Gary Lineker has hosted Match of the Day for 26 years, and one show may be remembered more than most.
Lineker will step down as the programme’s presenter at the end of the season, having sparked much amusement on one particular episode in 2016.
Back then, Lineker vowed that he would present Match of the Day in his pants if Leicester City won the Premier League, so small did he believe their chances were of actually succeeding.
A show to remember
Leicester were given a 5,000/1 shot by some bookmakers of winning the league at the start of that campaign, having narrowly avoided relegation during the previous season.
Lineker is a lifelong Leicester fan, having grown up supporting the club before starting his playing career at Filbert Street, and still wasn’t convinced that they would continue their strong start to the 2015-16 season and go on to lift the trophy.
Remarkably though, that’s exactly what Claudio Ranieri’s men did, making them arguably the most surprising champions in English football history.
That meant Lineker had to do what he’d promised – on the opening day of the next season, he did indeed present Match of the Day in his underwear.
Asked for a standout moment of his 26 years as Match of the Day host, during an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo, one show inevitably sprung to mind for Lineker.
“Yeah, the one in the pants – thankfully it didn’t stand out!” he quips mischievously.
“That was the most surreal thing I’ve done on Match of the Day because they said, ‘Right, we’ll do the opening of the show stood up’. That doesn’t normally happen, but it would have looked odd opening that show at the desk.
“As I was delivering the first line, I was trying to keep a straight face and do it normally, but all I could see in my peripheral vision was four shoulders going up and down, of Alan Shearer and Ian Wright giggling. It was a laugh, I don’t regret promising to do it. It was fun.”
