’80’s zine / current outpost for some of the globe’s funniest, most insightful soccer commentary, When Saturday Comes has published their contributors’ picks for 2010’s Best & Worst events/people/whatever, and while the entire thing is well worth your time, Matt Nation’s selection for “Worst” deserves special recognition. Particularly in light of a certain former England manager’s current struggles in Germany.
Worst ~ The fear that seized my inner organs when I heard that Steve McClaren was coming to VfL Wolfsburg. The thought of him repeating his linguistic gymnastics in the Netherlands and coming out with the sort of German accent last heard when Freddie Starr was molesting studio audiences in his swastika-clad Wellingtons was just too much to bear. Gratifyingly, he’s stuck to conducting post-match interviews in English, explaining his tactics primarily with the phrases “keep battling” and “keep believing”