The famous clash between Gennaro Gattuso and Joe Jordan is one of the most famous moments in the history of Milan-Tottenham, but why did it happen?
It dates back more than ten years ago and it’s the last meeting between the Rossoneri and Spurs at San Siro.
The English side secured a 1-0 win on Italian soil thanks to Peter Crouch’s winner, but that game is remembered mainly for the famous touchline row between Gattuso and the at-the-time assistant coach Joe Jordan.
Gattuso has often spoken about the incident in the last few years, highlighting that Jordan had teased him during the game, so he could not hold back after the final whistle.
In an interview released with the Italian satirical show Le Iene after the incident, and entirely conducted in Calabrian dialect, Gattuso said that Jordan took his glasses off after the final whistle to signal that he was ready to fight and that he kept repeating ‘You and me, you and me’ also inside the tunnel. “That’s what I gave him,” said the ex-Italian midfielder.
There were reports that Jordan, a former Milan striker in the 80s had told Gattuso ‘Italian bast***’ but the ex-Spurs assistant coach has always denied that insisting that he loves Italy and that he did “nothing wrong.”
Jordan lived for three years in Italy, playing for the Rossoneri and Hellas Verona.
During an interview with Corriere della Sera this past June, Gattuso said that he feels “ashamed” whenever he sees the video of his clash with Jordan. The 2006 Italy World Cup winner got a five-match ban after the incident and that was his last appearance in the Champions League, a trophy he won twice with the Rossoneri.