25 Biggest Losers in World Football History

It is a hard thing to quantify, what makes one a loser that is. There is no real grounds for the label of a loser other than what your personal beliefs hold you to take as such.

In making the decisions for the inclusions in lists such as this some cases completely solve themselves for you. Other instances force you to sit back and think for a little bit before you can or cannot pass judgement.

What follows is literally the result of hours of research and mulling over of possible inclusions. Another interesting factor that came up is that in some cases you have to consider groups as losers as well if it was a collective effort in being labeled as such.

With that now on your mind, I challenge you to start pulling out your personal list of the biggest losers in the world of football because I want your lists in the comments so we can really makes this an interesting thread and discussion.

Now then, on to the first loser...

Steve Keane

Good job with the recent drunk driving conviction. Enjoy getting a taxi to take you to practice for the next 18 months.

You may be the manager of an English Premier League team, however, that does not save you.

Claude Anelka

The older brother of Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka, Claude actually got someone to back him with £300,000 to get a club to let him be their manager.

Scottish side Raith Rovers actually let him, for all of one draw and eight losses.

He then eventually was offered a job in the lower division of the North American Soccer League as manager of AC St. Louis. He only made it six months.

Football is not your forte Claude, sorry.

1997-98 Doncaster Rovers

Currently, Doncaster Rovers sit dead last in England's Npower Championship with a minus-six goal differential.

However, it is unlikely this years version will repeat the horrific feat that their predecessors did in the 1997-98 season when the club was at the lowest point in their history.

That version of Doncaster currently hold the English record for most losses in a single season with 34 when they finished with four wins, eight draws and 34 losses in the English Third Division.

Bobby Stuart

I apologize for including a player that passed away in 1987.

However, former Middlesbrough Captain Bobby Stuart holds the unfortunate record for the most own goals in a single season in English football history.

During the 1934-35 season, he scored five goals against his own team and has held the record ever since.

Lee Bowyer

Current Ipswich Town midfielder Lee Bowyer holds the English record for the most yellow cards in the history of the English Premier League with 98.

It took him 16 seasons to achieve his record with his appearances split between Leeds Untied, West Ham United, Newcastle United and Birmingham City.

Although he only averaged just over six per season, is that really the only claim to fame you want to have?

1992-93 Leeds United

In the words of Ricky Bobby, "If you ain't first yer last," and Leeds United almost proved that theory.

Leeds won the English first division in 1991-92, however they imploded the next season. The Whites went from English League Champions to 17th.

They avoided relegation only by two points and goal differential in the inaugural 22-team season of the Barclay's Premier League.

Their poor performance also grants them the distinguished record of making the worst downswing in league position between seasons in English history.

Cesc Fabregas

The biggest reason Cesc is on here is because he seems to lack something that a captain for a team has—class and respect for his club.

Barcelona's secret to go after the player was no secret. However, Fabregas' desire to leave was no secret either.

In my honest opinion, I feel that Arsene Wenger might have allowed him to leave sooner had he conducted himself with a little respect and not paraded around in a Barcelona jersey or constantly complain to the press that he wanted to leave.

Can footballers just not be men anymore and go into the office of the boss and talk something out?

Ashley Cole

Maybe douchebag is a better word for Cole for his inclusion in the biggest loser's in football. The Chelsea left-back is no doubt a top talent.

However, his life off the pitch constantly draws more than enough attention.

Between cheating on his wife, multiple times and claiming to have laughed at Arsenal's 55,000 a week contract offer that supposedly nearly caused him to wreck his car, how can he not be on this list?

Tom Hicks and Geroge Gillett

Possibly two of the worst owners in the history of sports and not just soccer are former Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Fans rejoiced like never before when the two were ousted by Boston Red Sox Principle owner John W. Henry and Fenway Sports Group.

Hicks and Gillett had ran the club into the ground through piling on refinanced debt upon refinanced debt, and it is a miracle the team did not pull a Leeds and completely collapse.

Diego Maradona

You cannot have a bigger loser than Diego Maradona in many ways. His biggest claim to fame is a hand ball so blatant he boasts at getting away with it.

There is something to be said about having a will to win, but it is shameful none the less that that is his proudest moment.

And you have to show the Lionel Messi tribute performance against Espanyol in the Barcelona Derby because it is nearly spot on to his fellow Argentine's performance.

1997-98 Real Sporting De Gijón

In the 1997-98 season, Real Sporting de Gijón did not see a crowd like the one above as they slumped to the most consecutive games without a victory in the history of Spanish Football.

From June 22, 1997 until February 8, 1998, the Rojiblancos failed to win in 24 games.

That terrible run took them 10 years to recover from as they finally returned to the Spanish top flight for the 2008-09 season.

Alberto Gilardino

This awful dive has him enshrined in the worst football dives of all time on Bleacher Report.

It also is even more ridiculous that he even dove because he gave up a wide open net to try and get a PK.

I mean serious man, what were you thinking? Oh wait, you apparently weren't.

Mario Balotelli

Honestly, I don't know where to start, but there is not a more prominent footballer at the moment that wants to run his mouth more in opposite directions than Manchester City's Mario Balotelli.

The Italian may be wearing an "I Love City" shirt at the moment, but give it a week or two, and he probably will be burning that same one on YouTube or something crazy as his mental state sways like a candle in the wind.

John Terry

Another Chelsea offender, John Terry much like Ashley Cole is a great player.

However, it is his failure to maintain his moral compass that causes him to be a loser and one of the most hated players in football.

To get on the list, he cheated on his hot wife and mother of his children with the ex-girlfriend of a teammate. Talk about bad taste, bad timing and judgement.

He nearly broke up part of the England squad, and subsequently lost the Captaincy of England as well.

Martin Palermo

Argentine international Martin Palermo managed to do an unthinkable feet in a July 4th, 1999 match.

He managed to miss three penalties and the final score of the game turned out to be 3-0 not in favor for the Argentinians.

It was truly tough luck, but it is worthy loser status because he only actually halfway tested the keeper once.

1995-96 SSA Antwerpen

Belgian fourth division side, SSA Antwerpen could possibly be the worst team in history. Their 30-game 1995-96 season saw them end the campaign with this record. No wins, no draws, only 30 losses.

It was a howler of a season for the ages as their goal differential worked out to a goal against them every 10 minutes during league play.

Zinedine Zidane

Most everyone will consider calling Zizou a poor move, but he had a major moment of weakness that constitutes him being a loser.

Rewind to Germany in the final of the 2006 World Cup against Italy, Zizou allowed himself to succumb to Marco Materrazi's constant vocal badgering and mind games.

The Italian finally got Zidane to bite with only minutes left, and the sending off of Zidane could very well have been what caused Italy to eventually triumph over Frances.

Thiery Henry

Thiery Henry has a moment in international footballing history much like his fellow Frenchman, Zidane.

Barcelona's former striker will forever be a loser and a cheat to the majority of the world after his hand ball against Ireland is what is believed to have cost them their chance at World Cup glory in 2010.

It got even worse when he admitted that it was such and that he would do it again.

Fernando Torres

Torres made a horrible mistake in the face of many when he clalimed he had left Liverpool for a bigger club when he joined Chelsea.

He needed a change, but that statement came back to haunt him when the Reds took his club down on his debut match against his former mates.

The former Red is still to get out of his slump with his goal tally still sitting on one.

Liverpool Cartwheeler

I truthfully cannot show you more of this photo, but Glen Johnson's face says it all.

During the Reds match against Tottenham at home last season, a crazed fan made his way onto the pitch and proceeded to cart wheel his was about the pitch exactly how have now figured out.

Another poor moment in sports fan history.

Knut Anders Fostervold

Knut Anders Fostervold is the other member of the worst dives in footballing history.

Not only is it noteworthy for how awful his dive is, even a young still undiscovered John Carew gets a jab in with a parody of the player.

Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones is one cool dude by many accounts thanks to his acting career which has seen the former footballer gain a huge following.

However, he gets the loser title thanks to two separate incidents.

The first is that he holds the record for fastest yellow card in English football when he was carded three seconds into a 1992 match between Sheffield United and Manchester City.

Secondly for his Soccer's Hard Men video. It was practically a how to video to be a rule-breaking, all-out brutal player in the league.

England's Football Associations was made a mockery over the ordeal as Jones twisted and turned his way out of most any punishment and then mouthed off to the FA again with no retaliation.

Kevin Pressman

If you have never heard of Kevin Pressman, it is a surprise in some ways and a normal thing on the other hand.

Although he made 588 career appearances between five teams, he really only has one true claim to fame.

He holds the record for the fastest Red Card in English history when he was sent off only 13 seconds in Sheffield Wednesday's August 12, 2000 match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

Divers

There simply is no way to pick one diver amongst all those who have participated.

I don't care if you have tried it once, twice or make it part of your career, but if you are a diver, you are a loser.

Plain and simple those who cheat to try and get a call are pathetic and should be labeled as such any day of the week.

Match Fixers

It is one thing to purchase and invest in top talent for your club to give your team the edge and a chance at glory.

However, it is a completely different thing to buy your way into a trophy or championship.

From Far Eastern Asia over to the Western reaches of the globe match fixing continues to cause problems.

Two of the most famous clubs to have been sanctioned for match fixing are the 1993 Marseille team and the 2006 Juventus squad.

Marseille were stripped of their League title and then relegated, while Juventus suffered the same relegation punishment in 2006.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed the list, and I know there are multiple more that could be added so let me know all those I missed in the comments section below.

Thanks for Reading and be sure to check me out further on Bleacher Report and at the links below. You can follow me on Twitter @thedailyatz and Facebook or visit my Website.