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Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville yells at his team during the first half of an MLS soccer match against Nashville SC Wednesday, May 17, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Nashville won 2-1.

Phil Neville’s hilarious car crash interview is already a GOAT of the genre

There’s nothing that’s equally jarring and funny as seeing a normally placid adult human lose their sh*t in public.

We’ve all been around people with hair-trigger temperaments. One has probably sprung to mind while you’re reading this article.

But, for all the volcanic eruptions and Olympic eggshell walking, the volume of those outbursts can dull the attention they receive. There comes a time when it’s relatively easy to tune out the latest torrent of bullsh*t.

On the other hand, seeing your normally mellow teacher bellow with the heat of a thousand suns just hit differently. A confusing cocktail of shock, shame and awkwardness would permeate the room. An inappropriate giggle would be suppressed.

Which brings us nicely to Phil Neville. While never as laid-back as a doobie-smoking student – he’s a Neville after all – Phil always seemed happy-go-lucky compared to his more intense brother.

But the pressures of managing an underperforming MLS side seem to have got to Neville, manifesting itself in a rather humourous fashion.

After seeing his Inter Miami side beaten 3-1 by Orlando City, ensuring they dropped to 12th place in the Eastern Conference, Neville lost his cool after a reporter interrupted his answer during the post-match press conference.

Showing the visible frustration of somebody not expecting their spouse to interject during a heated argument, the Inter Miami boss demanded respect from the startled journalist.

“Can I finish speaking, or are you going to interrupt?”, Neville exclaimed. “Because I don’t interrupt your question, so don’t interrupt mine. Show some f*cking respect.”

The moment of madness over, the 46-year-old offered an olive branch and apologised for his foul-mouthed slip.

But, gloriously, Neville’s adrenaline-flooded brain had lost his train of thought, resulting in him sheepishly asking for the question to be repeated.

Neville took over as manager of Inter Miami in 2021, three years after the club was established by co-owner David Beckham.

But the club have struggled for form this season, and are some 15 points behind league leaders Cincinnati after 13 games. To say Neville is feeling the strain would be an understatement of heroic proportions.

Things haven’t always seemed this bleak, mind. Speaking last season at the MLS launch event, Neville exuded positivity and spoke bullishly about his Stateside ambitions.

“We are committed, we don’t do half measures,” the former England defender said. “I want longevity in this role. I think there’s nothing better than a manager in place for a long time. That’s what longevity means and I think that breeds success.”

“I want to be successful and I want to repay the faith that David and (co-owner) Jose (Mas) have put in me. We had to send a strong statement because the first two years for this franchise weren’t good enough, and weren’t acceptable from the top down to the very bottom.

“So we had to make major changes to get what we wanted. I think last season taught me an awful lot and probably the thing I learned the most was this league is the hardest thing in the world to win.”

Safe to say, it’s not going to plan right now for Neville in Florida – as witnessed by his chucklesome outburst.

We probably can’t empathise with the pressure he’s under; while the Planet Football editors are stringent, we don’t have 20,000 people shouting abuse as we type and demanding our banishment to Siberia for using too many lame metaphors.

But watching Neville channel his inner Roy Keane, only to watch karma come and bite him instantly, had us in stitches. And eagerly anticipating what will come next.

By Michael Lee


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