New coach's awkward post-match interview steals thunder of national team's 8-0 win

AMMAN — Although Jordan stunned Bangladesh 8-0 in World Cup qualifiers on Thursday, a post-match interview of Jordan's new head coach Harry Redknapp took centre stage among fans and international media outlets over the past weekend. 

National team fans and football analysts were excited to see the new style Redknapp would bring on his debut match, but the interview with Jordan Television took over the spotlight, with many describing it as "the most hilarious interview in the history of football".

After the end of the match, the coach was on his way to leave the pitch when Jordan TV correspondent Mohammad Qadri Hassan stopped him for an interview.

Qadri was seen struggling to speak with Redknapp in English, nudging the coach to force him to look at the camera. 

Many sports websites and media outlets ran stories of the interview.

British tabloid The Mirror ran a story headlined: "Harry Redknapp's ridiculous debut as Jordan boss features most awkward post-match interview ever".

While Eurosport published a story with the headline: "Harry Redknapp gives awkward interview after Jordan’s 8-0 win over Bangladesh." 

"Harry Redknapp’s first game as manager of Jordan ended in style after his side beat Bangladesh 8-0 in an Asian World Cup qualifier. But unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for his post-match interview," Eurosport reported. 

The Independent football section shared the story on Facebook with the comment "Lost in Translation". 

"Redknapp doesn't speak Arabic and the reporter clearly doesn't speak very good English. What transpires is an interview full of confusion, [with] Redknapp… accidentally turning his back to the camera," The Independent said.

The Daily Mail also wrote about the interview, with a story headlined "Harry Redknapp gets roped into awkward interview after making debut as Jordan manager in 8-0 stroll against Bangladesh".

"The former QPR manager was caught unaware at the end of the game by the mumbling reporter who struggled to get Redknapp to face the camera, while losing some of his odd questions in translation," the British daily reported.

The Telegraph said the British coach needed "all of his 30-plus years of management experience" to deal with the interview. 

"It's not unfair to infer from this amicable but strained exchange that Redknapp and the journalist have problems understanding one another," the daily said.

"The pair's consummate professionalism was most in evidence when, with Redknapp mid-sentence, they seamlessly negotiated a 180-degree spin — so that they would actually be facing the television camera." 

The video of the interview also went viral on social media.

Marwan Alassaf (@marwanalassaf) shared the video on Twitter, writing in Arabic that it should be nominated for an Oscar.

Omar Shaaban also shared the video on Facebook, with the comment "Poor Redknapp".  

Mohammad S Habarnah wrote jokingly on Facebook that it was "the coach's fault; he does not know Arabic".