Source: Daily_Mail
Joe Jordan: Why this was the wrong man for Milan skipper Gennaro Gattuso to pick a fight with...
Gennaro Gattuso may have tried to laugh off his headbutting of Tottenham assistant manager Joe Jordan by joking 'I just spoke to him in Scottish' but the 33-year-old should quit while he's still walking.[LNB]Jordan may be 59 now and look like a kindly uncle with his glasses and balding pate but his football fire burns a fiercely as when he proudly pulled on shirts for Scotland, Leeds, Manchester United and even Milan during a 20-year playing career.[LNB]Famed for his toothless grimace - Jordan lost four front teeth playing for Leeds and would remove his dentures before every game - the Cleland-born striker was nicknamed 'Jaws' after the famous James Bond villain and rechristened 'Shark' by Rossoneri fans for his predatory never-say-die attitude in two seasons with the club back in the 80s.[LNB] Spot the difference: Bond villain Jaws (left) and Joe Jordan who insists 'I was more than a player with no teeth'[LNB]Either way he was not to be trifled with no matter who he played for, a traditional battering ram centre forward that even the most threshing-machine-like centre back would not look forward to facing.[LNB]Many of the Milan faithful would have been amused by ex-Rangers star Gattuso's actions and a bit shocked that their former hero did not administer Lanarkshire justice to the hirsute pint-sized Italian.[LNB] I'll have that fresh cream slice please: 'Older' man Joe Jordan may look to have mellowed...[LNB] [LNB] ...but he was happy to turn on the hairdryer when Milan skipper Gennaro Gattuso came spoiling for a fight...[LNB] [LNB] ..in very much the same way he dismissed Brian Clough with one glance at the first training session the managerial legend held with Leeds [LNB]Not only did the 5ft 9in midfielder shove Jordan in the face during the game without the aid of a stepladder - 'I spoke to Jordan during the gamebut I won't reveal what was said. I have no problems with any of theSpurs players, just him' - he then approached the fearsome 6ft 1in former target man even more up close and personal, concluding the reunion with a small but perfectly-formed headbutt without the aid of a getaway car.[LNB] Finding the gap: Joe Jordan teasing Chelsea as a Southampton player and sweating for United's cause[LNB]OTHER SCOTS TO AVOID... Billy Bremner - Legendary Leeds United hardmanDuncan Ferguson - Twice 'dealt with' bugrlars as he dealt with defendersDavid Moyes - THAT stare...Graeme Souness - THAT tackle for Rangers against BucharestDave MacKay - Never knowingly took a prisoner.[LNB]Then, and only then, did the Jordanic volcano - dormant and far from extinct - begin to erupt and before much longer, Milan players appeared from all corners of the San Siro to get their man away from the imminent lava flow.[LNB]Gattuso issued an apology (of sorts) and risked bursting yet more of Joe's blood vessels by regretting 'what I did to an older person' but before he starts directing Jordan to the nearest OAP refuge accessible via a free bus pass, the married-to-a-Scot Calabrian should reflect on just how lucky he is just to be suspended from the second leg for his booking and not suspended from a floodlight pylon by his eyelids.[LNB] That's what I think of you: Jordan with Milan's shirt sponsors back in 1981, well before Gattuso's headbutt[LNB] Bully boy: Gennaro Gattuso shoves well-known tough guy Peter Crouch[LNB]Can't imagine the Milan captain will be going to the Lane in three weeks but if he does he'd be well advised to avoid being alone in a room with JJ.[LNB]Jordan was never afraid to put his head where feet were flying and his feet where angels fear to tread. Age has not withered his passion for the game or for an 'encounter' - just look at his eyes when he 'responds' to Gattuso.[LNB]Gattuso, who later admitted 'I lost my head,' was lucky not to have it bitten off by a man whose disparaging stare greeted Brian Clough to his first training session at Leeds United and set the tone for 44 days of hell for a managerial legend. [LNB]This was the same man who dealt with a Tottenham keeper continually getting in his way by 'creating his own space' in a most conclusive manner (see below).[LNB]This was the same player who thrived in and around the penalty area when justice on the pitch was swift and merciless in an era that red cards and rule-books forgot.[LNB]This was the same player who made Wayne Rooney's goal celebration look child-like and who would roar his approval like it meant the world to him.[LNB]This was the same player who was the embodiment of professional pride and from whom today's top names could learn so many lessons.[LNB]Gattuso may have fancied his chances against the 'older' man but in reality it would have been the sort of contest Taggart himself would have been called in to clear up.[LNB]There are are better ways to prove yourself than picking a punch-up with a hard-nosed Scotsman who built his career on ignoring pain and terrorising defences.[LNB]However, he'll hurt Gattuso far more if Tottenham complete the job on the Serie A leaders, proving jaw-jaw is always better than war-war (apologies to Sir Winston Churchill there...). [LNB]HOW JORDAN AND GATTUSO COMPARE IN THE HARD MAN STAKESJOE JORDAN - AGE 59, 6FT 1 IN GENNARO GATTUSO - AGE 33, 5FT 9IN [LNB]NICKNAMES At Leeds he lost four front teeth playing in a reserve match and became known as 'Jaws'. Of this he said: 'I didn't see myself as a caricature in any way - I had seven years at Leeds, then Manchester United, then Milan and I had opportunities to go to Liverpool, Arsenal and Ajax. I was more than having no teeth.'[LNB]If Jordan's reputation at home had escaped Gattuso, he should have known more of the history of the club he captains. 'He obviously hadn't done his homework,' Harry Redknapp said last night. Gattuso should have known that Jordan, who joined Milan in 1981, was known in Italy as 'The Shark'.[LNB]HARD MAN! In 2007, Jordan was named the 34th hardest man in the history of football. Since joining Spurs in 2008, he has clashed with Roy Hodgson and Paul Ince and earlier this season, he challenged Newcastle goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman following Younes Kaboul's dismissal, screaming 'Any time you like, any f****** time you like'.[LNB]CLASH, BANG, WALLOP... Jordan stood no nonsense on the pitch, highlighted by an incident in a Manchester United FA cup third round replay at Old Trafford against Tottenham in 1980, when he wiped out goalkeeper Milja Aleksic, who had been charging at him on corners. Aleksic, who played only a small number of games for Spurs, suffered a dislocated jaw in the incident.For the record, Glenn Hoddle went in goal and Ossie Ardiles scored the only goal of the game in extra time as Spurs won.[LNB]NICKNAME 'Ringhio' which is the Italian for 'growl'.[LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB](This space for autographs)[LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB]HARD MAN? In 2007, Gattuso was not named in the top 50 hardest men in football suggesting his bark (or growl) is louder than his bite even when he was in his prime.In 2000 he was accused of punching new England skipper David Beckham - a well-known tough guy - after his winning goal for Italy, an accusation he denied.CLASH, BANG, WALLOP... In a Champions League group stage match against Ajax in September 2003, Gattuso was sent off after slapping Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimović in the face with the back of his hand. In December 2005, at the final whistle of Milan's 3-2 defeat of Schalke 04 - also in the Champions League - Gattuso goaded Schalke midfielder Christian Poulsen as a reaction to Poulsen's fierce marking of Kak?.And in February 2011, he took on Joe Jordan after picking a fight with 6ft 7in eight-stone-when-wet Peter Crouch during the match. [LNB] [LNB] UEFA launch probe into AC Milan nutter Gennaro Gattuso after heated clash with Spurs coach Joe JordanSan heroes! Harry Redknapp lauds his side after San Siro win but calls for UEFA to ban bad boys Flamini and GattusoGomes backs Spurs to go all the way after banishing ghost of San SiroFlamini apologises for horror tackle but Corluka wants Milan man locked upMartin Samuel: How the mafiosi of Milan have made Spurs fans of us allAC Milan 0 Tottenham 1: Peter Crouch is the San Siro hero as Harry Redknapp's battlers win warMad-dog Gattuso takes on Jaws and bites off more than he can chewAll the latest Tottenham news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Brian Clough, Graeme Souness, David Beckham, David Moyes, Harry Redknapp, Christian Poulsen, Glenn Hoddle, Duncan Ferguson, Peter Crouch, Younes Kaboul, Wayne Rooney, Paul Ince, Roy Hodgson Places: Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Milan, Scotland, Italy, United Kingdom
