England defender Jonathan Woodgate was voted the worst
signing of the 21st century by readers of www.marca.com, the Web
site for Spain's biggest selling sports daily.
The 27-year-old was the runaway winner polling 37.11 percent of the
votes cast on their Web page, the newspaper said.
Real Madrid signed "Woody" from Newcastle United for around $25
million in August 2004 but because of a thigh injury he did not
make his debut until September 2005.
His first official game turned into a nightmare when he scored an
own goal and was sent off in the league match against Athletic
Bilbao at the Bernabeu.
Woodgate was put out on loan to Premier League Middlesbrough in
August 2006 and the move became permanent for a fee of $14 million
earlier this year.
He made only 14 competitive appearances for Real Madrid.
