footballcircus: The Cat in Catalonia

Welcome to another week of your favourite farcical football blog, Football Circus. And what a week it has been for us. We're delighted to announce that we have been now been short listed in the 'Best Sports / Recreation blog' category of the Blog Awards Ireland 2014. We'd like to thank everyone who nominated us to begin with, which resulted in our getting to the 'long list' stage. Also a big thank you to the judges who chose to put us on the short list - We really appreciate the recognition.

Now, onto business. Our 'business' this week comes in the form of a feline pitch invader, an embarrassing snub for the South Korean national team, Francesco Totti's dodgy hands and an amusing anecdote involving Bafetimbi Gomis and Football Manager. Mario Balotelli has also had a big week which we will of course update you on and there's a Luis Suarez impersonator in Italy...

Football Circus Clown Quote of the Week

"I was asked the question about Balotelli last week and spoke about what a talent he is and excellent player he is. But I can categorically tell you that he will not be coming to Liverpool".

- Brendan Rodgers, August 3rd, 2014

Feline Pitch Invader Puts the Cat in Catalan

Sunderland may have been in action last weekend but it wasn't just the Stadium of Light where you could find black cats. Barcelona took on Elche at the Nou Camp on Sunday and found an uninvited guest of the feline variety had made its way onto the pitch.

The match was called to a halt as officials gave chase to the Catalan cat, who made them look rather foolish in their attempts, giving rise to laughter from the Barcelona bench and manager Luis Enrique.

Eventually, one match official managed to get to grips with the crowd's new favourite Nou Camp star, escorting it off the pitch, though it wriggled free from his arms immediately afterwards. Barca went on to win the match 3-0, giving them the purrfect start to their La Liga campaign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdEbpYilNvA

Gomis Fancies Himself as Football Manager

New Swansea City forward Bafetimbi Gomis delighted fans of the Welsh side when his signing was announced. He has now made Football Circus quite happy after a rather candid, yet amusing, interview with Swansea's official website revealed his methods of researching his new team - managing the club in Football Manager!

Said Gomis:

"I play a lot of Football Manager.

"During my time with my previous club, we traveled quite a bit for European matches. Therefore, I used my spare time on the plane to play.

"I’ve been playing the game ever since my development stages, but I have found it very helpful in helping me find out more about Swansea.

"Before I signed here, I spent a month playing as Swansea to help me get to know my team-mates – to find out a bit more about them".

Who needs guided tours around the stadium and introductions to the club captain when you can just play a few seasons of Football Manager!

Totti Drops a Clanger

AS Roma's final pre-season friendly saw them travel to Greece this week to take on AEK Athens. Their hosts gave them quite a welcome before the match which saw Roma grabbing a 2-1 victory. Prior to kick off, the Greeks saw fit to honour the 37 year old of their Italian guests, Francesco Totti.

Officials from the Greek side posed for pictures with Totti as they presented him with a plaque to commemorate his impressive career. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent as to why Totti forged a career as a striker rather than a goalkeeper. No sooner had Totti been handed the plaque, was he dropping it onto the ground. To make matters even more embarrassing for the Italian legend, the plaque broke on impact with the ground. He awkwardly picked it up and attempted to cover up the fact that he had immediately destroyed AEK's generous gift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0aUTFTGcgE

Van Marwijk Turns Down South Korea Job

Bert van Marwijk has turned down an offer to become the new manager of the South Korea national team. His reasoning? Well according to media in the country, van Marijk was none too keen on spending time in the country! Furthermore, he believed the job would result in him paying too much tax and swiftly told the KFA "Thanks, but no thanks".

While the rumours that van Marwijk rejected the Koreans for the aforementioned reasons remain just rumours, a statement from Lee Yong-soo, head of the KFA technical committee, would suggest there is some truth to them:

"The candidates that do qualify don't come cheap.

"Not a lot of coaches view this position positively. I think they feel the pressure of having to go through the qualifying stages for the next World Cup".

It is believed the Koreans will now look to appoint a manager who is based closer to home, rather than attempt further negotiations with a 'big name' coach.

"We have contacted four to five candidates about the position," Yong-soo continued. "We hope to have the new coach on the bench by the time we play friendly matches in October".

What's Mad Mario Upto this Week?

If you've been living under a rock you may not have noticed that Balo has this week finally left AC Milan to return to the Premier League, joining Liverpool for a reported £16 million. Having endured a somewhat tumultuous time with Milan, rumours had been circulating over the past two transfer windows that Balo was unhappy with Rossoneiri life and indeed, that Milan officials were none too keen on the striker either.

Having put pen to paper on a three year deal with the Anfield club, Super Mario had quite a bit to say of the move:

"Whenever I played against Liverpool, the fans weren't nice with me but that's normal - it's football!

"Now that I play for Liverpool, I can see the expectation in people. They're very happy and that makes me very happy at the same time.

"I'm happy to be back because I left England and it was a mistake. I wanted to go to Italy but I realised it was a mistake.

"Liverpool are one of the best teams here in England. The football is very good here. It's a great team with young players, and that's why I came here.

"I maybe have a little bit more experience than other players - if I can help them, I'm happy to help them".

Not neglecting to thank his former team however, Balo also posted a rather endearing goodbye message to AC Milan on his Instagram account.

Italian Football Story of the Week

- Serie B-iting Incident Sees Victim Sent Off!

Luis Suarez, eat your heart out (or whatever else you fancy sinking your teeth into this week). Serie B has witnessed its very own biting incident and it has resulted in the victim (or bitee if you will) being sent off for his reaction.

Avellino took on fellow Serie B side Bari on Sunday in the Coppa Italia and Avellino striker Gianmario Comi, perhaps frustrated by the fact that his side were 1-0 down at the time, chose to sink his teeth into the arm of Bari forward Giuseppe de Luca. De Luca reacted furiously and left the referee with no choice but to send him off for dissent.

To add insult to injury, it transpired Comi was also hungry for goals and in a cruel twist of fate, he grabbed an equaliser for Avellino before they scored a second and ran out 2-1 victors.

After the match, de Luca apologised on Bari's official website and attempted to explain his reaction:

"I had the wrong reaction and I apologize to the club, my teammates and the fans for leaving the team with ten – but I never expected to receive a bite from an opponent.

"Aggression is part of the sport, but vile episodes such as biting or spitting should not be tolerated.

"I regret that on the pitch I overreacted and I was wrong.

"A player of my experience should not fall into traps like this, but I was surprised by the gesture of Comi".

Bari also posted a photo of the bitemark on de Luca's arm to further back up their player.

Artist's Impression of the Week

- 'Gomis Researches his New Employers'.

Football Recommendation of the Week

- Football Ground Guide; Travelling to an away match in the UK or Ireland? This website will tell you all you need to now about the ground you're visiting, from how to get there to local bars to ticket prices. A simple yet brilliant idea and the website is particularly easy to use. One of our favourite football recommendations this year so far.

http://footballgroundguide.com/