Soccer Cleats 101 Soccer Cleats News and Reviews
Labour Day is upon us, which if you’re like me and live in Canada means, one last long weekend before the kids go back to school; and one last long weekend of summer before we fall into autumn. But, I’d be remiss if I let us fall into autumn without first taking a look back at the summer of 2014, a summer which has been in a word, controversial.
So, let’s send off the summer of 2014 by taking a browse at some of the most controversial events of the summer. Countdown begin!
No. 5 – SPANISH SIESTA SEES WORLD STUNNED
I suppose this could be among the more surprising elements of the summer as opposed to controversial. But yes Spain the defending World and European champions didn’t make it out of the group stage in Brazil. Not only didn’t they make it out of the group, they looked awful in all three matches. Somehow the Marquis del Bosque still has his job despite his various tactical blunders in Brazil, such as bringing on Fernando Torres when chasing a match.
No. 4 – CESC ACCEPTS THE CHECK
Three years after leaving North London for his dream move back to Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas is back in London, only now he’s cross town playing for Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, who just happen to be one of the Gunners bigger rival sides. That Febregas would move to Chelsea having spent 8 years at Arsenal, including a stint at club captain is a tad controversial. However, for me, the larger controversy is that Gunners manager Arsene Wenger is rumoured to have had first refusal on re-signing his former captain and chose not to.
No. 3 – EL ASSO WIPEO BREAKS NEYMAR’S BACK OVER HIS KNEE LIKE SO!
I could probably talk about the harsh treatment Brazil gave to Colombia’s James Rodriguez, or the fact that Thiago Silva was lucky to stay on the pitch after he bull rushed David Ospina. But according to the global soccer community both incidents paled in comparison to when Juan Zuniga (El Asso Wipeo) clattered through the back of the Brazilian talisman. Given Neymar’s propensity to fall to the floor when the wind changes directions (see Robben, Arjen syndrome); I assumed it was once again another ploy to win a free kick. You could imagine my shock when the gurney came out and removed Neymar from the field of play. The shock was doubled when several hours later it was announced that Neymar had broken his back. Easily a very controversial event!
No. 2 – WHO ORDERED THE BATTERED BRAZILIAN?
Easily the most incredible score since Germany 1- England 5. Without Neymar and Thiago Silva, Brazil were always going to be under the cosh against the German’s. But did anyone truly call a 7-1 scoreline? No chance. The German’s were ruthless playing against the home side, who were to quote an old football cliche “at sixes and sevens”. There was a bit of World Cup history here too, as Miroslav Klose scored his 16th and final World Cup goal, making him the highest scoring player in World Cup history.
No. 1 – MAN BITES OTHER MAN
It’s a well known convention in football that you do your damnedest to win, but one thing you don’t do is bite an opponent. Apparently this world class player who I won’t name (because he bit another player), wasn’t taught that, as it was his third instance of biting an opponent in four years (honest, he’s just a misunderstood lad). But it wasn’t all bad for our nameless friend, after all, despite being banned by FIFA until October, he did seal a £75million move from Liverpool to Barcelona. Not bad for a player with history of cannibalism.
But what say you? Have some additions to the list of controversial events? Leave your take down below! As always you can reach us on facebook or twitter.
