WELCOME TO FOOTBALL CIRCUS XX. Twenty editions in and still scouring the weirdest, most obscure and shameful football stories for your reading pleasure. This week we report on a footballer with a tattooed head, a man who didn't walk 500 miles but 960 kilometres to honour Bayern Munich and Andrea Pirlo just having laugh.
Tyson-esque Tattoo for Ranger
He's the ex-Magpie who now looks like an ex-con. Former Newcastle striker Nile Ranger has got a new tattoo. Of his name. On his head.
The former Toon Army forward uploaded a picture onto his Instagram account this week of his new ink, his surname 'Ranger' spread across his right temple.
We had considered the headline 'Nile Ranger is an Idiot' for his article, however given the Englishman has the following record, we thought better of it for fear he would hunt us down:
2007 - Convicted for a street robbery, sent to a young offenders prison
2011 - Arrested on suspicion of assault, however he was later cleared
2011 - Charged for being drunk and disorderly in public
2012 - Convicted for being drunk and disorderly
2012 - Charged by the F.A. for homophobic comments on Twitter
2013 - Arrested for breach of bail terms
2013 - Arrested and charged for criminal damage, later cleared
2013 - Arrested and charged with rape
2013 - Arrested for assault
Ranger also has a smiley face tattooed on the inside of his lower lip.
Ranger has played for the England under-19'S and was released by Newcastle in March this year. His criminal record surely will not have helped and he has not found a club since. His new tattoo on his temple will surely classify him as a sane, upstanding member of society and he will not be waiting long to be snapped up.
Ranger commented on his Instragram account: "My name RINGS BELLS #POWERFUL #RANGER #INKKING". Indeed.
Bayern Fan Walks 960KM to Honour Champions League Success
A dedicated Bayern Munich fan has walked 960KM from his hometown Bugojno in Bosnia all the way to Bayern's Allianz Arena in Munich. Vahid Cehaja had vowed to take on the phenomenal journey prior to last season's Champions League campaign, were Bayern to lift the trophy. To his delight, or perhaps horror, the Bavarian side went all the way and the 45-year old fan lived up to his word.
Having arrived at the Allianz Arena, Cehaja commented:
"Over the last couple of years I have cried from sadness when Bayern lost the title in 2010, and 2012. But now, thanks to God, they've finally won it, the first time since 2001. In honour of the fifth Bayern title, I walked from Bugojno to Munich. I wanted to show respect to all those who have so far won titles with Bayern Munich".
The walk took Cehaja 42 days to complete and saw him venture through five different countries along the way.
Pirlo and Bonucci Throw Pigskin while NBA Star Steve Nash Tries Soccer-Ball
Summer is in full swing and aside from pre-season friendlies and transfer rumours nonsense, it is also a time for footballers to let their hair down before the season kicks off. With Juventus Stateside for their pre-season, Andrea Pirlo and Leonardo Bonucci have seized on the opportunity to test themselves at American Football.
The Italian duo tried out for Stanford College and by the looks of this extremely cheesy video, they won't be seen in the NFL anytime soon. Impressive kicking by Pirlo though and he still somehow manages to look cool.
Inter Milan meanwhile were at New York Red Bull, where NBA superstar and Vancouver Whitecaps owner Steve Nash showed up to train with the Italian Giants. The Canadian basketball player seemed to enjoy the experience despite being a little starstruck.
Reina Open Letter to Liverpool Fans
New Napoli loan signing Pepe Reina has this week expressed his dismay at having been loaned to the Serie A team from Premier League side Liverpool.
The Spanish keeper has been a regular in the Liverpool team since being purchased by then Liverpool boss and current Napoli manager, Rafa Benitez. However a loss of form last season coupled with Liverpool's signing of Simon Mignolet from Sunderland has seen Reina loaned out this summer, possibly never to return.
Reina, clearly hurt by the Merseyside team's decision to let him go, and seemingly fail to consult him on the matter, has this week issued an open letter to Liverpool fans via his website pepereina5.com. The letter reads as follows:
"It is a strange feeling for me to think that next season I will not be a Liverpool player. For the past eight years, that is all I have known. The club, the staff, the city, the people and the supporters have played a massive part in my life.
Liverpool is special in a way that only those who are lucky enough to experience the club close up can understand. It has given me memories that will live with me forever and friendships that will last just as long.
But more than anything else, it has given me an understanding of what it is like to play for the most wonderful English club.
I may not have won as many trophies and medals as I would have liked since joining in 2005 but the experiences I have been a part of are as important as any silverware.
I now understand how supporters can lift a team and inspire them to do special things. I appreciate that there is something unique about Anfield and the atmosphere it creates.
I believe that anything is possible no matter what the situation is because at Liverpool there is no such thing as a lost cause. And I have been humbled by the fight for justice for the 96 which showed me that the Liverpool people will always fight for what they believe in.
I know that I have been blessed to be part of a Club like that and I hope that in return I have always given my best and represented Liverpool in the right way.
There have been good times and bad times but no matter what the situation has been I hope that my passion has been clear.
I have been asked what my favourite Liverpool moment was and if I had to pick one it wouldn’t be a save or winning a trophy.
It would be my celebration against Manchester United when David Ngog scored a late goal. That is probably the quickest I have ever run in my life!
It shows what playing for Liverpool meant to me and also that there was nothing better than winning a big game at Anfield.
I used to look at the Kop when we scored those kind of goals in big games and I would be jealous of the supporters going crazy. If the closest I will get to that is running the length of the pitch and jumping on my team mates backs then that will do for me.
Obviously, I won’t be able to do that next season but I hope that the supporters and my team mates will be able to enjoy many more moments like that.
They deserve the best of times and it would give me so much pleasure to see Liverpool back where they belong, challenging for trophies and getting back into the top four.
That was where the club was when I first arrived and although I am leaving a different club, one with new owners, a new manager, new players and new challenges, I honestly believe that Liverpool can reach those levels again.
I am disappointed that I will not be part of that and although it was not my decision to leave I will accept it just like I have always accepted any decision that Liverpool have taken for me.
They signed me, picked me, gave me some of the best experiences of my life and looked after me. If they feel that the best thing for me and for them is for me to go on loan to Napoli for a season then so be it.
Napoli is a new challenge for me and I know that the fans are just as passionate about their team as the Liverpool fans, so I am really looking forward to playing for them this season and I will give my all.
But if I have one regret, it is the way that I am leaving. It is only natural that I would be disappointed that the Liverpool management agreed to loan me to Napoli without telling me first, I thought that I deserved better than that even though I understand that difficult decisions have to be taken in football.
A lot has been made about me informing the club that if an offer came in from Barcelona that I would have liked them to consider it.
But I had also spoken to the club about the possibility of extending my contract if the offer was not made. I told the manager that I wanted to play for Liverpool and that Barcelona would only become an option for me if the opportunity arrived, like the rumours said it would, as it would be a chance for me to go back home.
When it didn’t come I was happy to fight for my place so I was surprised that Liverpool decided it was in the club´s interests to send me to Napoli instead.
None of this will change my feelings for the club or the people in any way and now I have to look forward to a new challenge with Rafa Benitez, who I consider to be the best manager I have worked with, and I am fortunate to be going from one great club to another.
Napoli remind me in many ways of the Liverpool I found in 2005, in all the affection they have shown me on my arrival, in having an ambitious project, even in coinciding and working with Benitez again…This memory which in part unites me with you, makes me happy and feel very motivated to begin this new project.
This is my chance to say thank you to everyone for everything that you have given to me and to my family. My children consider Liverpool to be their home and hopefully their love for the city and also for the club will only grow while we are away.
I would have liked to have been able to say goodbye in a different way but because of the way the move came about this was not possible.
Maybe in the near future I can do it properly so that I can show my appreciation to you but all I would ask now is that you keep on inspiring the manager and the players just like you always have done and help Liverpool to become the club that you deserve once again.
I would like nothing better than to come back at the end of my year away and for Liverpool to be back where they belong.
Thank you for everything. Good luck. I will see you soon.
Pepe Reina".
Italian Football Story of the Week
- Atalanta Up the Ante in Rivalries by introducing a Tank
Italian football fans have always been a bit different to others. Call them fiery, call them passionate, call them crazy, whatever. But when it comes to rivalries, nobody does it better. We recently reported on Lazio fans staging a mock funeral for city rivals Roma in honour of Roma's cup final defeat. Impressive stuff.
Atalanta however, have now been referred to the Disciplinary Commission after new signing Giulio Migliaccio helped drive a tank over cars painted in the colours of rivals Brescia and Roma. The incident took place at the Atalanta fans' pre-season street festival to welcome new signings.
Both the team and Migliaccio himself could be in hot water as they may be charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
Migliaccio, who is a loan signing from Fiorentina for Atalanta, stated via the club's website:
"I was inadvertently the protagonist. In a party atmosphere, in among a huge crowd of fans, including lots of women and children, I was invited on board a tank which has been going around for years at the Festa della Dea, parading players and staff to salute the people.
I certainly could not have imagined that, at a certain stage, we would have crushed two cars taken from the scrap yard. I only realised when we were already going over them and, since I could not see since I was high up and at the back, I did not know that they had the symbols of two football clubs on them.
I’m very sorry about the incident. You just have to think that, in my not-so-brief career as a footballer, I have always been instilled with the values of the sport and with maximum correctness on the field, so much so that I’ve only received one red card, for two yellows, in almost 500 games as a professional footballer".
Magic 8 Ball Transfer Oracle
It's been a relatively low-key summer for Italian sides in the transfer window, bar some impressive deals by Juventus and Napoli. AC Milan fans will be please if this one has legs though...
Keisuke Honda to AC Milan
(As reported here http://www.fanatix.com/news/ac-milan-target-keisuke-honda-reportedly-prepared-to-take-pay-cut/132784/ and here http://www.insidefutbol.com/2013/07/31/ac-milan-receive-positive-news-on-keisuke-honda-chase/93734/).
Magic 8 Ball Says...
'FORGET ABOUT IT'
Football Recommendation
A number of weeks ago we recommended Second Captains and their new podcast. Now they've only gone and dedicated two podcasts a week solely to football. Check out the latest below.
Non-Football Recommendation
- Flight
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