Manchester United, Leeds United, Barcelona, Beckham, Ronaldinho, Emerson, England, the Germans and the Italians all feature in our top 7 blessings in disguise.
Pope Francis gives blessings in Colombia
The phrase “blessing in disguise” is one that was first found in mid-1700’s English, and is used to mean something that first appeared bad or unlucky, but actually turned out to be good. Recently, it is a phrase which has seeped into the footballing lexicon. It is often said that when a team goes out of a cup competition that it may be a “blessing in disguise”, as it will allow the team to concentrate on their primary competition and play less games.
Other instances in which the term is used is when a club misses out on a player who then goes on to do poorly for their current club or at a different team they signed for. Alternatively, the failure to sign one player may have resulted in the signing of another, who turned out to be a much shrewder piece of business. Sometimes an injury to one player which paves the way for another player to come into the fold and experience great success is described as a blessing in disguise as well.
Here are our 7 biggest blessings in disguise in football history:
7. Calciopoli Scandal
The Calciopoli Scandal was hugely damaging to Italian football and in many ways was far from a blessing in disguise… but for one group of players at least it was just that, and they were the Italian national team. Italy went into the 2006 World Cup in Germany regarded as a country in turmoil and a national team who many expected to be plagued by internal issues and fallouts, making them rank outsiders. Most people wrote them off without noting the sheer quality of that squad, which featured players such as Buffon, Cannavaro, Nesta, Pirlo, Totti, Del Piero and more. Italy saw off hosts Germany in the semi-final before beating France in the final to win the World Cup.
6. Dion Dublic Breaking His Leg
It seems almost distasteful to call someone breaking their leg a ‘blessing in disguise’, such is the severity of the injury, but for Manchester United, Dion Dublin’s serious injury was arguably a defining point in the history of the club. His leg break forced Alex Ferguson into signing Eric Cantona, and while Dublin was a very good player, it seems unlikely that he would have had the profound effect at Old Trafford that Eric Cantona did. Cantona went on to win four Premier League titles with Manchester United, changing the face of English football, whilt Dublin left the club for Coventry City after just 12 games, and is now a presenter on the BBC series Homes Under the Hammer.
5. Leeds Lose to Man Utd Twice in a Week
You would do well to convince any Leeds United supporter that losing twice in one week to their bitter rivals Manchester United was a good thing, but in the 1991-92 season, that was arguably the case. By bizarre coincidence the two teams who were fighting for the title were paired against one and another in both cup competitions, played over one week. Manchester United won both games, winning 1-0 in the FA Cup and 3-1 in the League Cup. They went on to win the League Cup, but it was Leeds who won the First Division, most likely in no small part to the seven games fewer they had to play.
4. Barca Miss Out On Becks
In the summer of 2003, David Beckham was very closely linked with a move to Barcelona, with Barca’s club president even describing the deal as being ‘as good as done’. But rivals Real Madrid swooped in and made Beckham theirs, forcing Barcelona to look elsewhere.
Elsewhere turned out to be Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho, and the Samba star went on to become a genius at Barcelona, winning two league titles and one Champions League, almost certainly being a far greater fit at the Camp Nou than Beckham would have been.
3. Manchester United Miss Out On Ronaldinho
When Barcelona turned their attention to Ronaldinho, they snapped up a man Sir Alex Ferguson had been confident of signing. Having been on United’s radar for some time, the Red Devils had made a formal bid for Ronaldinho in 2003, before being gazumped by the team from Catalonia.
Having missed out on Ronaldinho, Sir Alex turned his attention to an emerging Portuguese talent who went by the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. He signed Ronaldo for half the price of Ronaldinho, and the winger proceeded to win nine trophies in six years at Old Trafford, before being sold to Real Madrid for a world record transfer fee.
2. Emerson Dislocates His Shoulder
The Brazil team of 2002 was one laced with attacking quality. The three R’s made up of Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Ronaldo were enough to strike fear into any defence, but there were always question marks regarding their defensive capabilities. One thing Brazil needed was an excellent holding midfielder.
It was Roma midfielder Emerson who was the first choice before he offered to go in goal during a training session ahead of the 2002 World Cup. Emerson dislocated his shoulder and Gilberto Silva came into the team. Silva had an exceptional tournament, providing an ideal shield for Brazil’s attacking might, and they went on to win the World Cup relatively comfortably.
1. Germany Lose 5-1 to England
England and Germany have provided one of international football’s best rivalries over the years. When Germany beat England 1-0 in the final match at the old Wembley Stadium there was some hurt among the England fans, and the opposite fixture held in Munich became a big fixture not just due to the importance of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. Germany took the lead after just six minutes, but in a remarkable turnaround, England went on to thrash Germany 5-1, with a Michael Owen hat-trick doing much of the damage.
The result was seen as humiliation for the Germans. A defeat that brought about a new era for the German game. They revamped how football was run in the country, from grassroots, to academies, to the professional game. This revamp has seen a huge turnaround in the level of player produced by Germany in recent years, ultimately culminating in their success at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, whilst England have arguably only gone backwards over the last decade and a half.
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