Ladies and gentlemen welcome to another Football Circus. This week we report on a thieving coach in Croatia, discover a team that may end up relegated thanks to it's own fans and we have a good old fashioned animal story from where else, but Brazil. Silvio Berlusconi makes his first appearance in our Italian Football Story of the Week.
Croatian Coach Drunk with Power
The coach of Croatian side Precko was relieved of his duties over the Easter period after it was discovered that he had stolen the credit card of one of his players from the team dressing room.
To make matters worse, he then used to card to buy a whopping 36 one litre bottles of Jagermeister, valued at over €500.
The man in question, Josip Gaspar, who turned out 420 times for Dinamo Zagreb, may have believed it was the perfect crime.
He departed a Precko team training session early, feigning illness. Instead of making the journey home, he took a detour to the nearest off-licence where he used the stolen card to complete the transaction. He then audaciously travelled to a second shop in the hope of repeating the crime.
It was not long however before he was identified on CCTV footage and was swiftly arrested thereafter.
AEK Athens' Top Flight Status in doubt thank to Fans
The fans of AEK Athens have been a frustrated bunch this season. The famous Greek side have been languishing near the foot of the table of the Greek Superleague and went into the penultimate league game of the season facing relegation.
Last Monday they faced relegation rivals Panthrakikos at the Athens Olympic Stadium and only a win would placate the home fans.
The match looked to be heading for a dull 0-0 draw when AEK's 19 year old defender Mavroudis Bougaidis inadvertently put the ball past his own keeper in the 87th minute, giving Panthrakikos the lead and almost certainly sealing AEK's fate as a top flight team.
The home fans' belief in their players had waned by now so they decided to take matters into their own hands and charged onto the pitch. The match was abandoned and players and coaching staff from both sides, along with the referee and his assistants, quickly dispersed into the dressing rooms - but not before AEK fans had doled out facial injuries to both the Panthrakikos goalkeeper and manager.
AEK Athens president Andreas Dimitrelos was subsequently admitted into hospital with chest pains (that was the offical line at least, we suspect it may have been sheer embarrassment).
Even if AEK had a slim chance of staying up before the game, their faint hopes are likely to be dashed once the Greek FA deliver their punishment for the fans' antics. A hefty fine and more pertinently, a large points deduction, are expected.
Brazilian Team Too Chicken to tell the Truth about Mascot
If you a regular reader of Football Circus, you may have by now realised that we're quite fond of animal-related football stories. We also find that some of the most bizarre stories from around the globe seem to emanate from Brazil. So forgive us for indulging ourselves, but there was no way the following story was escaping this week's edition...
Ji Parana Football Club is the most successful side team in Rodonia state and they are the current champions of the Rondoniense Championship. Their mascot is, and has been since the club's inception in 1991, a rooster. A trivial fact, you may think. Fans of the side however, take great pride in their mascot.
A rooster named Tissoka had been fulfilling the role as mascot and the team deemed him to be a particularly lucky rooster given the side's success since his introduction. Naturally, the fans and team alike became quite fond of the fowl character.
So when Tissoka was eaten by an anaconda on the farm where he resided, the club owner attempted to keep the matter a secret. They replaced Tissoka with another rooster and thought that would be the end of the matter.
But Ji Parana fans know their roosters and their feathers were ruffled. They became suspicious and claimed that the rooster looked "shy and flappy" (yes that's right, 'flappy') before matches. Tissoka was famously laid back and "used to crow during goal celebrations". Seemingly, the game was up. The club owner has however decided to stick with the replacement rooster, stating: "It's sad. But this new bird will step up, given time. He just needs to find some composure".
Lets hope they never grow attached to a player.
Italian Football Story of the Week
- No AC Milan Return for Leonardo
It may be the least of Italian Prime Minister and AC Milan President Silvio Berlusconi's worries at the moment, but former Milan midfielder and manager Leonardo has this week stated that he will never return to the Rossoneri and reasons that it's all down to Berlusconi.
The Paris Saint-Germain Director of Football has always had close ties with the Milan club, turning out for the Milan club a total of 103 times over two stints and latterly going onto manage the team. Since taking up his role at PSG, he has overseen the appointment of former Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti and has not shyed away from doing business with AC, with Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibramhimovic switching between the sides last summer.
Leonardo says though, he will not return and blames a fall out with Berlusconi for his decision:
"I thought I’d stay at Milan for the rest of my career.I’d never go back there after arguing with Berlusconi".
“In Brazil, we say that who hits forgets, but who gets hit doesn’t. For me, Milan is not Berlusconi – it is an international asset".
“The ideal club would have [Inter’s] Massimo Moratti as President, with [Milan Vice-President] Adriano Galliani as a director."
Football Recommendation
New Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio endeared himself to fans almost immediately this week when his side defeated rivals Newcastle 3-0. It would seem that his players have taken to him already too. This Youtube video shows Black Cats defender Craig Gardner on a train before the match, leading fans in a 'Paolo Di Canio' chant. Gardner missed the game due to suspension.
Non-Football Recommendation
New Daft Punk album website - Random Access Memories
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