Tag: Dirty Tackle

Arturo Vidal tearfully apologizes to “all of Chile” after arrest for drunkenly crashing his Ferrari

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal, who scored twice in Monday’s 3-3 draw with Mexico, spent his Copa America night off in a hospital with minor injuries after crashing his red Ferrari and getting arrested on drunk driving charges. This was a tremendous disappointment to the tournament’s host nation, especially since Vidal OWNS A LIMOUSINE SERVICE.

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Clint Dempsey sent off after tossing and tearing up the ref’s book during crazy US Open Cup match

Fierce rivals Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers met in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup and the resulting match surpassed anything anyone could have dreamed up. Read more

Rafael van der Vaart brought his grandmother to his Real Betis unveiling

(AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti)
(AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti)

Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart has signed a three-year deal with newly promoted Real Betis, bringing him back to La Liga after leaving Real Madrid in 2010. Van der Vaart chose to join Betis because his mother’s family is from the area (his mother Spanish and his father is Dutch)…and because his second stint at HSV was rather poor.

So to honor his local heritage, Van der Vaart brought his family with him to his unveiling and his grandmother took a special place on the bench.

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DTotD: Argentine player knocks out referee with one punch after getting booked

Today in massive overreactions, we have the case of Alejandro Roncaglia, brother of Argentina national team defender Facundo Roncaglia. But while Facundo is representing his country at Copa America, Alejandro is playing in a regional league and taking out his aggression on match officials.

Roncaglia was shown a yellow card and responded by throwing a haymaker that caught the ref square in the jaw, knocking him out cold.

According to Clarin, the referee was taken to a hospital and has no memory of what happened. He did say that Roncaglia’s parents apologized for their son’s awful behavior, though. It’s just a shame they couldn’t teach their kid to use his words, too.

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events. 

Video via Brasil Mundial FC 

Places where Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish can sleep in Tenerife that are better than the middle of the street

Jack Grealish, Aston Villa’s talented 19-year-old midfielder and background actor in the period drama Peaky Blinders, was photographed sleeping in the middle of a street while on holiday in Tenerife, Spain.

On the one hand, his willingness to experience the plight of the less fortunate and sleep rough is refreshing in an age of pampered footballers who make racist sex tapes. It shows character. But on the other, it’s also very sad. As a Premier League player, he can afford much better accommodations and shouldn’t be ashamed of that.

Villa have acknowledged the photographs and said they will meet privately with Grealish, presumably to inform him of the more enjoyable options he has at his disposal when traveling abroad.

These are some of the Tenerife choices the club might tell him about…

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DTotD: Ecuador defender provides first face kick of Copa America 2015

It was only a matter of time before it happened and on matchday five, it finally did. Copa America 2015’s first face kick came in Bolivia’s surprising upset against Ecuador. Naturally, the moment occurred once the frustration of falling behind 2-0 within the firs 20 minutes of the match and then missing a penalty in the 38th minute (Enner Valencia) set in.

Frickson Erazo attempted a kung-fu overhead clearance, but connected with Damian Lizio’s forehead in addition to the ball, earning himself a yellow card and gifting Bolivia with a penalty that would put them up 3-0 before halftime.

Ecuador went on to score twice in the second half, but lost 3-2 to allow overlooked Bolivia to take the lead in Group A (at least momentarily).

This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events. 

Jack Wilshere’s stunner against Slovenia and the greatest England goals ever

Jack Wilshere scored two exceptional goals during England’s 3-2 win against Slovenia in Euro qualifiers. His second was the best of the bunch though, and it earned high praise from Match of the Day’s Gary Lineker, illustrating the widespread tendency to confuse the latest great goal for the greatest.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic hypnotizes children, Montenegro defense

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How would you look if a mythical creature appeared before you, bathing you in a majestic light and revealing all that is good to you? Eight-year-old Melwin Löwdahl and 10-year-old Frank Johansson Czarnecki discovered the answer to this question when they came face to face with Zlatan Ibrahimovic before Sweden’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Montenegro.

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