During the first half of the international friendly between Italy and Spain, a linesman collided with Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque, sending the mustachioed World Cup winner to the ground.
Del Bosque shook hands with his assailant after getting up, showing that he forgave the linesman while we can only assume that his mustache did not. Sadly, the linesman was not booked for this shameful foul.
This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.
LA Galaxy defender Ashley Cole has announced that he is, in fact, happy again. As the world rejoices in this wonderful news, we can trace his path from his lowest point to his current euphoria in just three steps.
The incomparable John Cruyff died today at the age of 68 after battling lung cancer. This has naturally sparked a wave of tributes to his genius both on the pitch and the touchline, but for someone like Cruyff, words can only do so much.
The documentary above gives a nice overview of his life and career mixed with footage of his greatest moments and praise from those who saw his legend develop in their presence.
Above all, Cruyff believed that football should be fun — a message that has been the driving force behind DT, as well. So here are some fun pictures of Johan over the years…
A security guard took a rocket to the back of the head from close range during a match between Dallas and Montreal, allowing him to absorb the power of the ball and increase his already considerable power. Even more impressive, he glasses and ear piece didn’t even pop off.
ESPN FC published their second annual MLS player poll, covering everything from the quality of play to the league structure and even their most overrated colleagues. Using that as inspiration, Dirty Tackle hastily put together a survey for Premier League players, who have answered on the condition of anonymity.
Papy Djilobodji, del @werderbremen, un angelito. Ojo al gesto final. #TiempodeJuego147 pic.twitter.com/hzjclwkf7o (vía @CorporeNigra).
— Tiempo de Juego (@tjcope) March 20, 2016
Werder Bremen defender Papy Djilobodji (on loan from Chelsea) did the old pro wrestling face rake move on a Mainz opponent on Saturday and when the guy went to ground, he looked at the downed man and ran his finger across his throat because…I have no idea why.
Djilobodji was shown a yellow card during the match, but the referee missed this gesture, so the Bundesliga reviewed it and handed him a three-match ban.
Still, the question of why he did this in the first place remains. Was it pent-up aggression from spending so much time on Chelsea’s bench earlier this season? Was to signal his finishing move? Did the Mainz player make a disparaging remark about Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in The Revenant? Who knows.
UPDATE: Djilobodji successfully appealed his punishment and got it reduced to a two-match ban and €15,000 fine. He likely accomplished this by staring down the DFB disciplinary board and making a throat slitting gesture.
Luis Suarez will play his first match for Uruguay since returning from his World Cup bite ban and he just so happens to be doing it against Barcelona teammate Neymar and Brazil in World Cup qualifying. Naturally, this occasion calls for a little wager.
Any professional footballer will tell you that the most coveted magazine cover to land is the British Hen Welfare Trust’s Chicken & Egg. You haven’t really made it until you’re the face of a publication that holds seasalt competitions. Sadly, that rules out the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and even Pele.
If I told you there was a Wolfsburg striker who has fined €25,000 for losing €75,000 in poker winnings he left in the back of a taxi, called out by his manager for eating too much Nutella, and dropped by his national team for demonstrating a lack of focus, you would almost certainly assume I was talking about Nicklas Bendtner. But all of this has actually happened to Max Kruse, who seems to have contracted a full blown case of Bendtneritis.
It’s rare that a manager gets injured during a training session, but that’s what happened to Ajax boss Frank De Boer during a game of a foot tennis. And it was a bad one too — he tore his achilles tendon, which will require surgery.
