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From Messi to Ferdinand: 14 disastrous football debuts in history

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • A report highlights 14 disastrous football debuts for famous players, including Lionel Messi and Rio Ferdinand.
  • These debuts were marked by red cards, own goals, costly mistakes, and humiliating substitutions.
  • Despite initial setbacks, many of these players went on to achieve significant success in their careers.

Football history is littered with tales of promising beginnings, but for some of the game's biggest stars, their first outings were anything but glorious. Planet Football compiled a list of 14 disastrous debuts that are memorable for all the wrong reasons.

It is difficult to associate Lionel Messi with failure, but his Argentina debut was anything but perfect.

— Planet FootballIntroducing the section on Lionel Messi's disastrous debut.

Lionel Messi, now an Argentine legend, had a debut to forget in August 2005. Coming off the bench against Hungary, the then-teenage forward was sent off just two minutes later after an altercation. Though he was reportedly left in tears, this blip did not hinder his eventual rise to captaining Argentina to World Cup glory.

Rio Ferdinand's arrival at Leeds United in 2000 was met with immense expectations as the world's most expensive defender. His debut against Leicester City was a baptism of fire, with Leeds conceding three goals in the opening 28 minutes. Despite this painful introduction, Ferdinand would go on to become one of the greatest defenders of his generation at Manchester United.

Rio Ferdinand arrived at Leeds United in 2000 as the world’s most expensive defender, so expectations were enormous.

— Planet FootballDescribing the context of Rio Ferdinand's debut.

Jonathan Woodgate's Real Madrid debut is etched in infamy. After a long injury layoff, the English defender scored an own goal and was later sent off against Athletic Bilbao. This extraordinary beginning foreshadowed a spell at the Spanish club that never quite lived up to expectations.

Jonathan Woodgate’s Real Madrid debut remains one of football’s most infamous.

— Planet FootballIntroducing Jonathan Woodgate's debut.

More recent examples include Chelsea's record signing Moisés Caicedo, whose debut against West Ham was marred by mistakes and a conceded penalty in a 3-1 defeat. Similarly, Manchester City's Abdukodir Khusanov had a difficult introduction against Chelsea, misjudging a challenge and struggling before being substituted. Patrice Evra's Manchester United debut against Manchester City also proved brutal, leading to a half-time substitution.

Chelsea’s £115 million signing of Moises Caicedo generated enormous expectations, but his debut against West Ham was a disaster.

— Planet FootballDescribing the context of Moisés Caicedo's debut.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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