8 Most Hated Football Teams Of All Time

1. Argentina (1990)

The most hated team of all time. The Argentina of 1990 were a pale shadow of the one that had won the previous tournament. That in itself was worrying as Diego Maradona had carried the team through a lot of their games, leading to claims that the imperious midfielder had won the tournament single-handedly. However, his powers were on the wane four years later, and his champagne lifestyle had left him half-fit for the tournament. Argentina lacked the players to form a Plan A, so they reverted to Plan B from the first to last whistle of the tournament-the most stifling anti-football ever played out on the greatest stage. Argentina started badly, losing to Cameroon in the opener. They instantly entered games on a defensive footing, with ten men behind the ball and hoping for a breakaway through Maradona and Claudio Cannigia. They were absolutely battered by Brazil, Yugoslavia and Italy on route to the final, each time scraping through by a goal or on penalties. The crowds hated them, viewers hated them and the press absolutely laid into them. What depressing, cynical, negative tactics. What a way to end an era with Maradona. What a swizz. The final, against West Germany, was the most boring final I've ever seen. Justice prevailed as West Germany won 1-0 against some of the most cowardly football imaginable. They got everybody behind the ball straight from kick-off, and made it obvious that they were looking for penalties or a lucky breakaway. The team would return to the world stage in 1994 with a renewed energy, and rediscover their attacking verve thereon in, but anyone who sat through their disillusioning tactics during the 1990 World Cup will have had every right to loathe this team.