REPORTS WE COULDN’T MAKE UP
1 SEVEN-A-SIDE
In what is believed to be a footballing first, a Colombian league game saw Rionegro Aguilas take to the field with just seven players. Rionegro had several players injured and 15 out with COVID-19, but the league ruled that the game still had to go ahead. Despite this obvious handicap (the opposition had a full quota of players) and the fact that Aguilas had their reserve goalie starting in defence alongside another professional debutant, they heroically managed to shut opponents Chico out for almost 60 minutes, before eventually succumbing to a 3-0 defeat.
2 MORE COLOMBIAN CHAOS
Colombia has been witness to plenty of chaotic scenes in recent weeks. During Atletico Mineiro’s Copa Libertadores visit to America de Cali, protesters clashed with police outside the Romelio Martinez Stadium in Barranquilla with the sound of explosions and sirens echoing throughout the game. Tear gas was used by police during the clashes, which was then breathed in by the players. Although the game was interrupted on no fewer than eight separate occasions, the referee insisted against abandoning the action, with the Brazilian visitors eventually winning 3-1. “This was the worst thing I ever lived through,” said Atletico Mineiro coach, Cuca. “We couldn’t stay on the pitch because every part of us hurt. The eyes, the throat, the nose.”
3 SIGN LANGUAGE
In a year of empty stadiums, managers and players have got used to the novelty of being able to hear each other without their shouts and instructions being drowned out by the crowd. So with 8,000 fans in attendance for Brondby’s Danish Superliga clash with Midtjylland, coach Niels Frederiksen had to take matters into his own hands by writing the words “KEEP ATTACKING” on a whiteboard and showing it to his players. “I could not get in touch with my players,” he said after the game, “so I decided to send one of my assistants in and write on the sign so everyone could see it.” Despite being humorously mocked on social media and becoming somewhat of a meme, the ploy worked: Brondby won 3-1.
4 A LUCKY ESCAPE
Pre-match preparation is everything, so Rentistas midfielder Francisco Duarte having to escape a fire in his hotel room the night before a Copa Libertadores tie with Argentine side Racing Club was less than ideal. “I saw that there was a lot of black smoke and I felt the heat,” said Duarte. “I went to the window and opened it. There is a ledge there and that allowed me to go out and lean against the frame with my knees and hold on to the window with my hands,” said Duarte. Unsurprisingly, the Uruguayan side went on to lose 3-0.
5 DEADPOOL DZYUBA
For the second season in a row, Artem Dzyuba has topped the Russian Premier League scoring charts as Zenit
St. Petersburg lifted their third national league title in a row, and the veteran frontman marked the occasion in style – by collecting his medal dressed as the title character from the film Deadpool. The striker took to the stage with his son, who was presumably thrilled by his dad’s choice of outfit.