Football and injuries tend to go hand-in-hand, with players putting their bodies on the line each week. However, it is not just on the field of play where they can find themselves at risk, with a fair few injuries occurring away from the action, and these tend to be absolutely hilarious.
Valencia midfielder Ever Banega found himself as the latest victim of such an incident, when refuelling his car. The Argentine left his vehicle without putting the handbrake on, causing it to roll back over his foot, fracturing both his leg and ankle. The automobile mis-hap may be very unfortunate and worrying for all involved, but that doesn’t make it any less amusing.
Banega is by no means alone in his rotten luck, with many footballing thoroughbreds suffering odd injuries down the years. Here’s a list of some of those stars and the baffling injuries they have suffered.
Athletic Bilbao’s Iker Muniain has been likened to the Argentinean wizard Lionel Messi but is he actually as good as him? The 18 year old has been linked with Liverpool in recent days, so what do we know of him?
A product of Bilbao’s youth academy, the Basque became the team’s youngest ever player in July 2009 when he came on as a substitute against Switzerland’s BSC Young Boys in a Europa League qualifier, aged just 16 years, 7 months and 11 days. He then became the youngest player ever to score for the club when he scored in the return leg, helping Bilbao into the group stages.
In August 2009, Muniain made his league debut against Espanyol, and it wasn’t long before he broke another record, by scoring his first league goal against Real Valladolid in a 2-2 draw, making him the youngest player to ever score in La Liga, aged just 16 years and 289 days.
When he initially broke into the side, he played mostly as a support striker, but he prefers to play on the wings, and this campaign he has established himself as a left winger in Joaquin Caparros’s midfield. His style of play is rightly compared to Lionel Messi as at 5ft 6, he possesses great speed and agility on the ball with a similar low centre of gravity, and like the Argentine genius, he is also truly two footed, and possesses great technique and ball control.
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Playing in the top league at the tender age of 16, Muniain has shown a great deal of maturity beyond his years. He has great tactical awareness, and this was emphasised by his manager Caparros when after he provided two assists against Real Zaragoza last season, he said that Muniain possesses a “built-in GPS and eight gears.” Not only is he tactically astute in the offensive third though, he can also track back runners and has a never-say-die attitude which has led some in Spain to compare him favourably to Wayne Rooney.
He never shies away from physical encounters despite his diminutive stature and his hunger for the game is greatly admired. He loves to play the game at high tempo, and he has added goal scoring to his locker this season by scoring nine goals from his left wing position.
Still, there are areas that Muniain will need to improve upon. He is not physically strong, and can be pushed off the ball a little bit too easily. You can imagine that opposition defenders would make mince meat of the player in the Premier League, but with his ball control, speed and skill, he may just be too quick for many defenders, and you only have to look as far as Lionel Messi to know that size and strength isn’t everything in the modern game.
So, in conclusion, Muniain is certainly a promising player. Whether he would be interested in a move to Liverpool is up for debate, but he would certainly fit into the strategy of bringing in quality young players to Anfield.
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Kevin MacDonald has hinted that he could leave Aston Villa after being overlooked when the club stepped up their search to find a permanent successor to Martin O'Neill who resigned less than a week before the start of the season.
MacDonald has been in caretaker charge since O'Neill's exit but Monday's 2-1 defeat at Stoke City may be his last match in the hot-seat as Gerard Houllier is set to take on the managerial reins.
MacDonald has already turned down the chance to be the Frenchman's assistant but it had been thought that he would return to his previous job as reserve team boss.
However, he said:"I put my name up for the job. Once I did that I knew there might be disappointment. It took me long enough to decide what I wanted to do.
"Once I didn't get it I was disappointed, but my decision to go back and work with the reserves is totally down to me to re-evaluate what I want to do, it's as simple as that.
"I had always thought when I got the job that I wasn't going to do the assistant's job, so there was never any thought of doing that. Now I have to decide whether I'm going to be a manager.
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"Some would say I'm going to be a decent manager, others might not. I need to know for myself. I'm doing things for me."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
29th November 2006 – The day which Alex Song hit his lowest point in football. He was still a fringe player in the Arsenal squad at this time and had been selected for their trip at Fulham to come into a struggling side. Song’s performance was below par and he became the scapegoat for the team’s loss and poor start to the season. He was booed by a section of the away fans, shamefully, and was hauled off at half time by Arsene Wenger . It’s reported that the embarrassment didn’t stop there.
In the dressing room, Thierry Henry shouted at Song in front of the whole squad to the horror of the manager. It is widely thought that this is the main reason Henry was dropped for the coming games. However, it has been a near constant rise since that night for the Cameroonian. This was his only start in the Premier League for the club that season and in January, he moved to Charlton on loan for the rest of the season. It could be said this was the making of the strong defensive midfielder.
He made 12 Premier League appearances and despite Charlton’s subsequent relegation, Song starred and showed the fans of all clubs, especially Arsenal, that he was better than that performance in West London earlier in the season. Many outings were made in a central defensive position which he had much experience of in the past but was not his preferred position. He strengthened their defence and went from strength to strength with regular Premier League football the key to his progress.
Going back to Arsenal the next season proved difficult as he still found league appearances hard to come by and the midfield partnership of Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini seemed impenetrable. Then came his chance and emergence as Flamini rejected a new contract at the club and left for A.C. Milan on a free, to the dismay of Arsenal fans. This gave him the chance to challenge Denilson for the central midfield spot beside Cesc Fabregas and he made 31 league appearances in a breakthrough year for the then 22 year old.
Although, the 2009-10 season was one in which Song truly made himself a first team fixture and became a key member of the Arsenal midfield. Wenger changed his tactics from the favoured 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation which gave the team more solidity and meant they could keep possession a lot better domestically, and crucially, in Europe. This was perfect for him as there was now a truly defensive midfield position in the team where he could be trusted to sit in front of the defence and give the creative players a platform to attack.
The team started strongly, scoring 10 goals on their first two games, with Song starting in midfield with Denilson and Fabregas. Despite two unlucky away losses to the Manchester clubs, their strong start continued and these were their only losses in their first 11 fixtures. He was constantly improving and doing a fantastic job of protecting the infamously fragile Arsenal defence and providing a shield against attacks and starting attacks himself.
He became one of the first names on the team sheet and was key in Arsenal’s impressive season where they were in realistic contention for the title until the last 5 or 6 games where they faltered amid a defensive injury crisis which led to the comeback to the club of Sol Campbell.
In my opinion, one of his standout performances of that and many other seasons, was the 1-0 win at home to Liverpool in February 2010. After losses to Chelsea and Manchester United in their previous two games, Arsenal ’s title challenge was on the ropes and they needed a win to revive it. In what was quite a dreary game, he did a phenomenal job of keeping the midfield solid and marking Steven Gerrard out of the game. Arsenal eventually scored the winner through an Abou Diaby header 18 minutes from time.
The 2009-10 season was a key time for Wenger’s Arsenal as their tactics and style of play changes to a much more Barcelona-like way of being patient and keeping possession. This is perfect for Song who isn’t the most pacey or dynamic of central midfielders but he is brilliant and making simple passes, keeping the football and protecting his defenders.
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Last season began inconsistently for Arsenal as they lost 6 league games by Christmas but had kept themselves in a reasonably weak title race where every team was lacking quality and consistency. He continued to be a regular fixture in the side and added an attacking verve to his game which hadn’t been seen as much the previous season. This could be attributed to the emergence of Jack Wilshere and his defensive qualities which meant he could trust him to sit back and shield the defence if he ventured forward which he did very successfully. He showed he had an eye for the killer pass as well as the ability to score crucial goals.
The most crucial coming in October when he came up with an 88th minute winner at home to West Ham to finally break down the North London rivals and win the game 1-0. He scored 5 goals by the end of 2010, but this was, sadly, the end of his goalscoring form for the year. Arsenal’s unbeaten run from December to April, coinciding with Robin van Persie’s return, led to a strong title challenge but the team yet again fell away at the end of the season and slipped to 4th eventually.
However, Song had once again had a storming season and had established himself as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League.
This season started poorly for him and the rest of the team with the loss of his deep midfield partner Jack Wilshere to injury along with the sale of creative midfielders, Fabregas and Samir Nasri. But the purchase of Mikel Arteta has been fantastic for Song and the Arsenal midfield, he has the nous and ability to sit back when Song ventures forward and give him a key outlet when sparking attacks. They have formed a strong partnership in the team, starting virtually every league game together so far.
Alex Song obviously suffered from a turbulent and inconsistent start to his Arsenal career but the loan spell at Charlton along with the change of tactics at Arsenal has led to him establishing a key and strong position in the team helping them to two title challenges as well as a standout win at home to Barcelona in February. His constant rise seems unstoppable and he is sure to be a key performer for Arsenal for many years to come.
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Article courtesy of Charlie Rainsford from This is Futbol
AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri wants his team to stay focused despite moving a step closer to the Serie A title with a win over Brescia.Although Inter Milan also won on Saturday, Napoli lost at Palermo making AC Milan’s 1-0 win all the more important.
Allegri’s team has an eight-point gap on Inter with four games remaining, but the boss wants his team to remain focused.
“Another four points would secure the Scudetto. Now, we have to focus on having a relaxing Easter break and from Wednesday we’ll start thinking about Bologna, another difficult game seeing as they’re getting sucked back into the relegation battle,” Allegri said.
“We’re not planning any title celebrations right now. We just need to relax over Easter.”
Milan’s superior head-to-head record over Inter and Napoli this season means even if they finish level on points, the title would be theirs.
They had to wait until the 82nd minute for Robinho to find the net at Brescia and Allegri said his team deserved to win.
“We had two or three risky situations with Brescia, as unfortunately we didn’t make our first-half domination count,” Allegri said.
“It’s only natural to have a little fatigue as we played in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday evening, but the lads held out well.”
“The team overall created plenty of scoring opportunities and deserved the victory.”
Midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was a late withdrawal after suffering a muscle injury in the warm-up.
The signature of Sol Campbell by Newcastle manager Chris Hughton in the summer is generally thought to be a shrewd one by the Premier League club. The former England international defender brings a whole host of experience with him to St James’ Park and will help provide competition for places at the heart of the Newcastle backline. The question is, though, with Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson forming a solid centre-back partnership, will Campbell be able to force himself into the first team picture?
Campbell arrived at Newcastle amidst claims he was ‘fat’ and some way from fitness following his wedding and hence lack of training in the summer. The defender is not exactly getting any younger as his 36th birthday approaches, but Campbell still has a role to play for the Toon. As a professional footballer it won’t take long to get himself back up to speed and following a couple of reserve team outings, he’s already well on the way to doing this. Campbell himself believes he’ll make his debut at home to Blackpool on Saturday, but surely he can’t expect more than a short run-out from the bench, can he?
Hughton won’t want to change a line-up that demolished Aston Villa and more than held their own at Molineux against Wolves. Coloccini is showing what a class act he is and Williamson is proving that he was an absolute steal when Newcastle signed him from Portsmouth in January. With the form of these two, Campbell will have to settle for a place on the bench, but given the injury to Steven Taylor, he will certainly be next in line. Campbell may be getting on a bit, but he hasn’t lost any of his ambition that has made him a winner throughout his career and that can only be a good thing for Newcastle.
Former Liverpool midfielder Gary McAllister gives his thoughts on the current goings on at the club. Here he talks about the signings new owner John W. Henry has sanctioned over the past summer, as well as how he believes the side will do over the course of the season as they challenge for honours. He discusses how the new signings are gelling at the club and whether players who commanded high fees, such as Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing, are maybe struggling to settle into the current Liverpool setup.
McAllister also gives his thoughts on the absence of Steven Gerrard and the effect the Liverpool captain could have had on the latest crop of Liverpool signings. A figure to lead and guide the latest acquisitions to the midfield has perhaps slowed their settling in at the club.
He also looks at the contribution Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have on the club; citing their passion for the history and tradition of Liverpool FC. Furthermore, the perhaps delicate issue of moving to a new stadium and leaving behind the great atmosphere of Anfield, particularly of European nights, is discussed.
Finally, McAllister talks about his time at the club, touching on the slight disappointment of not coming to the club sooner and what Liverpool could have achieved during the nineties…
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J-League champions Nagoya Grampus were held to a 1-1 home draw by Seoul in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday.With the J-League season being postponed due to the earthquake that shook the country, Nagoya entered the match with the risk of being underdone and were facing a Seoul side who had won both of their Group F fixtures so far.
But a lack of football did not seem to affect Nagoya, at least not in the early stages, as Japanese international Kensuke Nagai found the back of the net after 13 minutes to give the hosts an early lead.
But the Japanese side failed to add to their advantage and were made to pay when Hyun-Tae Choi grabbed the equaliser for the Korean side just after the hour mark.
The result leaves Seoul on top of the group with seven points from three matches, while Nagoya are bottom of the group with just one point from two fixtures.
In the other Group F match, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates claimed a point in a goalless draw with Hangzhou Lucheng in China.
In Group H, Sydney FC played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Shanghai Shenhua at the Sydney Football Stadium.
The visitors took a sixth minute lead after Dubier Riascos found the back of the net via a deflection, but just seven minutes later Nick Carle cancelled out the opener with a tidy finish.
The other fixture in Group H also ended in a 1-1 draw, with Koji Nakata’s 71st minute strike for the Kashima Antlers cancelling out Ki-Hyun Yeom’s opener.
Zob Ahan of Iran claimed a 3-1 away win against Al Rayyan in Group D thanks to goals from Mohamad Khalatbari Limaki, Igor Castro and Ghasem Haddadifar, while a brace from Alhassane Keita kickstarted Al Shabab in their 4-0 win over Emirates.
In Group B, another Iranian side finished on the winners list, with Esteghlal defeating Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan 4-2.
Dusan Savic fired the Uzbekis in front after just four minutes but first-half strikes from Hawar Mulla Mohammed and Farhad Majidi gave Esteghal a 2-1 lead at half-time, before further goals from Mehdi Salehi and Arash Borhani sealed the result.
Harry Redknapp is an ambitious man, his comments regarding a challenge for the league title show the faith he has in his team:
“I feel we could contend for the title; we have got the players here. We have to aim for it. We could win the championship.”
However, it is not everyone at Tottenham who shares his thoughts. Tim Sherwood, a first team coach under Redknapp and Joe Jordan, believes that any talk of the Premier League crown is too hasty, and just emulating last season will be a difficult enough, and I for one agree with him. Sherwood told Ham & High:
“I think we overachieved massively last season. It was beyond expectation, everyone would say that. For us to emulate that would be a massive success. We know how hard it was last year, it would be even more difficult this year. It will be far harder for everyone this year. Manchester City are obviously going to be stronger, and Liverpool won’t be as bad as they were last year. We’re obviously going to try to finish as high as we can.”
As it stands, Tottenham have essentially the same squad as last year – just the one signing of Sandro – while, as Sherwood highlighted to, their main rivals, Man City, Liverpool and Everton, have all improved their squads. What Spurs do have in their favour is the self-belief that they can get finish in the top four having got there last year.
Eastlands has already seen a number of new arrivals, will conceivably be adding more, and will be hurting from missing out on Champions League football. It is hard to imagine Liverpool being as bad as they were last season; Torres has committed to the club, they have the excellent Roy Hodgson at the helm and have been shrewd in the transfer market. If Everton can avoid the injuries they had last season and get off to a good start then it will be a closely fought contest. Admittedly Spurs also suffered injuries last season, particularly to their defence, but currently those problems don’t look like they have improved significantly, with big doubts over Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate.
I can understand that Redknapp wants his team to aim high, and that maybe this time last season people wouldn’t have believed that his team would have finished fourth, but the talk of the title is off the mark. Spurs had an amazing season but they were still 16 points off Chelsea, whose goal difference was 45 better off than Redknapp’s team (71 compared to 26). To make up that difference over a season is unrealistic.
Before Redknapp can consider a title push, he must first concentrate on qualifying for the Champions League, failure to get through the qualifiers will mean that their fourth place finish will mean far less than before. Playing in the biggest club competition will be a fantastic feat for Spurs, but also brutally tough. Spurs will have to match last year’s achievements alongside the Champions League – a skill that takes the world’s best teams, with huge squads, years to perfect.
Perhaps what Redknapp said were simply mind games to ruffle the feathers of those around him, show the league that Spurs would go into this season fearing nobody. The reality is that last season there were only two teams really competing for the Premiership, and they will probably be the only two again this season. Over nine seasons, Chelsea went from league finishes of about 11th, to 6th, then 4th, then 3rd and then stayed around that mark for a few years until Abramovich and Mourinho pushed them over the finish line. Spurs have improved gradually over the last five years and will continue to do so, but probably over the same rate as they have been progressing thus far; a jump from 4th to 1st is out of Spurs’ grasp. An exciting season awaits Spurs and a repeat of last season will be an achievement in itself.
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With the PL season nearly upon us, let’s see the WAGS that will be keeping the players on their toes. Click on image to VIEW gallery
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Early festive gift for Wigan, from Franco Di Santa
(Apologies for that shocking pun,
More likely to find that in The Sun!)
Chelsea goals from Terry, Sturridge and Mata,
A great performance by the latter,
Finally at Anfield to our old friend Mario,
Sent off as the fans said “Cheerio,”
Nevertheless for Balotelli this wasn’t the end,
For he would cuse the dressing room door to bend!
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Game of the Weekend
Manchester United’s encounter against Newcastle it was a tight but still interesting clash. United took the initiative when it came to attacking but Alan Pardew’s side always looked dangerous on the break. The Red Devils have played worse this season and come away with all three points. Perhaps Saturday’s result was a bit of karma then as Ferguson’s troops turned in a good performance lacking a clinical edge. For Newcastle though, a great result with some brilliant last ditch defending to boot.
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Save of the Weekend
Tim Krul may have been the busier of the two keepers at Old Trafford. However, David De Gea’s save from Fabricio Coloccini’s half volley early in the second half was terrific. The young Spaniard displayed brilliant reflexes in tipping the Argentinian’s effort over the bar. After a midweek mistake against Benfica, saves like that can only help to rebuild his confidence.
Player of the Weekend
Whilst those with attacking flair nearly always take the plaudits, this weekend saw some magnificent performances between the sticks. The Newcastle ‘keeper Tim Krul had to be at his very best to keep United at bay. He was unlucky to concede in any case as Steven Taylor’s clearance rebounded kindly off Javier Hernandez. However, Krul pulled off a string of saves late on to earn a valuable point for Newcastle in their quest for European football.
Surprise of the Weekend
Aside from Robin van Persie not scoring, the fact the Gunners didn’t overcome Fulham was a sizeable shock. The Cottagers are notorious for their poor away form. However, they turned in a disciplined performance at the Emirates on Saturday evening to ensure they got a share of the spoils. The result ended Arsenal’s run of five consecutive league victories. Arsene Wenger will be hoping that his side can get back on track at the DW Stadium.
Defensive Mishap of the Weekend
Once upon a time in the North East, there was the Newcastle centre back partnership between Titus Bramble and Jean Alain Boumsong, somewhat cruelly known as the Chuckle Brothers Live Show. In what appeared to be a tribute act in nearby Sunderland, Wes Brown and ‘keeper Keiren Westwood decided to play about with the ball in their own half in the final minutes of their clash against Wigan. However, Brown was tackled by McArthur and he rolled in Di Santo for a simple tap in leaving the Sunderland pair red faced. The Latics with an important victory thanks to a lapse in concentration.
As an impassioned football fan, it was terribly sad to see the news on Sunday morning that Gary Speed had passed away. Condolences go out to his family and friends at what must be a very difficult time.
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