Former Sheffield United striker, Christian Nade, has revealed the unusual thing Neil Warnock did after defeat in the Premier League.
Warnock signed Nade ahead of the Blades’ return to the top flight in 2006/07. A 21-year-old at the time, the forward had spent his career up until that point in his native France.
Nade arrived in Sheffield without being able to speak any English. He would learn by watching films with subtitles, but Warnock was always a good mentor to him – even when the team lost.
“I love the guy,” Nade told the Talkin Fitbaw podcast. “In France, when you lose a game, nobody will speak on the bus. Everyone is scared.
“He was the one making atmosphere on the bus. The first time we played Tottenham, we’re on the bus on the way back and he said; ‘stop the bus, I will get pizza for everyone!'”
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Neil Warnock was a mentor to Christian Nade
(Photo by Athena Pictures/Getty Images)
Nade only spent one season at Bramall Lane, scoring four goals in 28 appearances before leaving for Hearts. His most famous moment among Blades fans came when the Frenchman scored the winner against Arsenal.
When Warnock left the South Yorkshire club in the summer of 2007, it was hard for Nade to take.
“He wasn’t the best tactically or technically, but he fires you up and as soon as you go on the pitch you just want to fight for the guy,” the 35-year-old continued.
“When he left I was gutted, I was devastated. But the man he is he stayed in touch with me and invited me to his house for lunch.
“We never stopped talking.”
Nade has spent the majority of his career since leaving Bramall Lane in Scotland. Warnock, meanwhile, has since gone onto manage in the Premier League with QPR and most recently, Cardiff City.
