Louis van Gaal left his press conference ahead of Manchester United’s Boxing Day match against Stoke City in a huff less than five minutes after sitting down to field questions. He opened by asking if any members of the press wanted to apologize to him after days of intensified speculation that he will be sacked any second now.
Tag: Dirty Tackle
Omar Gonzalez unveiled at Pachuca in a Darth Vader costume
La segunda parte de la presentación de @Omar4Gonzalez pic.twitter.com/pkdME93wNg
— Club Pachuca (@Tuzos) December 22, 2015
The entire planet is currently in the midst of a Star Wars binge, so it should come as no surprise that it’s even seeped into the unveiling of new players for football clubs in Mexico. Read more
DTotD: Turkish player tackles opponent, then viciously kicks him in the head
With only a few days left in December, an amateur footballer in Turkey is making a bid for the nastiest display in a match this year with this vile tackle and head kick combo.
He starts by sweeping his opponent’s legs from behind — and that alone was enough for the referee to show him a red card. Perhaps realizing that he had nothing left to lose, he then went 50 steps further and savagely kicked his downed opponent in the head.
According to the Daily Mail, the victim needed nine stitches to his lip, but other than that was OK. Which is pretty amazing.
This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.
Cristiano Ronaldo gives a tour of his very Cristiano Ronaldo house
Cristiano Ronaldo gives us a glimpse inside his Madrid home and it’s all pretty much exactly what you’d expect from such a thing.
Future News: Sick children make charitable visit Louis van Gaal’s house
Patients from Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital paid a special visit to the home of struggling Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal to spread some much needed holiday cheer. The children were delighted to help raise the spirits of someone less fortunate than them during Christmas period.
Petr Cech forms a festive band with Alexis Sanchez and Nacho Monreal
Petr Cech puts his drumming skills to good, playing a holiday medley with Santa Claus on guitar to benefit the Arsenal Foundation. But when Alexis Sanchez and Nacho Monreal enter the room, Cech puts them to work for a jam session.
The most deluded quotes from Sepp Blatter’s suspension press conference
With a bandage on his cheek to match the metaphorical one on his ego, Sepp Blatter conducted a rambling and typically bizarre press conference after being given an eight-year ban (along with Michel Platini) by FIFA’s ethics committee. These are the most astoundingly real and supremely Sepp quotes from this hilarious event.
-An early fake-out: “I am sorry. I am sorry that I am still somewhere a punching ball. I am sorry that as president of Fifa I am a punching ball. I am sorry for football. I am sorry for the 400+ Fifa members. I’m sorry. I am sorry about how I am treated in this world of humanitarian qualities.”
-You don’t say: “The decision has created a lot of collateral damage, my family was mocked.”
-Dumber than they look: “Inside FIFA people could not understand why the president was suspended.”
-Case closed: “There might have been an administrative error, but this was nothing to do with the ethics. This cannot be proven. If it cannot be proven, then it cannot be guilty.”
-An important distinction: “I have never cheated with money.”
-Fingers in his ears: “This committee has no right to go against the president of FIFA. The president can only be removed by the congress. Even suspended, I am still the president. I regret, but I am not ashamed.”
-A parting threat: “I’ll be back.”
DTotD: Felipe Melo kicks Lazio player in the ear, gets sent off
“@Marcocalcio22: From bad to worse Felipe Melo sent off for this Karate Chop on Lukas Biglia pic.twitter.com/G1fGmH0q9M” IDIOT!
— petrichor (@glossolalia69) December 20, 2015
Felipe Melo, who you might remember as the man who used Arjen Robben as a doormat during the 2010 World Cup, is still finding creative ways to assault people with his feet after all these years. During Inter’s Serie A match against Lazio, Melo was shown a straight red for proving that he could use Lucas Biglia’s shoulder as a foot rest.
Inter lost 2-1.
This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.
Massimo Maccarone celebrates goal by having a beer
If anything is deserving of a mid-match beer, scoring twice in a span of six minutes to give your side a 3-2 lead is probably it. And since that’s what Massimo Maccarone did for Empoli against Bologna, scoring just before and just after halftime, he ran to the stands and swiped a beer for a cheeky sip.
Previously: Toronto FC goalkeeper takes a sip of a fan’s beer after win
Chelsea fans support Jose Mourinho, react angrily to winning in first match after sacking
With the new braintrust of returning friends of the club Guus Hiddink and Didier Drogba in the stands next to owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea fans expressed their undying loyalty to ousted manager Jose Mourinho, as well as their frustration with the players who “betrayed” him in the first match after his sacking.