Remembering Gattuso and Jordan's Champions League Clash at San Siro: AC Milan vs Tottenham

Peter Crouch was not ready to respond to the Milan midfielder's late lunges and provocations, with Rafael van de Vaart and Steven Pienaar too funny or surprised to respond to his antics, with the officials seemingly unwilling to keep up.

Yet in Tottenham's technical area stood Scott, square jaw, shaved-headed, with burning eyes and dentures. After almost half a century in football, Joe Jordan refused to retire and did not intend to start.

Tottenham's historic win over Serie A leaders AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie was 12 years ago. The most memorable night was a clash between a wild-eyed, hairy 33-year-old and an opposing coach in his early 60s.

Bale's heroics denied Gattuso and Jordan a key role in Tottenham's first Champions League campaign at San Siro.

Goals and skill remain the main draw of football, but despite what the commentators on the diamond may tell you, the brawl on the pitch has its own charm as the spectacle forces you out of your chair and closer to the TV screen.

What made the San Siro even more impressive was his 90-minute performance, the poster boy at the time, against an aging pro who was once Milan's toughest man. full-time and

Sitting in the Sky Studios at San Siro on game night, Graeme Souness, who knows a thing or two about sticking to the football pitch, said Gattuso "didn't do his homework" when it came to business. Jordan.

If he did, he would read about a man who grew up in a pit village in Italian Lanarkshire and learned to play on a local football pitch called the Cornfield. He will study players educated in the toughest dressing room at Leeds United in the 1970s, with the likes of Billy Bremner and Norman Hunter. Also, in 2007, The Times ranked Scott as the 34th toughest man in football history.

Closer to home for Gattuso, Jordan was among the 110 players who played for the club in the two years before the game against Spurs.

In fact, Italians only have to look at the image search Google has to offer; Jordan earned it early in his playing days by sticking a concussion in goaltending as a backup. He was 'Jaws' for most of his 11-year playing career in England. In Italy, it is called 'Lo Squalo' (The Shark).

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