The Paddy Power Jigsaw: A breakdown of how all the pieces came together

Admit it, you want one.

PPJigsaw

By / Football News / 4 years ago

Ah, lockdown. You’ve filled our social media timelines with amateur bakers, frankly questionable 5k times and even the return of the jigsaw.

Never before has a puzzle looked so appealing, especially when the Wi-Fi does the inevitable and goes down for two hours a day.

So, naturally, we decided to Paddify the humble jigsaw puzzle, producing a 500-piecer of English football’s finest, funniest moments. It might just satisfy our appetite for the return of the beautiful game.

Feast your eyes on our rundown of each ‘moment’ featured in the puzzle below, and keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and here at Paddy Power News for more chances to win one of our Paddy Puzzles.

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Peter Crouch takes on the robot

It needs very little introduction, really, and has previously been dubbed one of the best goal celebrations of all time (though we do have another of those in here). Crouchy brought the robot dance back to the masses in the way that only Neil from the Inbetweeners has managed since, and he’s bloody good at it. We do wonder whether he gets sick of being asked to do it nowadays, but it felt perfect for the puzzle. And we’re not just saying this because he’s our ambassador, promise.

The best facial expressions in football

I don’t even need to say a name here for you to know EXACTLY who I mean, do I? He’s the northern defender with a passion for gurning and awkward-looking body movements, but that’s why we love him. Also, a sneaky fact, we did an internal poll at Paddy Power to find out the moment that *must* make it onto the puzzle, and this one came out on top.

‘I WILL LOVE IT IF WE BEAT THEM, LOVE IT!’

Never has 10 small words elicited such a clear soundwave in anyone’s mind. Probably, no, definitely the best post-match interview anyone has, and ever will give. Classic Sir Alex Ferguson mind games, which ultimately cost Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle a 12-point lead in the Premier League race. Can almost imagine Fergie sat on his sofa doing a *chef’s kiss* when he saw this clip.

Placing an order at the chippy

We’ve all been there. The quick run to the local chippy. Me personally, I know my order off by heart. Chips, gravy and a barm please with a side of jumbo sausage. But, plenty of people need the time to study the menu, and Big Sam is apparently no exception, it just so happens that Sky decided to use the image in their graphics – which was both very unfair and very amusing. Fun fact: I once asked Sam how he felt about the image. He said some of his players had shown him it at the time and they, subsequently he, thought it was a laugh.

Riding a unicorn ahead of the World Cup

You’re at the World Cup in Russia. You’ve scored a goal in your country’s quarter-final against Sweden, and earned plaudits for your slab head’s ability to get onto seemingly every ball. But, what do people remember you for, from that tournament? For sitting atop of an inflatable unicorn, riding it in a swimming pool. There was even a petition to put it on the fifty quid note.

Gone too VAR

There’s any number of Video Assistant Referee (or VAR, to me and you) moments that we could’ve included in this puzzle. And after much discussion with Fat Heads and the designers, we felt it would be sacrilege to leave out our mate the video referee, who we hated and now miss deeply. And we figured no game sums it up more than Pep Guardiola’s ‘TWICE!’ moment.

A beach ball scores a goal

I don’t know where to begin with this. It’s one of those moments that you could try to explain to someone now and they wouldn’t believe you. For those who don’t know – please, just Google it – Sunderland’s Darren Bent hit a fairly innocuous shot towards Liverpool’s Pepe Reina. What actually happened was a beach ball, thrown on to the pitch by a supporter, sent the ball into the Liverpool net.

He’s 28 until he becomes 29

Where to begin, perhaps one of the moments we were most excited to immortalise on this puzzle, is the greatest Twitter exchange of all time. Two Arsenal fans having a full-blown argument about a striker from the Portuguese leagues and his age. He is, literally, 28 years of age, but in true social media style, another user says he’s closer to 29 than he is to 28.

Le Professeur on holiday

He’s French, which automatically makes him inexplicably cool, but that doesn’t stop Arsene Wenger aka Le Professeur enjoying a stint on the inflatables on holiday. Here he is going down a slide. It’s just pure and simple good-hearted fun, folks.

Sniffing the line

Now, where were we about famous goal celebrations? There are few which stick in the mind more than this, from 1999. Robbie Fowler crouched down after scoring a goal and sniffed the chalk on the byline. You couldn’t get cancelled back then, but he may have even cancelled himself out of a Golden Boot by being banned for six games.

Samba dance moves

If there’s one lesson Alan Pardew has taught us, and there are many, it is absolutely never to dance in front of the cameras at an FA Cup final. He decided to do exactly that back in 2016, after Jason Puncheon netted the opening goal. Manchester United went on to win 2-1, and rumour has it Pardz has never danced since.

The famous slip

Is there any reason to say literally anything else? It’s a moment that still gives Liverpool fans the fear and is the subject of chants to this day. It’s Stevie G’s famous slip moment.

Chat sh*t, get banged

There’s an old tale which says if you close your eyes in front of the mirror, and say ‘Chat sh*t, get banged’ three times, this Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy will appear. I’m too nervous to try it, but it’s safe to say this social media post became the stuff of legends.

Riding a bike while eating an apple

When this jigsaw was just a mere idea, I asked people to contribute their must-have moments to include in the final puzzle. Our social media team, the lads over at @PaddyPower, were absolutely certain that Shola Ameobi riding a bike while eating an apple needed to make it. And who am I to disagree?

Referee thrown to the ground

As football fans, we have games where we wish to throw the referee onto the floor. As managers, no doubt they feel the same at times. But one man, Paolo Di Canio, did exactly that after being sent off while playing against Arsenal in 1998. A truly bizarre moment, and definitely not one that’s been encouraged since.

Football fan takes on a horse

I mean, wow. A grown man thinking he could take on not just a horse, but a police horse, with a bizzy on the back. It’s basically the final boss of horses and this mad bastard thought he could take it on with two hands. Truly, simply, jaw-dropping.

Mascot pays his respects

Here at Paddy Power, you already know we’re very big fans of the football mascot. We even produced a series about it. And Gunnersaurus continually amazes and touches us with his personality and soft touch. Here, he pays respects during a minute’s silence with the rest of the team, leaving us welling up.

Why always me?

Mario Balotelli may have only graced the Premier League for a short amount of time, but the incredible moments he brought us in that period are still memorable now. From zooming around Manchester in a camouflage car – making him not noticeable whatsoever, of course – to adopting a stray cat at City’s training ground. We have to thank him for the entertainment. And what better way than this?

An ‘unbelievable’ red card miss

Just over 10 years ago, Chris Kamara managed to miss a red card during commentary on Portsmouth’s clash with Blackburn. This moment has spurned hundreds of parodies, including most recently on Tik Tok, and has provided football fans with endless hours of entertainment.

KO’d in the kitchen

Honestly, we could’ve done an entire puzzle dedicated to the bizarre mind of Wayne Rooney. In fact, if my bosses are seeing this, you know where I am. This particular moment was him getting banged out in his kitchen by Phil Bardsley. After the fact, he said he was acting, and also mimicked the moment for a goal celebration.

A heartfelt Twitter tribute

Yes, it’s Wazza again. The undisputed King of Football Twitter. We had a hard time picking out which tweet to use, but his heartfelt thoughts around Whitney Houston won out for us. It has everything, from true emotion to a wayward ‘@’ symbol.

Manager reacts to Ireland’s late goal in the 2002 World Cup

Robbie Keane has just scored against Germany in the 2002 World Cup. How do you react, as his manager? Well, exactly how Mick McCarthy did here when his eyes seemed to pop out of his head like a cartoon character. COYBIG, indeed.

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