haaland scored a brace as Dortmund came out victorious. Before the second leg, Haaland said on his social media account that Paris is his city, which Neymar and co. took personally.
Surprisingly, Neymar and PSG knocked out Haaland’s Dortmund from the Champions League. They didn’t just stop here, after the post-game celebrations, the whole PSG squad replicated Haaland’s ‘calm’ celebration to mock the young starlet. Neymar also posted on Instagram that ‘Paris is our city, not yours!’
2. CRISTIANO RONALDO VS ATLETICO MADRID
You simply don’t mess with Cristiano Ronaldo! That’s the rule in football. Cristiano is a competitive beast and he doesn’t let go of chances to take his revenge! That’s what he did against Atletico Madrid.
In the 2020 Champions League round of 16. Atletico Madrid were drawn against Ronaldo’s Juventus. In the first leg, Atletico won 2-0 and already started celebrating like they’ve won the tie, Diego Simeone also mocked Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus. Little did they who they are against! In the second leg, Mr. Champions League delivered like always, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a historic hat-trick and sent Atletico back to Spain singlehandedly.
1. LIONEL MESSI AND THE INTERNATIONAL TROPHY
We’ve talked about some great names today, but the next name is quite heavenly; Lionel Andres Messi. His revenge isn’t against someone specific, it’s quite from the football itself! A beautiful revenge! A well-deserved one!
Messi was always out of luck with his national team Argentina, having reached 3 finals of Copa America and losing all of them, not only that, in 2014, the little maestro reached the World Cup final which he also lost to Germany in the historic Maracana stadium in Brazil. These heartbreaks shattered Lionel Messi. Football owed him an international trophy!
After 16 years of the long wait, the beautiful moment arrived.
Lionel Messi thrived in the Copa America 2021, he was better than anyone, contributing to 9 goals out of 12 total scored by Argentina. In the final on 10th July 2021, Argentina and Lionel Messi finally won a major international trophy against the bitter rivals Brazil on their own land.
Ironically, Messi took his revenge in the exact same stadium where he lost the World Cup final 7 years earlier. Beautiful, right?
A fairy tale!