Y ahora todo el equipo pic.twitter.com/GFuZH4iL6O
— C.D. Palencia (@CDPalencia) May 12, 2016
CD Palencia, who play in the Spanish fourth division, are continuing the local tradition for bizarre kit designs with one that doubles as a human anatomy lesson. Both the shirt and shorts duplicate the muscle structure of the human body, making the wearer look like some kind of skinless freak — a disturbing sight that might intimidate opponents.
St George’s Hall bathed in blue – but the @Everton Awards night to be rescheduled following Martinez sacking pic.twitter.com/dvBeKSjOOd
— Jim White (@JimWhite) May 12, 2016
Everton’s 3-0 loss to a Sunderland side desperate to preserve their Premier League future proved to be the last straw for the Toffees, prompting them to sack manager Roberto Martinez the following day. Coincidentally, this also happened to be the day for which the club’s end of season awards celebration was scheduled. But since a 3-0 loss to Sunderland and sacking your manager after weeks of fan protests pushing for that decision make for a difficult lead-in to a party, the event was postponed mere hours before it was set to begin.
Anyone who has ever had a disparaging nickname knows how hard it can be to shake. For MLS, it’s the label of being a retirement league. That phrase has burrowed deep under the skin of the league and its supporters, forcing new signing who fit that stereotype to declare their intentions to actually try upon arrival.
Perhaps because of this, Americans have developed a compulsion for rushing to criticize aged stars from other lands who don’t immediately perform well once they join the league. As if condemning a well known player will magically rid MLS of the irrelevant yet somehow still hurtful “retirement league” tag or unquestionably prove that the level of play in the U.S. surpasses the expectations of its doubters.
If Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City have lived a fairytale this season, then Rafa Benitez has endured a sadistic nightmare written by Franz Kafka.
Ahead of Chelsea’s penultimate match of the season, manager Guus Hiddink revealed that Pedro is the latest Chelsea player to break his nose. But it didn’t happen during a match or at the training ground. It happened at home. And the circumstances of it remain clouded in mystery.
It may have gotten off to a proper naughty start, but West Ham’s farewell to Upton Park ended well by coming back from 2-1 down to beat Man United 3-2. The result brought manager Slaven Bilic to tears, but the post-match farewell ceremony was more odd than emotional.
The final match at Upton Park was delayed 45 minutes as West Ham supporters outside the ground attacked Man United’s bus upon its arrival. A hailstorm of bottles and other objects showered the bus, breaking windows and halting the vehicle’s progress towards the stadium.
With their club’s relegation already sealed, Aston Villa supporters decided to hold a protest/celebration of themselves during last weekend’s match against Newcastle. It was arranged that beach balls would be thrown onto the pitch during the game, which ended in a 0-0 draw that damaged the visitors’ own chances of staying up.
World Cup winner Luca Toni went out in pretty much the best way a guy on a relegated team could hope by audaciously chipping in a penalty and beating Serie A champions Juventus 2-1. The 38-year-old striker, who was Serie A’s top scorer as recently as last season, executed the Panenka that sparked cheers from both sets of fans in the 43rd minute before doing his signature celebration for the last time.
RB Leipzig, a club founded in 2009 by a famous battery acid flavored beverage firm, won promotion to the Bundesliga by beating Karlsruhe 2-0 on Saturday. This prompted the traditional beer splash party on the pitch (and, yes, they did use beer and not the energy drink they were named after), but when the players targeted their manager, Ralf Rangnick, the 57-year-old went to ground with an injury.
