This week in Football Circus - a veritable BEAST of a lineup: Sheep playing football? Ewe 'avin a laugh? No we certainly are not Sir, for the Sheep World Cup has just taken place in Colombia and we're gonna tell you all about it. Not enough? Well read all about the man who plays football with lions in a suit all in the name of advertising. In some non-animal tales, we've found the official World Cup burger, an overpriced World Cup t-shirt, Adrian Mutu's 'acting' debut and a naughty old Italian football president in our Italian Football story of the week. And of course Mario Balotelli. So get reading!
Football Circus Clown Quote of the Week
"Aaron Ramsey hasn’t always been the flavour of the Arsenal fans’ eyes".
- Craig Burley
Just like watching Baaa-zil - Sheep World Cup takes place in Colombia
It's the moment you've all been waiting for, yes, the results of the Sheep World Cup are in! Colombia this week played host to the Sheep World Cup where ten sheep clad in the kit of home side Colombia, took on ten sheep in full Brazil regalia in a football match. Each sheep represented a player from the actual national teams.
The match, which took place in the town of Nobsa, drew in five hundred spectators who watch as the twenty woolly beasts kicked around a foam football. To stop the sheep from taking grass-munching breaks mid-match, their handlers tugged a rope on their necks to focus them on the task at hand...sorry...hoof.
The match ended 4-3 to Colombia, with the winning goal being scored by the sheep who represented AS Monaco star James Rodriguez. The game took place as part of International Ruana Day celebrations (the Ruana being a woollen poncho traditional of the mountainous regions of Colombia).
Fancy a Kickabout? With a Lion?!!
The man who dubs himself 'the lion whisperer' trumped the Sheep World Cup by simply starring in an ad for a Dutch suit company...oh and playing football with lions whilst doing so.
Kevin Richardson, a South African animal behaviourist, appears in the Van Gils suit ad, not only playing football with lions but also wearing a full suit in what appear to be rather hot conditions.
Van Gils are the official suit of the Dutch football team. Lions are the symbol of the Dutch football team. Kevin Richardson can wear a suit, understand lions and can, to an extent, give an account of himself with a football at his feet. Hey presto - Van Gils have their World Cup ad sorted. We'd love to know what was going on with the Van Gils marketing team when they came up with this one...
Anyone for an Official World Cup Burger?
Some weeks back we regaled you with news of the official World Cup condom and official World Cup toilet roll. This week, we've discovered the official World Cup burger, courtesy of McDonald's...and you may not want to be wearing your Versace World Cup t-shirt while you eat it.
The World Cup burger(s) will be available from McDonald's, with a different variation available over a seven week period. Based on seven countries partaking in the competition, McDonald's has announced the following lineup:
- The McBrazil (Angus beef, mayonnaise, special Brazilian vinaigrette, lettuce, and emmental cheese).
- The McSpain (Crispy chicken with olive oil mayonnaise, bacon spicy cheese, tomato and lettuce).
- The McGermany (Rib meat, German mustard sauce, red onion, pickles and bacon spicy cheese).
- The McFrance (Crispy chicken, melted cream cheese, grated parmesan cheese, lettuce, tomato and emmental cheese).
- The McItaly (Polpettone meat, with tomato sauce, grated parmesan cheese and pepperoni).
- The McArgentina (Angus beef, with chimichurri mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, bacon and cheddar).
- The McUSA (Angus beef, with barbecue sauce, crispy onions, pickles, lettuce, bacon and cheddar cheese).
Based on the burgers, we're predicting a Spain-Italy final with Italy just about shading it.
Meanwhile, Versace have released a World Cup-themed t-shirt. Jumping on the World Cup merchandising bandwagon, the fashion giants have decided that sporting official jerseys is not the most fashionable way to display your affection for the most famous sporting competition in the world and put the monstrousity below on the market. Looking like a rainbow has vomited all over you comes at a price though, it would seem, as they have slapped a €450 pricetag on the garment.
Mutu Makes 'Acting' Debut
Back March this year, we gleefully reported that Adrian Mutu was due to make his acting debut as part of a Snoop Dogg video (http://football-circus.blogspot.ie/search?q=snoop+dogg). We held high hopes for the drugs-test-failing former Chelsea and Inter Milan star, believing that he may have finally found his true calling. A life of stardom surely lay ahead once he appeared in a high-budget and glamourous Snoop Dogg video. Well, the video has finally been released...
Snoop Dogg himself seems to sing / rap approximately four lines of the song, entitled 'Acrobat', which is in fact a 'collaboration' between Romanian artist A-Roma, Orry Jackson and Mr. Dogg himself. "You're moving like an acrobat. Watching you is like a mystical cat" is possibly the standout line of the little ditty, though there are many to choose from.
To give Mutu his due, he plays the 'cigar-smoking, dancing-stripper-watching rich guy in a suit' role down to a tee.
The video can be seen below, though be warned, we will not be held responsible if you start bleeding from your eyes and / or ears.
What's Mad Mario Upto this Week?
Busy training for the World Cup all week, Balo looks to have been wrapped up in cotton wool this week and exposure to the media for him and the rest of Italy teammates, has been minimal. He did however, spare some time to knock England's chances of progressing in the competition:
"I don’t look at England as a team that can win the World Cup", Balotelli said.
"They have some good players, but they are no real rivals for Italy.
"I am not saying that Italy are favourites, but we have the mentality and experienced players to surprise people — I don’t think England have that.
"We have players who have won the World Cup. I don't think England have a player who knows what it is like to play past the quarter-final.
"In the opening game, we have to respect England because it is important to get off to a good start. They have maybe two or three players who can hurt us, but we feel well prepared for the tournament and expect to start off with a win."
Despite Balo's fighting words, teammate Andrea Pirlo believes that Super Mario needs to follow through on the pitch. In an interview with BBC Radio 5, the midfielder mused:
"He is a good kid. He needs to show just what he is worth on the pitch. But the World Cup is a great opportunity for him to show his true quality".
Italian Football Story of the Week
- Parma Players Plead for President to Stay after he blames Unpaid Taxes on Bad Memory
Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi put the club up for sale last week, after the side were accused of not having paid taxes on as many as nine players' contracts and informed they would not be allowed take part in next season's Europa League, despite their sixth place finish in Serie A. An appeal by the club was unsuccessful and Torino will now take Parma's place in Europe. Parma's players have now made an effort to convince Ghirardi to stay put and continue building for the future.
Ghirardi's laughable attempt to defend his non-payment of the taxes, came by way of the following comments to reporters:
"We have so many players, young players that sometimes you can’t remember. But you have to pay the tax on that. I’ve been here for seven years and I have always done that".
"We are good people who run a good house. But they have managed to push me away from the game. I’m done with football.
"I’m done. I’m resigning as Parma President, and as of July 1 a new story will begin.
"Parma is now for sale".
And it seemed that with Ghirardi's toys firmly flung out of his likely non-taxed pram, that Parma would become the plaything of another potentially amnesia-stricken sugardaddy. But there was a twist in the tail to come. For the Parma players have this week issued an open letter to Ghirardi via the official Parma website. The letter reads:
"Dear President, This is your team speaking.
"These are sad days for all of us, for the whole city. They took away a dream. A dream that we built day after day, with sweat and sacrifice.
"We understand the bitterness, the delusion, the sorrow of who feels betrayed by the institutions…
"But as men of the pitch, not of the court, we can only start over in one way: transform this injustice into anger and this anger in new energy".
"We are ready to start over the race for a goal which we deserved on the pitch this year, and which is outcome of a project of which you are the first author.
"But to do so we need you, your passion, your honesty!
"To experience these emotions of the 18th May again… your squad, the one you built with many efforts, asks you for another chance…
"DON’T GIVE UP PRESIDENT !!!
"Your team".
This president-club love story may not be over yet.
Artist's Impression of the Week
- 'Even Animals are catching World Cup Fever'
Football Recommendation of the Week
- Google Maps Streetview of World Cup Stadiums; Fearful that Brazil's World Cup stadium's weren't going to be ready in time? Pfft...Course they are! And just to prove it, Google Maps Streetview is allowing us to view inside each one. Now sitting in one for 90 minutes and praying that your seat doesn't give way could be a different matter. We're happy to look on from a distance for now...
Non-Football Recommendation of the Week
- Bedford Stuy Barbers; If you're in Dublin and need your mop chopped, this is the place to go.
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