Gerard Pique has been an outspoken supporter of Catalan independence, which has prompted Spanish national team fans to frequently jeer their starting centerback in the run up to Euro 2016.
Tag: Spain
Pedro has better things to do than sit on the bench, isn’t sorry
It’s been a difficult year for Pedro. Last summer he left Barcelona due to lack of playing time and joined Chelsea, missing out on another league title with Barca in order to slog through a miserable mid-table finish in London. And now he’s traveled to France for Euro 2016, where he’s played a grand total of eight minutes in Spain’s first two matches. As a result of all this, he has reached his breaking point.
DTotD: Vicente Del Bosque gets run over by linesman
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.
Adidas got a bit weird with Spain and Russia’s away shirts
After going for a more understated vibe with their Euro 2016 home kits, Adidas went for a more experimental approach with Spain and Russia’s away shirts.
The very best Euro 2016 kits (so far)
It might seem like Euro 2016 is still a ways off, but we’ve got an international break deadzone now, so kitmakers are starting to unveil some of their creations for next summer’s tournament. Adidas has probably launched the most so far, and many of them are exceptional. Let’s take a look at some of the best…
Hooded Jose Mourinho attends Spain-Ukraine, possibly creeps out Cesc Fabregas
Spain beat Ukraine 1-0 to wrap up Euro 2016 qualifying in a match that happened to mark Cesc Fabregas’ 100th cap. Cesc had the opportunity to make the evening a bit more special with a penalty in the ninth minute, but his underwhelming effort was saved.
One possible explanation for Fabregas’ unsuccessful penalty was the fact that Jose Mourinho, his manager at Chelsea, was in the stands dressed as a Sith Lord/assassin from Assassin’s Creed. Looking up and spotting that as you’re about to take a penalty would unnerve anyone, let alone a player who was underperformed this season, contributing to arguably the darkest period of Mourinho’s career.
And if you’re now imagining Jose Mourinho dressed like this and standing in the shadows outside Cesc’s house, so is Cesc.
Guus Hiddink scolds Netherlands fans who jeered Andres Iniesta
Though the Netherlands took some degree of revenge on Spain for the 2010 World Cup final by mercilessly beating them 5-1 in their first match of the 2014 World Cup, some members of the Dutch public still seem to be holding a grudge. So when Spain visited for Tuesday’s friendly, they targeted the man who scored the goal that denied them their first ever World Cup title five years ago, Andres Iniesa, with jeers when he came off the bench late in the match.
While most people would write this off as a natural part high level competition, Netherlands manager Guus Hiddink took offense. And after his side’s morale boosting 2-0 win, he decided to express his somewhat odd feelings on the matter. It didn’t seem to be an April Fool’s joke, either.