Francesco Totti’s final season is off to a less than ideal start. Porto beat Roma 4-1 on aggregate in Champions League qualifying and Totti didn’t make it off the bench in either leg of the tie. During the final minutes of the second leg, with Roma down to nine men after red cards to Daniele De Rossi and Emerson in the first hour of play, Totti’s displeasure with his status as an unused substitute was evident as he stopped warming up and leaned on corner flag, staring daggers at the pitch.
Silver Lining pic.twitter.com/6heolZvV4G
— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) August 22, 2016
In the midst of yet another injury layoff, Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey tweeted the above photo, providing further evidence that his barber absolutely hates him with every fiber of their being.
This abomination follows his skunk ‘do during the Euros earlier this summer…
Gervinho now plays for Hebei China Fortune and he’s making his mark there — namely on the crotches of his opponents. With his side down 1-0 in the 82nd minute, Gervinho had the ball taken off him and then tried to get it back by stomping on the genitals of his downed opponent. His tactic worked, but it also get him sent off. His team went on to lose.
But hey, now he knows you can’t do that in the Chinese Super League, either.
This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.
In the immediate aftermath of Neymar/Brazil beating Germany on penalties in the men’s Olympic final, Robert Bauer held up seven fingers as he walked off the pitch in reference to Germany’s 7-1 win against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. Naturally, the Brazilian crowd did not appreciate this reminder of the national shame that their first ever Olympic gold in football can’t make up for, but it wasn’t Germany’s only reference to it, either.
Given Brazil’s many footballing embarrassments in recent years, they really, really needed to win their first ever Olympic gold in the sport at the Olympics they are hosting. Neymar was held out of the Copa America Centenario earlier this summer just so he could be fresh for the Olympics and right about now that decision is looking like a good one.
Toulouse fans have taken a liking to manager Pascal Dupraz and to illustrate this, they created a special Tinder themed Tifo for the Ligue 1 match against Bordeaux that features his image within the app and the words “It’s a match!”
Premier League tickets aren’t cheap, so when you want to witness Pep Guardiola’s first visit to Stoke, sometimes the best option is to climb a tree. That’s what one man did outside the Bet365 Stadium and his effort was rewarded by two early goals from Kun Aguero to give Man City a 2-0 first-half lead.
One might expect a player who has been frozen out and told to find a new club by his employer would retreat into the shadows of social media, but Bastian Schweinsteiger is doing the exact opposite. And it’s becoming uncomfortable for everyone.
WATCH: @paulpogba impersonates @Ibra_official in his interview with @ThierryHenry: https://t.co/AmEPDn0OFk https://t.co/VCVYTg7gCS
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) August 19, 2016
When two superstars with giant personalities are brought together in a new team, there are always concerns about how they will get along both on and off the pitch. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba have been quick to dispel these concerns at Man United, though. And they’ve already established themselves as football’s greatest comedy team.
With the Premier League expanding to Friday nights this season at the behest of Sky Sports and their £4.2 billion investment, further strain is being put on match-going fans in order to cater to the more lucrative home audience.
On the surface, this makes sense as a business decision. Optimizing the Premier League’s product for the TV money hose that’s funding an influx of talent and international business interest is a logical thing to do. But, as the Guardian points out, this addition of Friday fixtures adds to a growing list of challenges for match-going supporters.
