This day 60 years ago a saviour was born:clap:, they called him Arsene. To celebrate this special day I have included the following ten things people may not know about this genius;
- Wenger holds a Master in Economics
He also earned a degree in Engineering. Moreover, he can speak English, French, German; and can manage some Spanish, Italian and Japanese. No wonder hes called âThe Professorâ.
- As a player he tried to model himself on Franz Beckenbauer
Wenger however agreed that he was not as âelegant and classyâ as his versatile hero. His professional football career started with RC Strasbourg in 1978 (against Monaco where hed become a coach 10 years later). He played a handful of matches for them in that season, and eventually won Ligue 1 too. He even played once in the UEFA Cup, but thats about it.
- Its Arsene who introduced George Weah to European football
A lot has been said about how Wenger brought an ignored Thierry Henry from Juventus to Arsenal and made him the great player as we know now. But few know that in 1988 he signed an unknown striker from Liberia, bringing Weah to Monaco, whod go on to become FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995.
- Declined to become France national coach out of loyalty to Monaco, only to be sacked the next year
He coached Monaco from 1987 to 1994, won Ligue 1 and the French Cup. In the 1994/95 season he was dismissed owing to a poor start. Its also rumoured that AC Milan once rejected him because âhe looks too much like a schoolmasterâ.
- He is a fan of the Japanese diet
In 1995/96 he became coach of J. League club Nagoya Grampus Eight and had a successful 18 month stint. Wenger praised the Japanese diet many times because âThey eat only rice, boiled vegetables and fish; no sugar, no oil; thats why you wont see fat people there.â
- Allegedly threw a pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson
The famous, or infamous, âPizzagateâ occurred at Old Trafford on October 2004, where United ended Arsenals 49-games unbeaten run. The most popular interpretation of the post-match tunnel incident is that Wenger vented his anger by throwing a pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson. Theres no denying however that he called Ruud van Nistelrooy a âcheatâ, and the 2007 Carling Cup final linesman a âliarâ; those were on camera. The otherwise calm and solemn-looking coach has confessed that he has âa very dark sideâ.
- Promised his wife âFive more years and thats allâ when he joined Arsenal
Looks like his basketball Olympian wife Annie has every right to get mad at him. Wenger tried a bit of peace-making though by teaching his daughter Lea to ride a bicycle some odd mornings. His family also had a Yorkshire terrier âLillyâ, which died last year.
- Visited Gael Clichy and Phillipe Senderos parents in their home to persuade their son to join Arsenal
A notable exception was Cesc Fabregas, where, rather than Arsene Wenger travelling, his parents flew down to London.
- An asteroid is named after him
His other honours include receiving the Lgion dHonneur, the highest civilian honour in France, an honourary OBE for services to British football, and Arsenal fans celebrating Wengers Day on October 22nd 2005, his 56th birthday.
- Wenger has a Myspace profle
And his interest is noted as âI am an open person so almost everything is an interest to me but top ranking is footballâ.