If there was one man we weren't expecting to pop up on CBS Sports' coverage of the Champions League on Wednesday night, it was former Ireland midfielder Glenn Whelan.
The CBS coverage of the Champions League has become some of the best football TV out there. Not only do the standard three-man team of Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards give excellent insight into what it takes to make it at the top of the game, but they also inject brilliant comedy and entertainment into their punditry.
Occasional special guests such as Clint Dempsey and Alessandro del Piero have dropped in during previous seasons but, for the most part, we look forward to catching the famed CBS trio and their excellent chemistry with host Kate Abdo in social clips following the midweek Champions League action.
This week saw the crew reacting to the final gameweek of Champions League action and, on Wednesday, they analysed the 3-2 win picked up by a young Manchester City side against Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade.
Two City youngsters scored their first ever goals for the side in Wednesday's victory, including Richards' namesake Micah Hamilton. In their analysis after full-time, the team used an incident involving Hamilton to poke fun at Richards - and unintentionally drew Glenn Whelan into their hilarious Champions League antics.
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Jon Walters points out Glenn Whelan presence in viral Micah Richards clip
Jamie Carragher was full of praise for Micah Hamilton after his display for Manchester City in Belgrade - but was not a fan of an apparent dive from the 20-year-old winger in the Crvena Zvezda penalty area.
Carragher compared the dive with a hilarious clip from Micah Richards' Aston Villa days, where he took a simply sensational dive under a nothing tackle from Irishman Glenn Whelan.
From one Micah to another.@carra23 has warned @micahhamilton07 not to follow in @micahrichards' footsteps. 😂 pic.twitter.com/AYryT8brca
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 13, 2023
The position which Richards ends up in in mid-air is just outrageous, and the panel went in on the former Aston Villa and Manchester City right-back for his antics.
How does a footballer end up in this position?
Of course, one of the funnier aspects of this clip to Irish audiences was that the tackle came from Glenn Whelan. An innocuous challenge, it was brilliant to see the CBS panel having a laugh at the expense of Richards' dive - and one of Whelan's former Ireland teammates would pick up on his presence in the clip on Thursday morning.
Jon Walters took to Twitter to share a shortened version of the clip, joking that "big guy" Richards would need to take to the gym to handle the strength of Whelan.
When Big Meeks came to Stoke and met @Glenn6Whelo
9.5/10 🏊🏾
Get back in that gym big guy 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/bRHZgOAQdS— Jonathan Walters (@JonWalters19) December 14, 2023
Nobody messes with Glenn Whelan. Not even Micah "burst on the scene" Richards.
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