The Match is a reality TV show on Sky One in which a group of celebrities form a football team to compete against a team of former professional footballers (The Legends). The show begins with a large squad of celebrities who train and live together, all aiming to be selected for "The Match" against the team of legends. The show has also been published in Switzerland in 2006 and 2008 on SF 2.
In Great Britain, three editions of the programme have been made, one in early 2004, one in late 2005 and one in October 2006. The program is hosted by Mark Durden-Smith, Ulrika Jonsson (2004) and Zoë Ball (2005 & 2006). The matches are played at St James' Park, Newcastle. In the Swiss version, the matches were held at Espenmoos in St. Gallen (2006) and at Allmend Stadion in Lucerne (2008).
The show features one of English football's best known managers, Graham Taylor, who manages the celebrity team. Players on the legends team have included Ally McCoist, Matt Le Tissier and John Barnes, among others. Notable members of the celebrities team have included Jonathan Wilkes, Ralf Little, Andy Scott-Lee, Philip Olivier, MC Harvey, Terry Alderton and Darren Campbell.The Match has never been won by the celebrities - losing 2-1 in 2004 and 2-0 in 2005 and 2006. The only goal the celebrities have ever scored was one that many believe to be a fluke by Jonathan Wilkes when his apparent cross looped over the head of 63-year-old goalkeeper Peter Bonetti.
In Switzerland, the Celebrities ("Die Promis") lost 1-6 against the Legends ("Die Legenden") in 2006 and 1-2 in 2008.
Series 3 of The Match was shown during September and October 2006.
| Mark Bosnich | Goalkeeper | Ex- Manchester United F.C. and Chelsea F.C. goalkeeper | |
| Danny Young | Fullback (Right) | Coronation Street | |
| Alec Stewart | Defender (Centre) (Captain) | Former England Cricketer | |
| Thomas Craig | Defender (Centre) | Coronation Street | |
| Ralf Little | Fullback (Left) | Actor | |
| Anthony Hutton | Winger (Right) | Big Brother Series 6 winner | |
| Chris Hollins | Midfielder (Centre) | Sports journalist | |
| Jeff Brazier | Midfielder (Centre) | Television presenter | |
| MC Harvey | Winger (Left) | Musician | |
| Sam Robertson | Striker | Coronation Street | |
| Darren Campbell | Striker | Athlete |
| Andy Goram | Goalkeeper | Rangers, Manchester United | |
| Denis Irwin | Fullback (Right) | Manchester United, Oldham Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
| Colin Hendry | Defender (Centre) | Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Rangers | |
| Des Walker | Defender (centre) | Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Sampdoria | |
| Nigel Winterburn | Fullback (Left) | Arsenal, Wimbledon, West Ham United | |
| Chris Waddle | Winger (Right) (Captain) | Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday, Olympique Marseille, Tottenham Hotspur | |
| David Batty | Midfielder (centre) | Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United | |
| Gary McAllister | Midfielder (centre) | Leeds United, Liverpool, Leicester City, Coventry City | |
| Paul Merson | Winger (Left) | Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth, Walsall | |
| Ian Rush | Striker | Chester City, Liverpool, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United | |
| Peter Beardsley | Striker | Liverpool, Newcastle United, Everton, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham |
The Celebrities started the match on top and, for the first 15 minutes, had the vast majority of possession and goal chances. However, when Ian Rush scored for the Legends (a goal typical of his predatory style during his playing career) on 17 minutes, the game turned in the favour of the ex-professionals. For the remainder of the match the Legends used their superior passing ability and vision to keep hold of the ball and keep the Celebrities chances to a bare minimum. The commentary team even mentioned that it had become the most one-sided match in the short history of this fixture.
Celebrity winger MC Harvey was sent off late in the game for a second bookable offence. Upon leaving the field he had a row with goalkeeping coach Tony Coton which sparked aggression between many players and staff of both teams. This explosive reaction from Harvey seemed to amuse some of the Legends players, such as Paul Gascoigne who was seen laughing and making hand gestures.
| Year | Winner | Scorers | Runner-up | Scorers | Score | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Legends | Gary Pallister (45) Ally McCoist (90 + 4) | Celebrities | Jonathan Wilkes (85) | 2 - 1 | St James' Park | 52,000 | |
| 2005 | Legends | Nigel Winterburn (5) Ally McCoist (67) | Celebrities | - | 2 - 0 | St James' Park | 52,000 | |
| 2006 | Legends | Ian Rush (17) Chris Waddle (57) | Celebrities | - | 2 - 0 | St James' Park | 52,000 |