‘I sat Sol Campbell down and instructed him to f-off – buddies thought I used to be useless man strolling’

‘I sat Sol Campbell down and instructed him to f-off – buddies thought I used to be useless man strolling’

Sol Campbell is one of the greatest Premier League centre-backs of a generation but the former Arsenal star was far from invincible as he was knocked down a few pegs by Bobby Zamora

Bobby Zamora on the Under the Cosh podcast
Bobby Zamora has opened up about the time he flattened Sol Campbell during a game(Image: YouTube)

Bobby Zamora was told he was a “dead man walking” after embarrassing Sol Campbell at Highbury.

The former West Ham United striker left one of the greatest Premier League centre-backs of an era on his backside in humiliating fashion during a London derby clash in 2006 as Zamora’s West Ham stunned Arsenal in a 3-2 victory.

Zamora, who turned 44 on Thursday, joined the Irons from Tottenham in 2004 after failing to make the grade at Arsenal’s north London rivals, but he put a smile on every single Spurs fan’s face that night as he latched onto a clipped pass. Zamora chested the ball towards the goal as Campbell attempted to grapple with him, but the two-time England international shrugged him off with ease, leaving the big defender in a pile on the turf.

While Campbell remained on the deck, Zamora whipped a left-footed effort into the far top corner to double the Hammers’ advantage shortly after the half-hour mark.

Speaking previously on the Under The Cosh Podcast, Zamora said his mates thought he was a “dead man walking” because he’d told Campbell to “f*** off” moments after the goal.

Zamora scoring against Arsenal in 2006
Zamora sent Campbell tumbling to the floor before firing the ball into the top corner during West Ham’s trip to Highbury in February 2006(Image: YouTube)

“I managed to stick Sol Campbell on his a**e,” the ex-England striker recalled. “I know a lot of my pals thought I was a dead man walking, the West Ham boys. Before the game, the lads were like, ‘F*** me, Sol’s going to smash you to pieces. He’s going to kick you up in the air’. I was like, cheers boys.

“As it happens, I managed to stick him on the floor, take a touch and whip it into the top corner. So my celebration was, ‘F*** off, Sol’ … but I was just saying it for the boys.”

Zamora put Campbell on the floor a few months later when the defender was playing for Portsmouth too
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Fortunately for Zamora, he avoided a potential post-match dust-up with Campbell as the defender bizarrely went AWOL mid-match after suffering something of an existential crisis. Campbell was at fault for both Zamora’s goal and Nigel Reo-Coker’s opener, and requested he be substituted at half-time.

He then left the stadium and disappeared for a few days, fleeing to Brussels for a cooling off period as the club scrambled to get a hold of him. Campbell eventually returned to action two months later, but quit the Gunners at the end of the season.

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