Canada coach John Herdman was once hauled up before a Spanish judge after a joke about carrying a bomb onto a passenger jet backfired spectacularly.
County Durham-born Herdman, 47, was a teenager when he boarded a flight from Newcastle to Malaga in 1993 and caused a panic by telling the pilot shortly after take-off that he was carrying an explosive device and wanted to be taken to Beirut.
The pilot radioed Britannia Airways to ask for advice and was told to continue to his destination. Herdman, who was 17 at the time, was escorted off the plane by Spanish police and searched.
He was released after convincing a court that it was a joke that had gone wrong and that he had only been trying to “break the ice” with the pilot.
A spokesman for the Guardia Civil police said at the time: “He was arrested when the plane landed. He was searched for bombs and weapons but nothing was found and he was later released.”
Herdman, who has guided Canada to their first World Cup since 1986, has spoken candidly about a troubled childhood growing up in the north-east town of Consett.
His father suffered mental problems after losing his job when the local steelworks closed down and his mother had issues with alcohol. But he discovered a passion for coaching when he was a university student and joined Sunderland’s youth academy.
Herdman then had success coaching New Zealand’s women’s team guiding Canada’s women’s team win successive bronze medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and then in Rio four years later.
He became coach of the Maple Leaf’s men’s team in January 2020. Herdman became the first manager to successfully lead both the men’s and women’s team to World Cup qualification. Canada kick-off their tournament against Belgium on Wednesday and also face Croatia and Morocco in the group stages.
