With the World Cup final just days away, it's time to come and worship at the alter of football. This week on Football Circus we bring you some babbling clergymen, Brazilian tears, gambling, smoking and a match which featured fireworks, an ambulance and descent from both players and fans alike. Quite the religious experience this week indeed...
Football Circus Clown Quote of the Week
"Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had eleven internationals out there today".
- Argentina had better watch out on Sunday if this Steve Lomas gem was anything to by.
Christianity Disagrees with Suarez and Colourful Boots...Apparently
It's a rare occasion that religion gets a mention here on Football Circus but this week Russian priest Alexander Shumsky and English reverend David Hull have caught our attention. Separately, the pair have found it appropriate to make comment on some football-related matters.
First up, Reverend Hull, while addressing mourners at the funeral of Derby County legend Jim Bullions, preached on Luis Suarez:
"It seems to me people like Gentleman Jim are sadly missed in the world of football today.
"And sorry folks, I'm not a political man, but I have to say that man was not fit to kiss Jim's boots and should never be allowed to play football again".
He may have had a point...though we're struggling to find any defence for comments made by Russian Orthodox priest Alexander Shumsky, who has gotten himself all in a tizzy about colourful football boots. Shumsky has come to the conclusion that his national team's failure at the World Cup is all down to their boot colour. In his column for website 'Russian People's Line', he wrote:
"Wearing pink or blue shoes, they might as well wear women’s knickers or a bra.
"The liberal ideology of globalism clearly wants to oppose Christianity with football. I’m sure of it.
"Therefore I am glad that the Russian players have failed and, by the grace of God, no longer participate in this homosexual abomination".
Stick to the bigotry Shumsky because you're clearly not too good at the football talk.
Neymar Injury sends Brazil into Meltdown
Up until the weekend, one would have thought that Giorgio's Chiellini teeth-marked shoulder would be the most talked about injury of the 2014 World Cup. That was until Juan Zuniga's knee made contact with Neymar's back and rendered the young Brazilian's tournament over.
Neymar's misfortune set tongues wagging the world over, not least for the Youtube video that surfaced, showing him being stretchered into hospital immediately after sustaining the injury.
He may be a multi-millionaire footballer, but surely even footballers deserve a little privacy. It would seem that the bosses of the nurse who filmed the action on her phone, would agree, as the silly selfie-taker has now been fired.
Meanwhile Neymar himself has been getting teary-eyed over his injury woes...
And he's not the only one, as this little lady became a Youtube phenomenon this week, apparently gutted when she got the news of her hero's injury...
Even the Brazilian president got in on the act. President Dilma Rouseff sent a letter to the Barcelona striker, outlining how distraught she had been over his country's golden boy:
"It broke my heart and the heart of every Brazilian watching the pain on your face on the Castelao field yesterday.
"But we also saw the immense strength of a great warrior, who will never let himself be held back even when wounded.
"A great warrior who briefly interrupts his march, having already left his insurmountable mark on the victorious battle out Selecao is fighting.
"I know that, like every Brazilian, you will never give up, and sooner than one can imagine, you will be back to fill our souls with joy and our history with triumph.
"May God give you strength and always protect you".
Unfortunately Neymar's teammates failed to do him proud with their humilihating 7-1 defeat. It was perhaps a match Neymar may be thankful he wasn't fit for afterall.
7-1 Scoreline was a Certainty for Some Gambling Fans...And One Sleep Walker!
Brazil's shocking 7-1 loss against Germany this week was a result which almost nobody will have seen coming. However eight fans were confident enough in the outcome that they went as far as to place bets on a 7-1 Germany victory!
Paddy Power claim that four of its customers correctly predicted the outcome, Betfair say they had three correct winners and Australia betting outfit TAB also had a winner. Betfair had the correct scoreline at odds as high as 999/1.
Not only did the eight aforementioned gamblers correctly predict the scoreline, but a it was also, allegedly, foreseen by the sleepwalking husband of Brazilian woman Anna Guerra. Guerra, an artist who also runs annaguerra.com and is in no way seeking publicity, told Brazilian sports newspaper Lance! that on Tuesday morning her sleepwalking husband informed her the score would be 7-1 to Germany.
Recalling the conversation, Guerra told the newspaper:
"He said Germany. I asked him what the score would be and he said 7-1".
To back up her claims, she uploaded an Instagram photo showing her prediction for a 'guess the correct score' competition. Unfortunately for Guerra however, she only came out with a paltry 200,000 Real (equivalent to €66).
Dinamo try to Break Hearts
It pains us to say it, but the World Cup is almost at and end. It's a sad but inescapable fact. But life goes on and so does football. Well, just about if the Heart of Midlothian and Dinamo Bucharest 'friendly' which took place this week is anything to go by...
The match took place on Sunday in Lancashire, in the small town of Leigh to be precise. The game was originally due to take place in the Leigh Harriers Athletics ground but was moved to the Leigh Sports Village as the formerly mentioned venue had sustained 'shot put damage'.
The farcical encounter had attracted a number of Dinamo fans, with a small number of the 300 strong crowd cheering on the Romanian side. At half time, the Dinamo supporters, as they may do at a game in their home stadium (Stadionul Dinamo) which holds over 15,000, set off fireworks. Their actions were frowned upon by security who promptly had the culprits removed from the ground, though the guilty fans made some fruitless attempts to scale the fencing and regain entry.
But the show went on and the happenings on the pitch were even more jaw-dropping than those off it. Hearts' captain Scott Robinson was taken away from the game in an ambulance after picking up an injury. Tension intensified further when Dinamo captain Laurentiu Rus pushed the referee, infuriated with a decision to give Hearts a corner. He was swiftly shown the red card but did not leave the pitch quite as swiftly...in fact Rus refused to leave.
When Rus was eventually convinced to call it a day, Dinamo somehow managed to sneak another player on in his place. It took several minutes before the extra man was noticed.
Hearts, despite Dinamo's efforts, ran out 2-1 winners.
What's Mad Mario Upto this Week?
A relatively quiet week for Mr. Balotelli, with the striker holidaying in sunny Florida. But when you're Mario Balotelli, even when you're on holiday you're not out of the spotlight. And some dedicated / privacy-invading photographers have caught Balo being a bit of a scallywag, with photographs now doing the rounds of Super Mario on his Florida balcony, SMOKING!! The photo can been seen on fameflynet.uk.com, who clearly feel that being a professional footballer means Balotelli is not entitled to any time out of the media.
Meanwhile, speculation about Mad Mario's future rages on, with the latest team to be linked with a move for the Italian striker being Turkish outfit Galatasary. Cesare Prandelli, who managed the Italian national side that crashed out of the World Cup at the groups stage, has just been announced as the team's new manager following fellow countryman Roberto Mancini's departure.
Gala chairman Tomas Ujfalusi has denied the club have a 'specific interest' in the player but had the following to say about the possibility of Balotelli move:
"Whilst I do not know of specific interest, he is a strong player. Here he would be king".
A king perhaps, but a champion? Not in the eyes of Prandelli, who told reporters of Balo:
"For now he only has great shots, but he's not yet a champion.
"He must work to become one".
Italian Football Story of the Week
- Cole Joins Roma
In what is surely one of the more surprising transfers of the summer, former England left back Ashley Cole has joined Serie A giants AS Roma on a free transfer having spent seven seasons at Chelsea. Cole, now 33, has signed a two year contract with the Giallorossi.
Roma announced via their official website:
"AS Roma have acquired Ashley Cole's playing registration on a two-year deal which expires on June 30, 2016.
"The agreement also gives the club the right to extend the contract into a further season".
Cole is reputed to have have taken an incredible £160,000 a week paycut, reducing his weekly wage to £35,000. The wage drop paints a picture of man who still has a hunger for the game even in the later stages of his career - a far cry from the money-grabbing image once attributed the ex-Arsenal man. Of contract negotiations with Arsenal in 2006, Cole was famously quoted in his autobiography:
"When I heard my agent repeat the figure of £55,000 [per week], I nearly swerved off the road".
Roma may get some decent mileage out of the fullback yet.
World Cup Fantasy Football Team and Predictions
- Football Circus World Cup 2014 Fantasy Football Team
In case you missed it, we updated our Facebook page earlier in the week in order to have a full lineup for the semi-finals and we've now progressed from our position of 630,941st upto 605,040th. We're pretty sure it's a direct result of most other participants losing interest at this stage, but we'll take it! As the third place playoff also counts as a game where points are available, our lineup remains unchanged from earlier in the week. Again, we're still aiming for zero goals from our frontline (still going strong with this), one sending off and an own goal.
- Football Circus 10 World Cup Predictions
Here's the penultimate roundup of our pre-World Cup predictions:
1. Italy to progress to at least the quarter-finals with Mario Balotelli scoring at least two goals along the way
2. Kevin Grosskreutz to do something stupid
3. The Dutch squad to have a massive falling out
4. The French squad to have a massive falling out
5. Wayne Rooney to be pants
6. Cristiano Ronaldo to finally make an impact at the World Cup
7. Javier Mascherano to be sent off
8. Spain to relinquish their crown as champions
9. At least one team to blame poor performance on the heat
10. Julio Cesar to cry
2. Kevin Grosskreutz to do something stupid
3. The Dutch squad to have a massive falling out
4. The French squad to have a massive falling out
5. Wayne Rooney to be pants
6. Cristiano Ronaldo to finally make an impact at the World Cup
7. Javier Mascherano to be sent off
8. Spain to relinquish their crown as champions
9. At least one team to blame poor performance on the heat
10. Julio Cesar to cry
As it stands, with a mere one match left to play, we've been correct on three and a half of our predictions (we're perhaps being harsh on ourselves, allowing only half a point on the Rooney prediction). We're hoping both Grosskreutz and Mascherano lose their heads in the final to salvage something from our now ridiculous looking predications. Come back next week to find out the full extent of just how wrong we were...
Artist's Impression of the Week
- 'Germany Take On Argentina in the World Cup Final'.
Football Recommendation of the Week
- MESSI; From fcbarcelona.com: "Directed by Álex de la Iglesia, the film ‘Messi’, in documentary format, details the life of the Barça superstar. With prominent figures from Messi's sporting life, the film examines the keys to his success, from childhood up to now". This looks like it could be one football film worth watching.
Non-Football Recommendation of the Week
- Maynards Wine Pastilles; Another week has gone by where nothing non-football related has really caught our eye. Maybe it's all this World Cup malarkey. However we would like to recommend these as they're bloody delicious.
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