REPORTS WE COULDN’T MAKE UP
1 A NEW LOW
At the start of February, USA took on Honduras in one of the coldest football matches on record. During the World Cup qualifier in Minnesota, temperatures plummeted to -16C, with many players wearing balaclavas during the match, and two of the visitors forced off at half-time. Honduras’ Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez said ahead of the qualifier: “The game hasn’t started but I can’t wait for it to end, because it’s not for enjoying, it’s for suffering,” although US coach Gregg Berhalter pointed out that they aren’t the only team to play in difficult conditions. “When we go down to those countries and it’s 90 degrees and it’s unbearable humidity and guys are getting dehydrated and cramping up and getting heat exhaustion – that’s the nature of our competition.”
2 STAT OF THE YEAR
The award for perhaps the most mind-boggling stat of the season goes to journalist Richard Jolly, who pointed out on Twitter that: “Roy Hodgson is the sixth man to manage Watford since they kept a Premier League clean sheet.” Fittingly, the Hornets ended that wait in their very first league match under the former England manager, drawing 0-0 with Burnley – their first shut-out since February 2020. That was a 3-0 win over Liverpool which came under Nigel Pearson, who has subsequently been replaced by Hayden Mullins (as caretaker), Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz, Claudio Ranieri and now Hodgson.
3 FRANCK FORGOTTEN
Former France and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery may not be one of the best wingers in Europe anymore, but he is still playing, aged 38, for Serie A side
Salernitana. That fact apparently came as news to Robinson de Castro, chairman of Brazilian side Ceara. “They called me yesterday and offered me the chance to sign Ribery,” he told Globo Espor te .“I didn’t even know he was still playing!” Unsurprisingly, the Frenchman didn’t move to Brazil, remaining with the struggling Italian side.
4 A TWEET TOO FAR
Girondins de Bordeaux found themselves looking for a new shirt sponsor after parting company with Winamax, following a series of tweets from the online betting firm mocking the club. The French side have spent the season struggling at the foot of Ligue 1 – a fact that Winamax have been all too ready to point out. Indeed, when the news of their split from Bordeaux was announced, they tweeted: “We’ve been looking for a good defence for one hour, but like the Girondins, we can’t find it.” Winamax previously sponsored Spanish side Granada, who were also left fuming after a similar tweet mocked the side’s performance – suggesting that the betting firm’s marketing strategy may differ from the clubs they ally themselves with.
5 DOUBLE DISALLOWED
Spare a thought for Andy Carroll who had not one but two world-class goals disallowed during Reading’s Championship defeat to Fulham. First, the former England striker expertly converted a cross with an acrobatic bicycle kick, before later thumping in a left-footed volley from the edge of the penalty box after controlling the ball on his chest. Not that the goals would have affected the outcome of the match; the Royals lost 7-0 in what proved to be Carroll’s penultimate game for the club before joining West Bromwich Albion.