10. Sam Allardyce It
is no secret that Big Sam always enjoyed a puff on the bench. Fans even
claim to have seen him post-match in the hotel, wearing nothing more
than a bath robe while smoking a big cigar with a glass of red wine in
his hand at the time.9. Zdenek Zeman He’s
managed 19 clubs, mostly in Italian football, and most of his players
would vouch for the fact that Zeman barely opened his mouth while on the
sidelines; well except to smoke another cigarette. Zeman looked
less like a manager and more like that kid at school who hung around in
the shadows, dragging on a crafty roll up and mumbling on about Nick
Cave.8. Gianluca Vialli While on one
hand, Vialli does admit to the evils of smoking; on the other, he also
claims that it’s a healthier alternative to getting drunk every night.During
his playing career, Vialli was caught smoking many-a-times after being
substituted. It is also rumoured that during the 1990 World Cup, he was
spotted trying to smoke sneakily next to the bench.7. Ricardo Lavolpe Lavolpe’s
smoking habits came into the limelight during his term as Mexico’s
manager. He was warned by FIFA for smoking during Mexico’s 2006 World
Cup opening game against Iran. Lavolpe responded by telling FIFA that
he’d rather give up football than smoking.He did, however, quit
smoking and began tucking into donuts instead. He candidly described how
much he enjoyed it, adding that if he was drinking on the job it might
affect his managerial skills, but that no-one has been dismissed for
being “smoked-out and disorderly”6. Slaven Bilic Low-life
Mafia style suits, chain-smoking on the touchline and member of
a thrash metal band called Rawbau – Slaven Bilic is probably one of the
coolest managers ever.He was even issued a warning by the
Turkish Football Federation after being caught smoking inside the
football stadium, despite the no-smoking ban.5. Marcello Lippi Lippi
has been smoking since his mid-teens, and it doesn’t seem as if he
would be kicking the habit anytime soon. Cigarettes have now paved the
way to cigars, and Lippi was seen chomping on a cigar after winning the
2006 World Cup final.4. Carlo Ancelloti Ancelloti
began smoking at the age of 25, and he hasn’t managed to kick the habit
as yet. He was even reprimanded for smoking on the bench when he
visited Celtic as manager of AC Milan in 2007.“Until three years ago in Italy you could smoke on the bench,” he explains.“I
used to like that, although I remember one time, when we were playing
Ajax in the Champions League quarter-final in 2003, we scored in the
last minute, and Gennaro Gattuso jumps off the bench and grabs me from
behind. I nearly swallowed the thing.”3. Joachim LoewThe Germany manager had critics hounding him for smoking during Germany’s 3-2 victory over Portugal.“What
can I say? That’s my personal business. I sometimes smoke a cigarette
or have a glass of red wine in the evening. That is nothing outrageous,”
Loew said.2. Johan Cruyff“Football has given me everything in this life; tobacco almost took it all away.”Cruyff
smoked 20 cigarettes a day until he underwent a double heart bypass
surgery after the cigarettes and stress caught up with him. To help him
give up on smoking, Chupa Chups Group, a Barcelona-based confectioner, sent him a box of lollipops.1. Diego Maradona Maradona
has been caught on camera smoking several times. Even after kicking his
drug habit, Maradona has made the headlines a number of times.But be it cigars or cigarettes, it doesn’t seem as if this football legend will be giving up on his smoking habits anytime soon.
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