Top 10 disastrous debuts in football history: Caicedo, Woodgate & Messi

You only get one chance to make a first impression in football, but former Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid stars made debuts that were memorable for all the wrong reasons.

In any workplace, your first day is a case of getting your head down, doing your job and trying not to f*ck things up. Alas, that's often easier said than done considering the pratfalls that this lot fell into.

We've trawled through the archives to bring you 13 of the worst debut performances in football history.

Moises Caicedo

Chelsea broke the British transfer record to sign Caicedo for £115million after a comedy bidding war with Liverpool, creating a million memes and allowing their supporters a period of glorious gloating.

Any sense of satisfaction instantly diminished after the Ecuadorian's debut at West Ham; appearing as a late substitute, Caicedo was miles off the pace, made numerous mistakes and conceded the penalty that confirmed Chelsea's 3-1 defeat.

The only way is up. Right?

Jonathan Woodgate

He’d played fewer than half of Newcastle’s Premier League games in 2003-04 and had just missed the European Championships with a torn thigh muscle, but still, given he passed a medical, it must have come as one hell of a surprise to Los Blancos that he was not fit to make his debut until September 22, 2005.

He hadn’t played for 17 months but was thrown in from the start against Athletic Bilbao, four games into the La Liga season, as Vanderlei Luxemburgo changed both of his centre-halves after back-to-back defeats.

Undoubtedly eager to impress on his return to football and introduction to Madrid, Woodgate must have dreamed of finding the net on his debut, and that’s exactly what he did after just 25 minutes.

It was a beauty, too, a diving header from about 15 yards out. The only problem was, it was at the wrong end.

To make matters worse, it was clear watching it back that Joseba Etxeberria’s initial shot was almost certainly flying well past the far post before Woodgate threw himself at it and left Iker Casillas wrongfooted.

It was a sign of his bravery, perhaps, but it was stupid.

No doubt by now doubly determined to prove his worth to the understandably sceptical Madrid fans, Woodgate almost got on the end of a David Beckham cross within a minute of his own goal but then let his enthusiasm get the better of him again on the stroke of half-time when he was booked for diving in on Carlos Gerpegui.

Still, Real would surely turn things around. All Woodgate had to do was keep his cool.

Sure enough, Robinho equalised eight minutes into the second half and then Raúl put Real ahead on 65. Woodgate had got away with it; they’d surely win from here and all would be forgotten.

Within a minute, he’d been sent off. And Etxeberria was his tormentor again. When the Athletic winger knocked the ball past Woodgate on the halfway line, he really should have let him go. He was on a yellow card. Etxeberria had miles to go. There was cover.

But Woody just couldn’t resist. He got his body in the way, blocked his run, and that was that. He’d waited 13 months to make his debut for Real Madrid; 66 minutes in, he must have left the pitch wishing he’d waited a little longer.

Lionel Messi

Arguably the greatest footballer of all time, Messi was sensational as he led Argentina to glory at the 2022 World Cup – but his international debut was one to forget.

The forward was given his first call-up for a friendly against Hungary by manager Jose Pekerman, coming off the bench in the 63rd minute.

However, rather than impress as a substitute, Messi was instead sent off just two minutes after entering the field after a foul on Hungary's Vilmos Vanczak.

Messi was reportedly found in tears in the changing room after being sent his marching orders, but we're betting it doesn't keep him up at night these days.

Wayne Bridge

Deep in relegation trouble at the start of 2011, West Ham turned to the experience of Wayne Bridge to stabilise their defence and kickstart their march to safety.

Fat chance; the England defender endured a terrible time as he looked well off the pace and was at fault for the first two goals that Arsenal scored.

If that alone wasn’t bad enough, he also gave away a late penalty that helped Arsenal secure a 3-0 win. West Ham were relegated in bottom place.

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva is one of Chelsea's best signings of the modern era, but his bow in English football was extremely inauspicious.

Away at newly-promoted West Brom, the Brazil international lost possession in his own half and allowed Callum Robinson to score the second of the Baggies' three first-half efforts.

He also failed to make a single tackle and was dribbled past twice. But goals from Mason Mount, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham in the second-half bailed the veteran defender out and he's barely looked back since.

Patrice Evra

Evra joined United in January 2006 and went on to enjoy a superb career at Old Trafford, winning 14 trophies – including five Premier League titles and the Champions League – and played 379 times for the Red Devils.

Which all seemed unlikely after being hooked at half-time on his United debut, following 45 minutes of getting the run around by Trevor Sinclair as Sir Alex Ferguson's side lost to Manchester City.

“After the first five minutes I played against Trevor Sinclair,” Evra said in 2022. “I was cut here [on the head] I remember I was against the post and you know when you're talking to yourself, I was like 'what the hell am I doing here?'

“The football was so fast, so strong. I was chilling in Monte Carlo – I was named the best left-back four times. I was thinking I'd made it, that I was a big player. Then at half-time, that's the first time I was introduced to the hairdryer by Sir Alex Ferguson.

“He destroyed everyone and he came to me and said, 'You're going to sit next to me and you're going to learn English football'. I've played for the French national team, I've been in the final of the Champions League – and on my first game I've been subbed after 45 minutes.”

Joe Cole

Cole's red card on his Liverpool debut against Arsenal in 2010 was probably the highlight of his spell at Anfield – neither Cole nor the Reds supporters particularly warmed to each other and he remains one of the club's most underwhelming signings.

Gervinho

When Arsenal signed Gervinho from Lille in 2011, after being linked with his then team-mate Eden Hazard for most of the window, their fans were hopeful that the winger would be almost as good as the Belgium forward.

It was an illusion that lasted just one match after Gervinho was sent-off for slapping Joey Barton in a goalless draw at Newcastle. In fairness, few would begrudge him for landing one on Barton's chops.

Saul Niguez

Although he'd fallen out of favour under Diego Simeone, Saul was still considered one of Europe's most talented midfielders when he joined Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid in 2021.

But he was completely overrun by John McGinn and the Aston Villa midfield on his debut, while two stray passes almost led to Ollie Watkins finding the back of the net.

Saul was hooked at half-time and started just four more league games during his season-long loan move.

Rio Ferdinand

Leeds set a new British transfer record and made Ferdinand the world's most expensive defender upon his £18million move to Elland Road from West Ham in 2000.

But his club bow was a chastening one. After David O'Leary rejigged his Leeds defence to accommodate their new signing, mid-table Leicester raced into a three-goal lead within 28 minutes.

Conceding goals to Robbie Savage, Ade Akinbiyi, and Gerry Taggart wasn't in the script. Leeds would miss out on Champions League qualification that season, starting their doom spiral to League One.