footballcircus: The Dirty 30

Thirty editions of Football Circus and we're still going. So to celebrate we have a special feature this week, 'The Dirty 30', our list of the thirty dirtiest footballers of the past thirty years. Before that though, we report on Pep Guardiola's Oktoberfest trip, a leaked Arsenal jersey and a statue causing controversy in Qatar, while the Italian Football Story of the Week focuses on AC Milan's disciplinary problems. So without further farting around, let us begin...

Guardiola Becomes Accustomed with the Locals

We begin this week with Pep Guardiola who has been pictured out celebrating at Munich's Oktoberfest along with his Bayern Munich players.

The attendance of and celebration of Oktoberfest is a tradition for the Bayern team and photos of their players and management wearing lederhosen and other equally ridiculous looking attire have become commonplace over the past few years.

This year was no different and it was Pep Guardiola whom the limelight shone over as the new manager was pictured donning a traditional hat along with lederhosen. Guardiola, whilst happy to be snapped downing local beer, was not overly talkative at the festival, as Bayern had only drawn their last game with Bayer Leverkusen, the game finishing 1-1.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, was more laid back about proceedings however, advising the Bayern players: "Celebrate freely. Our next game isn't for another two weeks. We can enjoy the beer".

Linford Christie Makes a Twit of Himself and Arsenal Buddies

Linford Christie has not hit the sports headlines in quite some time and he certainly has not hit the football headlines in, well possibly ever. That may change this week though as the former sprinter uploaded a photo to his Twitter account of himself, Arsenal stars Bacary Sagna and Olivier Giroud and Gunners legend Thierry Henry.

In the photo, Henry was wearing an Arsenal kit and Giroud an Arsenal training top. Nothing particularly remarkable about that. However the kit and training top modeled by Henry and Giroud appeared to be made by Puma. Arsenal's kit is currently manufactured by Nike but following the signing of a massive sponsorship deal, Puma will manufacture the kit from next season onward. Given the circumstances, Twitter has been rife with speculation from Gunners fans that the kits in the photo will be the kits they see their heroes wear next season.

To add fuel to the fire, Olympic gold medalist Christie deleted the photo from his Twitter account almost immediately.

The home kit worn by Henry, if in fact next season's kit, appears to be a safe bet from Puma as they aim to satisfy Arsenal fans with a classic kit design. Giroud's training kit seems a little more adventurous and could possibly have been taken from the wardrobe of the Michelin Man.

Zidane-Materazzi Statue Caues Uproar in Qatar

A sixteen foot statue depicting the infamous headbutt by Zinedine Zidane on Italian counterpart Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final has caused a stir in Qatar this week.

The statue had been on display in Paris before being bought by the Qatar Museum Authority in advance of the country's hosting of the 2022 World Cup. It now stands outside a restaurant in Doha.

The Qatar Museum Authority are quoted as saying:

"Yes, we expect a lot of people to want to take photos with it, and of it. It’s an impressive piece. It’s a huge sculpture, and it’s done in the same style as Greek Mythological statues, but this glorifies human defects instead. It shows that although we sometimes treat footballers like gods, they’re not – they’re just human beings".

However not all in Qatar are fans of the statue. Qatari's have taken to Twitter to express their displeasure, with one particular Tweeter commenting:

"Who is this Zidane to be honored by such a statue?! And what did he do for Qatar?! Should anyone who deserves to be honored receive that honor at the expense of our religion and beliefs?!".

Italian Football Story of the Week

- Milan Disciplinary Woes Continue

AC Milan have not had the best start to this season's Seria A campaign. Languishing in twelfth spot in the table, the Rossoneri have failed to impress. Not only are the results not going their way, but all in sundry appear to be losing their head's as discipline goes out the window.

A fortnight ago we reported on Mario Balotelli's post-match sending off following a fracas with the referee after his side's home defeat to Napoli. Milan have this week been hit with a double blow.

The first came in the form of defender Philippe Mexes' fist which he landed on the face of opponent Giorgio Chiellini as Milan lost 3-2 to Juventus.

Milan would have seen Juventus as title rivals going into the season but if early season form is anything to go by, Milan will be lucky to find themselves anywhere near the Turin giants at the season's conclusion. Mexes found himself sent off as he let his frustrations get the better of him, leading to two yellow cards. Mexes had also punched Juve defender Chiellini in an incident which was not spotted by the referee, but later caught on video. The Frenchman has now been punished with a four match ban.

The second blow to Milan this week was down to their fans. Chants labelled as 'abusive' b y authorities were sung during the Juventus match. The chants were in fact aimed not at Juventus fans but at Napoli fans, as the Milan crowd sang "We are not Neapolitans". With the Italian F.A. clamping down on racism this season, they hit the club with a €50,000 fine and ordered them to play their next game behind closed doors.

The Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani had the following to say on the punishment:

"To say I'm furious would be putting it mildly. I understand that racism is a big problem, a problem everywhere in the world but territorial discrimination is another thing entirely".

Fair or not, the Italian F.A. are unlikely to reverse their decision. With this week's international break, if nothing else, Milan may use the break to reflect on their disciplinary problems.

The Dirty 30

To celebrate our 30th edition, we've compiled a list of thirty of the dirtiest footballers of the past thirty years. Arrests, prison time, sendings off, bad tackles, spitting, racism, drugs...You name it, one of our thirty have done it. So, in no particular order, here's our list of thirty:

1. Roy Keane - Deliberately broke Alfie Haaland's leg in the Manchester derby, before standing over him to rub it in. Numerous sendings off and renowned as a hot head. First sending off came for stamping on Gareth Southgate
2. Vinnie Jones - Released a video in 1992 called 'Soccer's Hard Men' and after being punished by the English F.A., proudly proclaimed, "I've taken violence off the terracing and onto the pitch".
3. Edgar Davids - History of red cards and banned for failing a drugs test. Known as the 'Pitbull'. Most red cards ever received by a player in the Champions League (4).

4. Dennis Wise - A man Sir Alex Ferguson claimed "could start a fight in an empty house".
5. Joey Barton - Cigar stabbed out in youth team player's eye? Check. Hospitalise teammate after training ground assault? Check. Jail time? Check. 12 match ban for numerous misdemeanours in one match including elbowing, kicking and headbutting? Check.
6. Eric Cantona - Kung fu kicked a fan, receiving an eight month ban from football; Threw a ball at a referee; Punched a teammate in the face; Spat at a fan.

7. Luis Suarez - Caught biting a player on not one but two occasions. Diving, deliberate handballs and racism. The force is strong with this one
8. Kevin Muscat - 132 yellow cards and 12 red cards in his career. Impressive.
9. Marco Materazzi - A notoriously shrewd operator when it comes to playing dirty, Materazzi is as bad as most of the dirty thirty but knew how to keep his foul play unnoticed. He was only sent off once in his career, but his antagonising of Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final, leading to Zidane's headbutt and sending off, highlighted his ability to wind up opponents
10. Paolo Montero - Holds the record for the most red cards ever received in Serie A

11. Edmundo - Nicknamed the 'Animal', unfortunate holder of an atrocious disciplinary record both on and off the pitch; Drunk drove resulting in the deaths of three people
12. Marlon King - 18 months served in prison for sexual assault and actual bodily harm. Arrested again this year in connection with a hit and run incident
13. El Hadji Diouf - Convicted of driving without a licence; Spat at opposing fans on more than one occasion (including spitting at an eleven year old); Spat at opposing players on more than one occasion; Arrested for a nightclub brawl; Sent off for offensive gestures towards fans

14. Duncan Ferguson - Joined record holder for most red cards ever received in Premier League (8); Headbutted an opposing player while at Rangers resulting in three month prison sentence; Headbutted a policeman; Kicked a supportor on crutches

15. Andoni Goikoetxea - Just about makes into our 'past thirty years' category as the tackle for which he is infamously deemed a 'dirty' player occurred in 1983. That tackle was on none other than Diego Maradona and caused the Argentine severe ligament damage. He keeps the boot that did the damage in a glass case at his home. Nicknamed 'The Butcher of Bilbao' and clearly a psychopath, Goikoetxea has earned his place in our list of thirty

16. Graeme Souness - Broke an opposing player's jaw during the 1984 European Cup final.
17. Jens Nowotny - Most red cards ever received in the Bundesliga.
18. Patrick Vieira - Joined record holder for most red cards ever in Premier League (8).
19. Richard Dunne - Joined record holder for most red cards ever in Premier League (8).
20. Xavier Aguado - Joined record holder for most red cards ever in La Liga (18) while also amassing 109 yellow cards.
21. Pablo Alfaro - Joined record holder for most red cards ever in La Liga (18).
22. Cyril Rool - Most red cards ever received in Ligue 1 with 19, and a career total of 27. A further 187 yellow cards to boot.
23. Sergio Ramos - 17 red cards in total thus far for Ramos mean he's already seen as one of Spain's dirtiest players in history
24. Michel Salgado - A man Steve McManaman described as "the hardest person in the world....a genuine psychopath, even in training". With such sweet words being thrown in Salgado's direction, how could we exclude him?!
25. Paolo Di Canio - Pushed over a referee; Fascist salutes.
26. Mark Van Bommel - Notorious 'tough-tackler', five career sendings off including one in his last ever match.
27. Zinedine Zidane - Believe it or not, Zizou holds the record for the most sendings off in the World Cup. It may only be two, but it's a record all the same.

28. Rigobert Song - Along with Zidane, holds the record for most sendings off in the World Cup.
29. Sinisa Mihajlovic - A bad tempered, short-fused, angry, angry man. Hair pulling, pushing, shoving, kicking, punching, spitting, racist-remark-spewing footballer who once told Igor Stimac "I hope our guys kill all of your family in Borovo".

30. Paul Scholes - Not a particularly bad tempered player per se, the man just could not tackle. This resulted in him becoming the third most booked Premier League player ever.

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