Football News: News Of The Day As Ronaldo Makes A Tackle (No Really!) And Balotelli's Incident List Is Added To
Image from: zimbio.com
1. Laws of the game revamped
The International Football Association Board have rewritten the football rule book, reducing the laws of the game from a 22,000 word document down to 12,000 words, while also working to make the rules more consistent. The new laws are set to be implemented ahead of the European Championships in France. No longer will the ball have to go forward from kick off, it just has to move. In the past, if players were involved in a pre-match fight, they were safe from any punishment at the game, but now they can be sent off. They would now be banned from the match and the team would have to replace him with a substitute, leaving them with one less sub for the game itself. No longer will players have to go off to be treated, if the player has been fouled and the punishment was a red or yellow card. Hopefully these changes, and the others within the rulebook, will allow refs to use common sense from now on!
2. Yaya's agent hits out at Pep Guardiola
Yaya Toure's agent, Dimitri Seluk, not content with a client who whines about everyone or everything else, has decided to whine about Pep Guardiola's reputation as a great coach. With Guardiola leaving Bayern Munich in the summer, and openly admitting a desire to move to English football, leading to links with Yaya's club Manchester City, Seluk has hit out at Guardiola's ability to manage. "Pep is a great coach. But he has won the title at Barcelona and Bayern Munich," Seluk told The Mirror. "The truth is that my grandfather would win the title with Barcelona and Bayern Munich because they are big clubs with great players. Look at Luis Enrique now. Last season he won the title and the Champions League with Barcelona. I'm not saying he isn't a good coach, but look what he did at Roma. Nothing. I'd like to see Pep take a club that is eighth or ninth and make them champions. That's why Roberto Mancini was the best manager City have had. Manuel Pellegrini is also a good coach who deserves credit, but Mancini built the team. He took a team that was nowhere and made them champions."
3. Sunderland face punishment over failed Kone deal
Sunderland have angered French club Lorient over the failed transfer of Lamine Kone, after a £5m deal fell through. Lorient have lodged a formal complaint with the French FA over the actions of Sunderland, who agreed terms and had Kone on Wearside for 8 days for medical tests and contract talks, before cancelling the deal. Instead they signed Jan Kirchhoff from Bayern Munich, while giving no reasons to Lorient for ending the deal. Kone had missed 2 matches due to the talks and now Sunderland could face action from UEFA, with a possibility of a fine, points deduction or even a transfer embargo.
4. Zamalek forward scores from tight angle
5. Koeman denies Mane is looking to force a move
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has rubbished stories of Sadio Mane trying to force a move from the South Coast club. With Manchester United's interest being very public, and Saints being known for a policy of selling their top talent each season, newspapers have suggested that the Senegalese's indiscipline, which saw him dropped after turning up late for a team meeting, was the exciting forward's attempt to bully the club into letting him move. "A lot of people in the media think he is trying to force through a transfer, but he told the club that he is still happy at Southampton and will continue here," Koeman told the club's official YouTube channel. "He is an important player for us, someone who can make the difference. He can score goals and is very unpredictable for his opponents. A Mane in form boosts our chances to win. He is still young. He apologised for what happened. He made a mistake, but he is only human and we punished him for it. I am pleased with Sadio's response. He gave a good reaction and that was exactly what we were hoping for."
6. A collector's item from Ronaldo
Something not many people have seen before, Cristiano Ronaldo making a sliding tackle for Real Madrid:
7. One more thing to add to the Balotelli list of incidents
Former Inter Milan team mate Kerlon has revealed that AC Milan's on loan striker Mario Balotelli had an odd habit while at Inter. The Liverpool forward is well known for his 'incidents' throughout his career, which also took in Manchester City, but this one is possibly the oddest of the all. "Balotelli is a very nice guy and an extraordinary person, but he did some unbelievable things off the pitch," Kerlon told ESPN Brazil. "He had a habit of arriving at training before anyone else and peeing on all the players' boots... it was very funny. I've never seen a kid at 18-years-old do something like it and not feel sorry for any of it, even to Julio Cesar and Maicon." I suppose it makes a change from getting his car impounded (well over 20 times at least), throwing darts at youth team players or sitting on the bench playing on his iPad.
To be fair, it is not all bad, there was the time he paid for 24 homeless people to spend New Year's Eve in the Hilton hotel, the day he won £25,000 in a casino and gave £1,000 to a tramp outside because he liked his hair and beard or the day he spent in Manchester's Trafford Centre handing out £50 notes. It is not just darts he likes to throw, as he threw tomatoes at a Serie A manager and threw water balloons in a meeting. While everyone remembers the fireworks and most remember the Bibotelli saga, how many remember him getting into a fight with 4 bouncers after breaking the no touch rule at a strip club?
His list of essentials he brought back after his mother sent him shopping included a giant trampoline, 2 Vesta scooters, scalextrix and a table tennis table. Why Always Me? Said his t-shirt, but I think he should understood when he looks back at his career in later life that going on TV in an AC Milan shirt with your name on, while an Inter Milan player, is likely to attract attention. As is getting sent off during an Italy U21s game and proceeding to sit down and ignore everyone. Driving round with £25,000 in cash on your passenger seat or walking into a woman's prison with your brother to 'see what it is like inside' are also things that tend to attract attention.
Who can forget him having to come off at half time due to discovering an allergy to grass mid-game? Or breaking up with a girlfriend via text while she was presenting a live TV show? Standing up in the middle of a posh restaurant and chanting "Rooney, Rooney, Rooney" at a woman who was believed to have been a hooker that had slept with Manchester United's Wayne Rooney tends to draw attention as well. Mario is a lot of things, but he is not going to be remembered as a great player, but he will never be forgotten!
8. Sampdoria player's red v Juventus
I just love the way, after clearly just wiping out the Juve man, yards away from the ball, he points as if to say "look ref I got the ball, honest".
9. Crouch admits he may have to leave Stoke
Beanpole striker Peter Crouch has admitted he is considering his future with Stoke City to get first team football. The former England man has struggled to get in the side this season, but admits he does not really want to leave the Potteries club, as he loves it there. He said: "Of course, it's hard when you're training and not playing. You can get down about it so it's nice to start and get a goal and remember what scoring and playing feels like. I love it at Stoke. We're doing very well and it's certainly the best squad since I've been at the club. It's been improving year on, year out and ideally I want to be part of that. If it's not the case then I have to look at other options but all I can do is when I get minutes, try to produce. I do want to be playing but all I can do is work hard and try to get back in the team. I know the manager has got belief in me. I think I played 33 or 34 league games last season so this season to have not really featured has been frustrating. We're a top 10 Premier League side and I would like to stay and be a part of that."
10. Bent reaches 200 goals milestone
Derby County striker Darren Bent reached a major milestone in the weekend's FA Cup match with Hartlepool United. His career has taken in Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, before the move to Derby. At one time he looked likely to reach the 200 goals much sooner, before his move to Villa that effectively put a dampener on his career.
Great win today the lads were brilliant huge thanks for the support. Nice to get to 200 career goals too! pic.twitter.com/1DM5LMPkMq
— Darren Bent (@DarrenBent) January 9, 2016
Written by Tris Burke January 11 2016 05:35:29