BEING covered in expensive jewellery, living in luxury homes and driving fancy motors makes footballers a target for thieves.
Over the years, we’ve seen Premier League stars held at knife point or gun point by thugs demanding they hand over their goods.
But some are more reluctant than others, often fighting back.
Here’s a list of football’s hardest men who weren’t prepared to part with their belongings.
CARLOS CARVALHAL
The former Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday boss fended off knife-carrying robbers, who tried to mug him outside of his house.
Carvalhal was returning to his home in the Portuguese city of Braga in the early hours when he was confronted by three masked men who stopped him and demanded he hand over cash.
He revealed: “As I was travelling back to my house in Braga from Madeira yesterday, I was attacked by three hooded individuals at around 02:15am.
“My natural instinct was to put up a fight – that was perhaps a risky decision.
“But with the help of my son, Jose Carlos, we managed to get out of the situation.
“We have a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious.”
DUNCAN FERGUSON
On the pitch, Everton legend ‘Big Dunc’ was a force to be reckoned with.
The 6ft 4in was sent off nine times during his career and spent three months behind bars for head-butting Raith Rovers’ John McStay in 1994.
So, knowing that, you’d think twice about burgling the tough Scot.
Clearly not. Two intruders broke into his Lancashire home in 2001 in the early hours, and immediately regretted it.
One managed to flee, while the other was ‘detained’ by Ferguson after a scuffle.
That men then spent three days in hospital recovering.
SEAD KOLASINAC
The Arsenal defender became a hero with Gooners when he showed no fear after he was confronted by knife-wielding moped thugs in North London.
Bosnian Kolasinac was with team-mate Mesut Ozil when the pair were set on by the gang, who wanted to steal their £200,000 watches.
But the full back was having none of it, jumping out of a Mercedes G-Wagon as the man thrust his knife in the direction of the Gunners star.
Of the incident, Kolasinac said: “About what happened I don’t want to talk about it in details.
“It’s happened and it’s something that belongs to the past. The same with Mesut.
LEONARDO BONUCCI
The Juventus and Italy star certainly knows how to stick up for himself.
And bruising encounters with Serie A’s finest over the years would’ve prepared him for this moment, for sure.
In 2012, Bonucci was with his wife and baby son at a car dealership in Turin when a man in a face mask approached him with a gun and demanded he hand over his watch.
The defender punched the assailant, before chasing him down as he tried to get away with an accomplice on a scooter.
As he was running, the robber was heard shouting: “What are you doing? Are you mad? I’ll shoot you.”
CHIC CHARNLEY
Former Partick Thistle midfielder Chic once fended off two men waving Japanese-style swords in his direction, plus a ferocious looking dog with a traffic cone.
The incident happened during a training session in the 1990s at Ruchill Park.
Charnley recalled: “We’re up there training and maybe ten minutes before, this lady is walking the dog and it nipped one of the boys’ ankles.
“Just as that happened, these two young guys came up, and I think it was an Alsatian they had and a wee Jack Russell.
“So because of what happened earlier with the wee woman, we stopped and they recognised me.
“They were shouting, and I said ‘Away you go, come back at 12.30pm when we finish’, thinking they wouldn’t come back.
“Half an hour later we’re up at Ruchill and I see these two guys coming up the hill and I went – ‘Oh naw!’
“One has got a samurai sword and the other one has got a dagger.
“They’ve come up the hill and they’ve came towards me. So I’ve picked up a traffic cone, but he’s swinging this sword, so I’ve hit him with the traffic cone.
“But he’s ran. Instead of me stopping, I’ve chased him down the hill. But he’s still got the sword, and he’s turned at the bottom and caught me on the hand with the sword.
“But I got it off him and then went and beat him up and that, so that was fine.”
CHRIS KAMARA
Sky Sports pundit showed he was still quick on his feet when he chased down a mugger in Brazil.
Kamara turned superhero when he saw a barefoot youth in his early 20s snatching a bag from a passer-by at Rio’s famous Ipanema beach.
The former footballer gave chase and held the robber down until cops arrived on the scene.
Kamara shared the photos and quipped: “Not lost me pace!!! I just caught this street robber. Done in now though.”
However, a spokesman from the Foreign Office advised against doing what Kamara did.
He said: “We are aware of the incident and we are providing consular assistance to Mr Kamara.
“In terms of his actions in chasing the assailant, that goes against our recommended advice.”
MASSIMO CELLINO
Even football club owners are hard.
The Brescia and former Leeds United chairman Cellino is the most recent to fight back against muggers.
Cellino, 63, took on his assailants, who tried to rip a watch from his wrist in his current home town, Padenghe sul Garda, in northern Italy.
He hit his nose on a car door as he battled the robbers, who fled without stealing anything.
Bellissimo!
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
