Yahoo! LMA interviews also reveal Jesus, managers’ wives, Geoffrey Boycott, Kylie and Napoleon as choices
Muhammad Ali floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and is also the perfect dinner companion, according to the UK’s top football managers, interviewed by Yahoo! Eurosport to celebrate the renewal for the second year of its ‘Dugout’ partnership with the League Managers Association (LMA) ( http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/
Chosen by a quarter of the 20 managers interviewed, which included some of the biggest names in football like Harry Redknapp, Roberto Mancini and David Moyes, the legendary heavyweight boxer Ali was a clear favourite. Four diverse figures were tied as the second most popular dinner guest: Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Elvis Presley and the managers’ own wives!
In terms of professions of the guests selected, Sports Stars were most popular, being chosen by 33% of the managers. Next came politicians, featuring in choices by 18% of managers, followed by musicians, chosen by 13% of managers.
There were some unique choices among the managers. Neil Warnock wanted dinner with the Queen, while Rafa Benitez was keen to share an hors d’oeuvre with Napoleon. Roberto Mancini wanted to break bread with the Pope, and Paul Lambert was looking for a quiet night in with George Best. Former managerial greats also popped up, with Simon Grayson citing Don Revie, Neil Warnock wanting a bite to eat with Brian Clough and Chris Hughton looking to invite Bill Shankly.
“The top choices of Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Elvis Presley and their own wives as ideal dinner party guests shows that an evening with any of Britain’s top football managers would be an entertaining affair,” said James Wildman, Yahoo!’s Managing Director and Vice-President of Sales.
As the Premier Digital Media Company, Yahoo! is investing is quality original content in the UK, including ‘The Dugout’ with the LMA , Barclays Premier League highlights and ‘Bumps, Babies and Beyond’, a parenting show presented by Myleene Klass.
The full list with a breakdown of statistics is as follows:
Breakdown of results
Gianfranco Zola - Father, wife, Diego Maradona
Harry Redknapp - Muhammad Ali, Vincent O’Brien, Bobby Moore
Paul Ince – Wife, John F Kennedy, Tiger Woods
Paul Lambert - Elvis Presley, George Bush, George Best
Roberto Di Matteo - Julius Caesar, Claudia Schiffer, Robert De Niro
Sam Allardyce - Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Sir Alex Ferguson
Sven Goran Eriksson - Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul, Barack Obama
Chris Coleman - John F Kennedy, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix
Tony Adams - Jesus, Sir Alf Ramsey, Scarlett Johansson
Simon Grayson - Geoffrey Boycott, Bono, Don Revie
Roberto Mancini - Paolo Mantovani, The Pope, Sheikh Mansour
Rafa Benitez - Julius Caesar, Al Pacino, Napoleon
David Moyes - Mother, Tommy Burns, Kylie Minogue
Gustavo Poyet - Fernando Morena, Michael Jordan, Wife
Neil Warnock – Queen, Barbara Streisand, Brian Clough
Steve McClaren - Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Sir Alex Ferguson
Alex McLeish - Robert Di Niro, John Lennon, Muhammad Ali
Alan Pardew - Muhammad Ali, Barrack Obama, Spike Milligan
Peter Reid - Elvis Presley, Jesus Christ, Angelina Jolie
Chris Hughton - Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Bill Shankly
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Order of popularity
1st – Mohammed Ali with 5 votes (25%)
2nd wives/Nelson Mandela/Elvis/Obama - 3 votes (15%)
3rd De Niro/Julius Caesar /Sir Alex/JFK – 2 votes (10%)
All others received 1 vote (5%)
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Profession of guest
Musician – 13%
Model – 2%
Actor – 8%
Writer – 2%
Politician – 18%
Family member – 10%
Sports star – 33%
Royalty – 3%
Other – 10%
For insight from England’s leading managers plus exclusive Barclays Premier League highlights every Monday morning visit Yahoo! Eurosport at www.yahoo.co.uk/sport’