Zlatan Ibrahimovic burnt the PR playbook and shamelessly lit up the world. Sir Alex Ferguson exercised his genius and iron will to build an empire in his image. And Roy Keane had the gall to disregard the most powerful authority to defend his honour.

Unconventional Football Legends

Sport

Undefined

Homage recognises sport's unique unconventionals - the mavericks, the volatile, larger than life characters, as well as the extraordinary rivalries and the true adversaries, those whose battles hold significance in the annals of sporting history.

Homage

Series 1

Homage recognises sport's larger than life mavericks and extraordinary rivalries.

There has been no rivalry greater than the thrilling trilogy of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Although there was the infamous encounter between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. And what about the clash of Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao?

Boxing Rivalries

We honour two of the wildest men to step onto a football pitch - Diego Maradona, Argentina's little god, worshipped in spite of his disrespect for the rules, and Eric Cantona, the fiery Frenchman who crossed the Channel to claim England.

Maradona and Cantona

El Clasico, the rivalry of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. From the history that seeded the animosity, namely the bloody Spanish Civil War, to the great head-to-heads of the modern era, and the superstars that have contributed to the drama.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid

Few in basketball have been more unconventional than Dennis Rodman. We also tip the hat to the big man with the bigger personality, Shaquille O'Neal. And to a maverick keeping the torch burning, Russell Westbrook.

NBA Personalities

We pay tribute to two of the oldest and nastiest rivalries in football - the North West Derby between Manchester United and Liverpool, and Scotland's grudge match between Celtic and Rangers.

Football Rivalries

Our hat goes off to the hard living, and the hard to deal with. That's the game's greatest party boy, George Best, the talented and turbulent Paul Gascoigne, and the unmanageable, yet somehow forgivable Mario Balotelli.

Football's Party Boys

We're celebrating some of the charmers of the world game - from the bombastic, fantastic super manager Jose Mourinho, to Brazilian grinning magician Ronaldinho, to Italy's former playmaker and football's coolest customer Andrea Pirlo.

Charming Footballers

We hail a boxer who gladly captured the sport's attention over two decades, the all-conquering, all-spending Floyd Mayweather Jr. We also give a shoutout to Manchester's giant Gypsy King, Tyson Fury.

Boxing Personalities

We pay homage to some of the wild men and machines of motor racing! Like the sport's naughtiest cult hero, James Hunt, its original tough guy Niki Lauda, and the refreshingly icy Kimi Raikkonen. Charismatic constructor Ferrari also gets a nod.

Formula One Personalities

We're dabbling with the dark side of football and paying homage to the bullish Sergio Ramos, and original hard man Vinnie Jones. For light relief we also salute management's charismatic master of the personal touch Jurgen Klopp.

Football Personalities

John McEnroe was the king of the tennis tantrum while Andre Agassi was the rebel who brought a new style to the court. Novak Djokovic played out the highs and lows of his tennis career in the public eye.

Tennis Personalities

We celebrate three football mavericks - Catalan diehard and shameless firestarter Gerard Pique, the ever evolving Rio Ferdinand, and the obnoxiously successful Cristiano Ronaldo.

Arrogant Footballers

Usain Bolt lit up the track and more, while Cam Newton brought his own sense of style to the game of American football. Babe Ruth did things he own unique way, making baseball cool again.

Unconventional Sporting Legends

We honour three very unique boxing athletes - the greatest rebel with a cause Muhammad Ali, the man who fell from grace only to climb back up Roberto Duran, and a guy who proved he was special, Tony Bellew.

Unique Athletes

Antonio Conte has played and led football teams in his own passionate way. Paolo Maldini had a glorious football career. Gianluigi Buffon was not afraid to speak his mind. We pay tribute to three Italian icons of football.

Italian Football Icons

David Beckham broke onto the scene with the Class of 1992 and changed the world of football forever. John Terry served Chelsea for decades, and Kevin Prince-Boateng's mid game walk-off after racist chants led to a life changing role.

Unconventional Footballers

We pay tribute to three very dramatic individuals in football's story. That's Brazilian phenom Ronaldo, the ever controversial Argntine Carlos Tevez, and British bad boy Joey Barton.

Dramatic Footballers

Conor McGregor is a man with a motor mouth, full pockets and a mean punch. Ronda Rousey also shot her mouth off to be a part of the UFC, going on to make history. We pay tribute to two people who changed the sport of MMA with their talent forever.

MMA Game-Changers

Iconic football rivalries - Argentina's biggest clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate, and two derbies that are more like bickering cousins, Inter Milan and AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, and Liverpool vs Everton in the Merseyside Derby.

Argentina's Football Rivalries

Three classic tennis rivalries - the biggest stars in the modern age, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and the foes who became friends, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. We also honour the intense rivalry between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.

Tennis Rivalries

The great international rivalries of football - Brazil vs Argentina, a war that can be traced to real-life battlefields that is Germany vs The Netherlands, and the original cross-border grudge match, England vs Scotland.

International Football Rivalries

We pay homage to the rivalries at Arsenal - Arsene Wenger's feud with Jose Mourinho, Patrick Vieira's gripe with Manchester United hard man Roy Keane, the clashes with Tottenham in the North London Derby, and Arsenal fans' beef with their owner.

Arsenal Rivalries

We pay homage to the David and Goliath battle of America and New Zealand in the America's Cup yacht race, the long and passionate rivalry of India and Pakistan in cricket, and the tribal frenzy that is America vs Europe in the Ryder Cup.

America's Cup

City vs city football rivalries - Borussia Dortmund's challenge of giant Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan's epic feud, working class Marseille's battles with the uber wealthy Paris Saint Germain, and in the Netherlands it's Ajax vs Feyenoord.

City vs City Rivalries

Michael Jordan made the NBA what it is today. Kevin Durant had to deal with the everlasting criticism towards him for leaving his debut team for the Golden State Warriors, but he's still winning. Allen Iverson changed the dress code.

Unconventional Basketball Legends

Neymar always finds a way to stay relevant, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brings his superhero swagger to every team he plays for. Jamie Vardy was a little guy with a big dream, which he fulfilled.

Neymar and Vardy

Tiger Woods achieved an unbelievable golfing comeback feat at 43 years old. Big wave surfer Maya Gaberia faced her fears head on. Joe Maddon broke the Chicago Cubs curse to bring home a World Series.

Woods and Maddon

It was a long road but Luis Suarez finally settled down in Spain to play in his wife's homeland. Manager Sean Dyche became the king of the underdogs, and Mesut Ozil made a bold choice when standing up for his beliefs.

Suarez and Ozil

Harry Redknapp defended his name until the very end. George Weah went from a leader on the football field to his nations leader. Hope Solo doesn't hold back from an opinion and Eusebio lit up the football field.

Redknapp and Solo

Boris Becker worked hard and played even harder. As Andy Murray prepared to retire it's obvious he played the media game like none other. Billie Jean King took on more than most could handle.

Unconventional Tennis Legends

Even after he departed the Premier League, Wayne Rooney was left to defend his reputation. Carles Puyol managed to build a lasting career on his image after his playing days ended. Alfredo Di Stefano's transfer to Real Madrid caused a huge stir.

Rooney and Puyol

We honour the wild and mysterious figures of boxing - London's former fighting pride David Haye, America's new heavyweight hope Deontay Wilder, the charismatic Cobra Carl Froch, and Hollywood's genuine hard man Mickey Rourke.

Unconventional Combat Athletes

Memphis Depay revelled in the fame game and Paul Breitner was one of the original rebels of the sport - something Nicklas Bendtner became pretty good at too. Finally, Romario was a man who worked hard, and played even harder.

Romario and Breitner

Zinedine Zidane's inner fire produced some of the greatest moments in France's history, Luis Figo committed the ultimate Spanish treachery, Frank Lampard smartened up after being a laddish youth, and Gary Neville was the mouthpiece from a great era.

Zidane and Figo

Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger battled it out in the Premier League, and Franz Beckenbauer and Joyan Cruyff became unlikely foes. Mexico and the United States of America's face-offs have provided plenty to talk about.

Ferguson and Wenger

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin battle it out for first and second place on the track. The rivalry between Australia and New Zealand's rugby teams. John John Florence and Gabriel Medina vie for surfing's top honour.

Australia and New Zealand

We pay homage to football's great rivalries, starting with the World Derby between Brazil and Italy, then on to Portugal with Sporting and Benfica, and finally some of the club and interpersonal feuds at Premier League side Chelsea.

World Derby

We salute the greatest head-to-heads of Formula One, like Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and, above all, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. We also honour the historic and grandiose rivalry between Mercedes and Ferrari.

Formula One Rivalries

We salute the great football rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. We then shift to the bitter clashes between Roma and Lazio. Finally, it's South Korea's feud with Japan, which goes way beyond football.

Homage

Unconventional Football Legends

More like this...

The Immortals

Dream Teams

The Short List