THE MATCH (TV SERIES)

'''The Match''' is a reality TV show on Sky One in which a group of celebrities form a football team to compete against a team of former professional footballers (The Legends). The show begins with a large squad of celebrities who train and live together, all aiming to be selected for "The Match" against the team of legends. The show is also published in Switzerland on SF 2.
In Great Britain, three editions of the programme have been made, one in early 2004, one in late 2005 and one in October 2006. The program is hosted by Mark Durden-Smith, Ulrika Jonsson (2004) and Zoe Ball (2005 & 2006). The matches are played at St James' Park, Newcastle. In the Swiss version, the matches are held at Espenmoos in St. Gallen

Contents

Participants

The Match: Season 3 (2006)

Participants

Final match

Celebrities starting XI

Legends starting XI

Match report

Match history

See also

External links

Participants

The show features one of English football's best known managers, Graham Taylor, who manages the celebrity team. Players on the legends team have included Ally McCoist, Matt Le Tissier and John Barnes, among others. Notable members of the celebrities team have included Jonathan Wilkes, Ralf Little, Philip Olivier, MC Harvey, Terry Alderton and Darren Campbell.
The Match has never been won by the celebrities - losing 2-1 in 2004 and 2-0 in 2005 and 2006. The only goal the celebrities have ever scored was one that many believe to be a fluke by Jonathan Wilkes when his apparent cross looped over the head of 63-year old goalkeeper Peter Bonetti.
In Switzerland, the Celebrities ("Die Promis") lost 1-6 against the Legends ("Die Legenden") in 2006.

The Match: Season 3 (2006)

Season 3 of The Match was shown during September and October of 2006.

Participants

★ Martin Offiah

★ Chris Hollins

★ Rocky Marshall (dropped in public vote on October 6)

★ Leo Ihenacho (dropped in public vote on October 2)

★ Blair McDonough

★ Craig Kelly

★ James Hooton (dropped due to injury on October 3)

★ Brian McFadden (dropped in public vote on October 4)

★ Ralf Little

★ Jeff Brazier

★ Anthony Hutton

★ Tommy Craig

★ Harvey

★ Michael Greco (dropped in public vote on October 5)

★ Glenn Lamont

★ Darren Campbell

★ Danny Young

★ Mark Bosnich

★ Alex Lawler

★ Sam Robertson

★ Alec Stewart (Captain)

Final match

Celebrities starting XI

Name	Position	Fame
Mark Bosnich	Goalkeeper	Ex-Chelsea F.C. goalkeeper
Danny Young	Fullback (Right)	Coronation Street
Alec Stewart	Defender (Centre) (Captain)	Former England Cricketer
Thomas Craig	Defender (Centre)	Coronation Street
Ralf Little	Fullback (Left)	Actor
Anthony Hutton	Winger (Right)	Big Brother Series 6 winner
Chris Hollins	Midfielder (Centre)	Sports journalist
Jeff Brazier	Midfielder (Centre)	Television presenter
MC Harvey	Winger (Left)	Musician
Sam Robertson	Striker	Coronation Street
Darren Campbell	Striker	Athlete

Legends starting XI

Name	Position	Notable Clubs
Andy Goram	Goalkeeper	Rangers
Denis Irwin	Fullback (Right)	Manchester United, Oldham Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Colin Hendry	Defender (Centre)	Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Rangers
Des Walker	Defender (centre)	Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Sampdoria
Nigel Winterburn	Fullback (Left)	Arsenal, Wimbledon, West Ham United
Chris Waddle	Winger (Right) (Captain)	Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday, Olympique Marseille, Tottenham Hotspur
David Batty	Midfielder (centre)	Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United
Gary McAllister	Midfielder (centre)	Leeds United, Liverpool, Leicester City, Coventry City
Paul Merson	Winger (Left)	Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth
Ian Rush	Striker	Liverpool, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United
Peter Beardsley	Striker	Liverpool, Newcastle United, Everton

Match report

The Celebrities started the match on top and, for the first 15 minutes, had the vast majority of possession and goal chances. However, when Ian Rush scored for the Legends (a goal typical of his predatory style during his playing career) on 17 minutes, the game turned in the favour of the ex-professionals. For the remainder of the match the Legends used their superior passing ability and vision to keep hold of the ball and keep the Celebrities chances to a bare minimum. The commentary team even mentioned that it had become the most one-sided match in the short history of this fixture.
Celebrity winger Harvey was sent off late in the game for a second bookable offence. Upon leaving the field he had a row with goalkeeping coach Tony Coton which sparked aggression between many players and staff of both teams. This explosive reaction from Harvey seemed to amuse some of the Legends players, such as Paul Gascoigne who was seen laughing and making hand gestures.

Match history

Year	Winner	Scorers	Runner-up	Scorers	Score	Venue	Attendance
2004	Legends	Gary Pallister (45) Ally McCoist (90 + 4)	Celebrities	Jonathan Wilkes (85)	2 - 1	St James' Park	52,000
2005	Legends	Nigel Winterburn (5) Ally McCoist (67)	Celebrities	-	2 - 0	St James' Park	52,000
2006	Legends	Ian Rush (17) Chris Waddle (57)	Celebrities	-	2 - 0	St James' Park	52,000

See also

★ FC Nerds

External links

★ Official Sky One/The Match 3 website