Tag: Monaco

Monaco’s fan overjoyed by first Ligue 1 title in 17 years

Lonely man only wishes he had someone to share the moment with


(AS Monaco/Twitter)

Monaco beat St. Etienne 2–0 to seal their eighth Ligue 1 title and first since 2000, delighting their one fan, Prince Albert II of Monaco.

“It’s been so hard these last 17 years, just waiting for this day,” said the monarch of the tiny, yet incredibly wealthy principality. “Being a prince and the yachts and the incessant luxury. Day after day. It’s been hard. Really, really hard. So to finally have this…it just means so much. And it would’ve meant so much more if there was anyone else in the stadium to see it besides me. High fiving myself in that moment of joy wasn’t as rewarding as I thought it would be.”

Monaco have had one of the most exciting young squads in Europe this season and they proved that not just domestically, but by reaching the Champions League semifinal, as well. Yet their average attendance of 1 is the lowest in France’s top flight.

“It upsets me that no one else attends the matches,” Prince Albert added. “Especially since I own the club. Do I own the club? I probably own the club.”

Monaco has a population of less than 40,000 people and the sixth highest GDP per capita in the world. Their stadium, the Stade Louis II, has 18,523 seats — 18,522 of which have never been used.

“I’ve invited the Monacans to attend matches many times, but they’re too busy being being rich,” Prince Albert continued. “They are my subjects, so I guess I could order them to attend, but it’s no fun watching football with people who don’t want to be there. It would be like going to an Arsenal match. No one wants that.”

Despite being so alone, Prince Albert remains hopeful that Monaco’s style of play will bring new fans to their matches.

“Falcao had a great season, but he is getting older. Maybe when he retires he’ll stick around and attend matches with me. We could high five each other when the team wins. It would be a dream come true.”

Listen to the Dirty Tackle podcast for more nonsense.

Dortmund supporters repay Monaco fans’ warmth with local hospitality after CL match postponement

A scary situation gives way to opposing fans supporting each other

(BVB/Twitter)

An explosion near Borussia Dortmund’s team bus as it made its way to the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Monaco resulted in defender Marc Bartra suffering an arm injury that required surgery. The match was postponed until Wednesday.

As fans inside the Westfalenstadion waited for information on the frightening incident, the Monaco supporters who made the trip to Germany began chanting “Dortmund, Dortmund” in an impromptu show of solidarity.

The gesture was greatly appreciated by their hosts and soon, Dortmund locals began tweeting offers to open up their homes to Monaco fans suddenly faced with an overnight stay in another country if they still wanted to attend the rescheduled match.

These demonstrations of kindness and goodwill serve as important counterbalances to the awfulness of the original incident. Though there are destructive elements, football will always be a community of people with a shared passion above all else.


https://upscri.be/16bb19/

Giorgio Chiellini showing first symptoms of Suarezitis

Juventus held on for a scoreless draw in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Monaco to advance on a 1-0 aggregate, but amidst the celebrations is deep concern. Early in the match, defender Giorgio Chiellini displayed his first symptom of Suarezitis, which he contracted when Luis Suarez bit him at last summer’s World Cup.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s expert analysis of the Champions League quarterfinal draw

Gianni Infantino has stopped talking long enough to do the Champions League quarterfinal draw and I must say I am disappointed. First, because UEFA only reduced my ban for that stupid red card against Chelsea to one game instead of wiping it completely and begging for my forgiveness. Second, because they said that my idea to open the draw by using a French referee as a human Zlacrifice to acknowledge that PSG are too good for France was “inappropriate.” And third because I must wait even longer to get my revenge on Pep Guardiola, who gets super lucky again.

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Projecting Arsenal’s future Champions League misery

Arsenal carried on their consistency in Champions League masochism by soundly beating Monaco 2-0 in the second leg of round of 16 tie to be eliminated on away goals with an aggregate score of 3-3. Anyone and everyone with so much as a passing familiarity with Arsenal’s recent history in the competition — four (now five) consecutive round of 16 eliminations —predicted this exact result, as their narrow avoidance of advancing further has become more reliable than a Japanese train schedule.

It’s with this knowledge that we can accurately predict what horrors will come next for Arsenal in the Champions League. But first, a refresher on the last five years.

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