Tag: Dirty Tackle

Petr Cech serves as a ball boy at Wimbledon after Euro 2016 elimination

The Czech Republic didn’t make it out of the group stage at Euro 2016, so Petr Cech decided to occupy his time by acting as a ball boy at Wimbledon because why not? Cech helped out friend and countryman Radek Stepanek as he practiced ahead of his opening round match against Nick Kyrgios and given the Arsenal goalkeeper’s profession, you can be sure he didn’t let a single ball get by him.

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DT Exclusive: Pep Guardiola’s attempt to boost Raheem Sterling’s damaged confidence

A pair of underwhelming performances to start Euro 2016 earned Raheem Sterling a place on the bench and an excessive amount of criticism both from the press and social media. This has left the 21-year-old Man City player suffering a crisis of confidence. According to the Guardian, incoming City manager Pep Guardiola made a point to call Sterling in an effort to lift his spirits and reassure him in the midst of a difficult period. The following is a transcript of that conversation. 

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Unhinged Eric Cantona shouts about Will Grigg, condoms, and Brexit

Eurosport has given Eric Cantona the platform to claim the title of “unofficial commissioner of football” and he is using this opportunity to rant about Euro 2016 in varying states of undress. In this video, Cantona expressing his Xavi-like displeasure with the state of the pitches in France, sings Northern Ireland stadium banger “Will Grigg’s On Fire,” and considers the possibility that Mario Götze is his illegitimate son.

It’s proof that we need Cantona to be the next FIFA president.

Albania players get cash bonus, diplomatic passports for Euro 2016 showing

Albania just missed out on reaching the knockout stage of Euro 2016 in their first appearance at the competition as one of just two third-place teams to be eliminated. Their win over Romania with their only goal of the tournament ensured that they went out on a positive note and it also helped them secure some fabulous parting gifts from their own government.

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Cristiano Ronaldo throws reporter’s microphone into a lake

The first two Euro 2016 group-stage matches plumbed new depths of misery for Cristiano Ronaldo, so going into Portugal’s suddenly important third match against Hungary, the goalless star wasn’t in the best of moods. So when a CMTV reporter approached him and simply asked “Are you ready for the match?” while the team was on a lovely stroll through Lyon ahead of the match, Cristiano grabbed his microphone and chucked it into a nearby lake.

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DTotD: Ezequiel Lavezzi tackled by advertising board, breaks elbow

It turned out the pitchside advertisements put up more of a fight against Argentina than the U.S. did in their Copa America semifinal. Ezequiel Lavezzi, who opened the scoring in Argentina’s 4-0 win with a 3rd-minute goal, fell backwards over the pitchside board in the second half and broke his elbow.

The injury will prevent Lavezzi, who scored twice in the tournament, from playing in the final.

The advertisement went unpunished. It had just as many shots on goal as the U.S.

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