With the UEFA Euro 2020 competition kicking off in June, there will be even more football chat wherever you go this year. Why not brush up on your knowledge and impress your friends with fun facts about famous footballers? To save you from doing hours of research or watching videos of old games of football online, we’ve pulled together these pieces of trivia to get you started. Quiz your family with your newfound knowledge and spice up the conversation topics at half time!
Off-brand Ronaldinho
Brazilian star Ronaldinho was spotted sipping on a Pepsi at a press conference. Not usually something that would cause controversy – unfortunately for the former attacking midfielder, though, it meant he lost a £500,000 a year contract with Coca-Cola!
Carragher’s goal scoring record
Jamie Carragher played for Liverpool for a staggering 17 years from 1996-2013 and made 508 appearances in the Premier League. This season, his club are standout favourites to win the 2019/20 Premier League title and he’s watching on as a Sky Sports pundit. During his playing days at Anfield, the defender won 264 games in a Liverpool shirt but he only ever scored three times for the club in the top flight.
In fact, Carragher scored five more own goals than goals during his playing time on Merseyside – registering in the wrong net eight times, including twice in the same game against Manchester United in their 3-2 loss on 11 September 1999.
Ibra misses out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most successful strikers of the modern era and has played for some of the best clubs in the world. But did you know that the 38-year-old Swedish superstar has played for six Champions League winners, but has actually never won the trophy himself? These clubs are:
- Ajax
- Barcelona
- Inter
- Juventus
- Milan
- Man United
David or James?
During the 2010/11 Premier League season 14 Davids and 11 James’ took to the pitch but incredibly, former England goalkeeper David James wasn’t one of those players! He was playing for Bristol City in the Championship during this time.
Ronaldo’s name change
Brazilian striker Ronaldo starred in the 1996 summer Olympics with ‘Ronaldinho’ on the back of his shirt, which means ‘little Ronaldo’ in Portugese. The team already featured defender Ronaldo Guiaro, who was two years older than the former Inter Milan and Real Madrid star. Once Guiaro retired from international duties, the striker regained his name.
Fernando on fire
Former striker Fernando Torres set an incredible record back in 2012/13 by becoming the only player to score in seven different competitions in one season. During his four-year spell at Chelsea he had a turbulent time (despite being such a success at Liverpool) but the Spanish international enjoyed a golden year that most players could only dream of. The competitions he scored in were:
- FA Community Shield
- Premier League
- UEFA Champions League
- FIFA Club World Cup
- Capital One Cup
- FA Cup
- UEFA Europa League
The only competition during that incredible season he didn’t manage to score in was the UEFA Super Cup – an impressive run for a player who was considered a flop at the South West London club.
What are your favourite pieces of entertainment trivia?
