REPORTS WE COULDNÕT MAKE UP
1 GRIEZMANN SPOILS THE IBIZA PARTY
The party island of Ibiza made the most of its team UD Ibiza’s first-ever competitive match against Barcelona. The two sides were drawn together in the Copa del Rey, the first season that UD Ibiza had entered the competition. The club, only formed in 2015, hired one of the island’s top DJs, Manu Gonzalez, to “provide the pre-match and half-time beats”, and it nearly inspired an almighty shock as the islanders took a ninth-minute lead through Javi Perez. They held on until the 72nd minute, when Antoine Griezmann equalised for the Spanish champions. He then added a second, deep into added time, to break Ibiza hearts.
2 WHO YA GONNA CALL?
The unlikely appointment of English management duo Alan Pardew and Chris Powell was greeted at their first game in charge of Eredivisie strugglers Den Haag with a giant Ghostbusters banner in the home fans’ end. The word “degradatiespook” was visible across the banner which when translated means “‘relegation ghost” and the local supporters clearly hope that the pair can inspire their team to avoid the drop. Pardew and Powell began well with a 2-0 win over RKC Waalwijk but a 4-0 loss at Utrecht and a home draw with Vitesse left them three points adrift of the play-off spot.
3 DE ROSSI IS MADE UP TO WATCH ROMA
Former Roma captain Daniele De Rossi, who announced his playing retirement in January, wore a disguise of fake nose and glasses in order to watch the recent derby game against Lazio from the Curva Sud section of the Stadio Olimpico. Born and raised in the city’s workingclass suburb of Ostia, when he left his home-town club last year the midfielder said he would find a way to return and watch his old team “with a beer and a sandwich to cheer on my friends”. The 36-year-old’s wife, Sarah Felberbaum, revealed De Rossi’s make-up job on Instagram, explaining: “We lost an entire afternoon, hours of make-up and traumatised children, but he was happy like a little kid.”
4 CUP PRANK PAYS OFF FOR JASON
Shrewsbury Town of the third tier in English football welcomed the Sky Sports cameras down to their training ground ahead of their FA Cup fourth round tie at home to Champions League winners and Premier League champions-elect Liverpool. And forward Jason Cummings thought it would be fun to strip down to his underpants and play the clown while team-mate David Edwards was being interviewed. Four days later, however, Cummings was the hero as he scored twice in the second-half to earn the Shrews a moneyspinning replay at Anfield.