Harry Redknapp: Pal Joe proved he's a real man

Posted Thursday, February 17, 2011 by The Sun

ONLY a real man can take violent abuse and not react.

Only a real man can keep his fists by his side when he is attacked.

Only a real man refuses to get dragged down, despite being grabbed, pushed and head-butted.

That real man is my mate.

That real man is my first-team coach at White Hart Lane.

That real man is Joe Jordan.

In the face of unbelievable provocation at the San Siro, Joe kept his hands to himself while Gennaro Gattuso had him by the throat.

He did not lose his rag when Gattuso shoved him, he did not go in with fists swinging when Gattuso shocked us all with his head-butt.

Joe took the lot. And now some people are trying to paint him as the villain of the piece, when nothing could be further from the truth.

I have absolutely no idea what sparked Gattuso's rampage.

I simply do not know why a great competitor like him appeared to lose his rag.

I cannot come up with any reason or excuse for his actions. None at all.

Sure, Gattuso was fired up for a real contest. But so were other players who started the game - all of whom were determined to give it everything within the rules of the game.

It all seemed to start when Gattuso started banging the turf, laying flat out pummelling the ground with his fists, and was given a yellow card.

Harry Redknapp: Pal Joe proved he's a real man

Then Gattuso came over to the touchline with the hump, after not getting a free-kick for a foul.

Joe was the nearest one to him. That is when he grabbed Joe and shoved him.

At the end of the game, I honestly thought Gattuso was coming over to apologise.

I thought he wanted to shake Joe's hand.

Gattuso said to me 'Well played, well done. Good luck, good luck'. But then he nutted Joe right out of the blue.

Why, I can hear you asking again? I will tell you again.

I have no idea of what was going through Gattuso's mind at the time.

I have to say that I have met Gattuso before and I thought, at the time, what an absolutely fantastic bloke. A terrific footballer, who appeared very easy to get along with.

He seemed a fantastic character. But on Tuesday night, in front of 80,000 fans at one of the most talked about stadiums in football, he lost it for no apparent reason.

If there is anyone out there who wants a lesson in restraint, they should look at the composure shown by Joe. It was unbelievable.

Gattuso threw a wobbler, head-butted Joe and the response from him was simply to shake his head in amazement at the flashpoint.

Joe is not about to start throwing punches. He is aware of his position at Tottenham and aware of the responsibilities his position carries.

Sure, during his days as a player he gave as good as he got - and why not. He wore the AC Milan shirt during his time in Italy with intense pride, giving everything for the club and their fans. No one wants to stand there and be a pushover, do they?

But I am left shaking my own head wondering what set Gattuso off, what sent him haywire like that.

I have never seen anything like it in all my time in the game.

Here, I will admit that Gattuso was a player I considered signing last summer. Gattuso was offered to Tottenham by an agent. I had even managed him before in a big charity game, when I was in charge of a European All Star XI against the Rest of the World one summer.

Gattuso was fantastic in the dressing room and, because of being his 'manager' on that night against the Rest of the World, I gave it serious thought. But it never quite worked out.

I am not about to start banging on about if or for how long Gattuso should be banned. That is not my job and best left to the officials at UEFA who deal with these things. I am sure they will make the right decision.

But some of my colleagues are questioning whether referee Stephane Lannoy made the right decision on Tuesday in allowing Mathieu Flamini to stay on the pitch after his two-footed tackle on Vedran Corluka.

I also have to say that, despite all the goings-on and controversy, it was a fantastic night to be manager of a Tottenham team who are starting to show they have arrived.

Milan are still very dangerous. No one should think for one minute the job is done and Spurs are in the quarter-finals.

With their firepower, they can take teams apart.

The Italians are in a no-lose situation. Everyone is saying they are already out, so they will come to White Hart Lane to have a real go in the second leg.

It should be a great night.