You've seen the success that deploying the false nine has brought to its proponents. Now, football's latest tactical innovation is the false teeth. A fan of Argentinos Juniors expressed his unhappiness at the team's current run of form by throwing his dentures onto the pitch during the 3-1 defeat to Belgrano on Monday.
This may well be one of the worst misses of all time, with Willian Ribeiro the guilty party. Ribeiro was playing for Campinense against Atletico-PB in the Paraibano League in Brazil, when he was sent through on goal. The striker knocked the ball past the goalkeeper, and was left with a free shot on goal [.
On Wednesdayeveningover in Ecuador's Primera A division, second-placeDeportivo Quito found themselves 4-0 up againstDeportivo Cuenca in the first 25 minutes, though they had to wait till the hour mark for midfielder Alex Colon to complete the scoring when he unleashed hell from the half-way line.
It's all too common to see footballers and coaches laying their hands onto match officials, but your rarely see the refs fight back. That's exactly what referee Juan Pompei did as he struggled to keep a lid on a bad-tempered match between Newell's Old Boys and Arsenal. The video above gives you a taster of [.
In which veteran Deportivo Quito strikerWalter "Mamita" Calderon turns his man and volleys home to put his side 2-0 up over rivals LDU Quito in the Ecuadorian Primera A league a feat made all the more impressive once you factor in that he was actually sitting on his arse for roughly half of themaneuvre.
Arsenal fans were pleased to see the back of Andre Santos when he joined Brazilian side Gremio on loan. But it doesn't look like his performances have improved since his return to his homeland. He missed the decisive penalty in a 5-4 shootout defeat to Juventude in the Campeonato Gaúcho semi-final. And boy, did he [.
With their Campeonato Gaucho Cup semi-final against Juventude finishing1-0 after extra-time and with both sides scoring all of theprecedingnine penalties in the shootout, Gremio put their place in the final in the hands of a loanee:beloved Arsenal legend Andre Santos.
The Maracana re-opened yesterday with a "Friendsof Bebeto vs Friends of Ronaldo" charity game laid on especially for the workers who have been toiling away on it over the past three years, in which the latter Brazilian striker rolled back the years (and the flab) to score with a rinky dinky elastico-type thing in an 8-5 win for his side.
Complete with Yakety Sax to complete the effect, here's the truly glorious goalmouth scramble (or "stramash" for our Scottish viewers) that graced the Uruguayan Premier League game between Danubio and Cerro last weekend...
While Zinedine Zidane's 'roulette' move and Ronaldinho's 'flip-flap' are increasingly prominent skills to grace the game, the 'Redondo' made famous by Fernando Rodondo in Real Madrid's dismantling of Manchester United in 2000 is a pretty rare animal indeed. Yet, here is a Redondo spotted in the wilds of the South American Under-17 Championships [.
As Brazil starts to ramp up towards next summer's World Cup, Neymar's stock will continue to rise. The perfect indication that the Samba Boys' star is very much the man of the moment is that he has been made into a comic book character. Cartoonist and comic book artist Mauricio de Sousa is behind the [.
After just three minutes of last night's South American U17 Championship final stage tie, Argentina's Sebastian Driussi decided he'd had just about enough of not scoring sensational long-range overhead kicks and immediately set about redressingthe situation.
Yes, we all mocked Chris Waddle, Sergio Ramos et al, but at least they kicked the ball in the right direction. This woeful spot-kick comes from Brazil's Paulista A3 division. América-SP midfielder Pilo won the penalty and took it himself. A slip during his run-up led to Pilo scuffing the ball horribly, causing his attempt [.
Someone or something by the name of Etoilec1 has taken the time (and let's face it, it must have taken bloody ages) to produce a fantastic flipbook-style animation of a compilation of Ronaldinho's finest flicks, tricks, skills and doohickies during his time at Barcelona and Milan, and the result is really rather charming.
We've all been there: buggering up a pass or a shot so badly that the only acceptable reaction is to turn away and grimace in pure disgust at your own ineptitude it's exactly what Phil Jones should've done after spluffing a woefully botched "header" in off Vinnie Kompany's back against Man City on Monday night, rather than celebrating like he'd just pinged in a 30-yarder off the underside of the crossbar.
On Thursday, after nigh-on seven years of planning, fans of Uruguayan side Nacional finally realised their destiny and set a new world record for the biggest flag ever unfurled at a sporting event when they broke out an absolute monster during their Copa Libertadores tie against Mexican club Toluca.
Last night's Copa Libertadores group stage fixture between Brazil's Atletico Mineiro and Argentina's Arsenal de Sarando ended in time-honoured South American fashion: with shotguns being toted after the away side, a tad angry at having been soundly trounced, took their anger out on the match officials and the armed riot police sworn to protect them.
What do you do if you're the head of a gigantic marine engineering company and a seafoodconglomerateand the Mexican first division football club you own happen to find themselves relegated into the obscurity of the second tier? Exactly, you pool your resources, buy a shiny new club 1,000 kilometres down the road and submit your application to move the damn thing across the country to replace your old, broken toy.
This is the kit that Bolivia's national team wore at the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay...
That's right. Bolivia turned up to the first ever World Cup in Uruguay in a specially made strip that paid homage to their hosts and dear South American neighbours with a lovely bespoke message spelled out across the teams' chests.
Brazilian side Uniao Barbarense have sprung a new one on us after admitting to deliberately sending out two players wearing the same shirt number on their backs in a bid to befuddle their opponents.
Having played the first half of their recent Campeonato PaulistaSerie A2fixture against Linense wearing his officially assigned No.
This begins as the worst sitter-miss you've ever seen, then becomes the worst pitch you've ever seen, and then you take the VHS out of the VCR and wonder what time machine this video from 1987 just arrived from.
Actually it's this weekend and it's Willian Ribeiro of Campinense who became the victim of poor landscaping, groundskeeping, or some gnome beneath the pitch punching at the grass at opportune times.
Generation Next: Brazil's Young Talents at 2013 South American Under-17 Championships is a post from: Just Football
The 2013South American Under-17 Championships took place in April in Argentina. Brazil went through the tournament unbeaten, but a succession of draws in the final group stage saw them finish third behind Venezuela and eventual winners Argentina.
This clip was brought to attention because the scorer in question is 28 year old Maxi Biancucchi, cousin of one Lionel Messi. That instantly makes you famous. This goal, while very good, is fairly common enough that if he was not related to the greatest footballer on the planet, it would have fallen into a YouTube black hole, never to emerge.
The Rise of Atlético Mineiro Copa Libertadores winners 2013? is a post from: Just Football
Atlético Mineiro have been the best team in the 2013 Copa Libertadores so far, winning tough games in Argentina against fellow Brazilian team São Paulo as well as in the altitude of La Paz.
With their double-wide fat seats and prostitutes being given state-funded English lessons, it's fair to say that Brazil are doing a bang-up job getting their affairs in order for the 2014 World Cup that's, of course, if you choose to ignore the fact that none of the budget-blasting stadiums are actually ready yet.
Reigning Brazilian champions Fluminense have issued an official request to their fans to knock an internet campaign on the head which has seen fans posing for photos dressed as "Taliban warriors" in order to "show their warrior spirit".
Flu fans were so disconsolate after losing in the Copa Libertadores toEcuadorian outfit Emelec to a late penalty a couple of days ago that they started the campaign to bolster team spirit and also asked the players to get involved too.
The half-time entertainment at Santo Angelo leaves a lot to be desired
Gawd bless the Brazilian lower leagues, for they truly are a goldmine of seemingly random footballmiscellania. Like many non-league sides around the world, Brazilianamateur side Santo Angelo are struggling to balance the books at the moment, with attendances dwindling to quite literally nothing as fans find other ways to occupy themselves of a weekend.
Don't say we never treat you for it's competition time again here on Pies!
Hot on the heels of Italy's new Confederations Cup clobber, PUMA have today unveiled the kit that Uruguay will be wearing at the tournament in Brazil this summer, with the design paying homage to the strip that La Celeste wore when they took home the gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris hence the rather eye-catching lace-up neck.
Remember when Clarence Seedorf was administered with the second red card of his 800+ game career against Madureiralast weekend when he refused to leave the pitch in the "correct" direction? Well, the Dutch veteran could now be facing a whopping six-match suspension for his crimes.
One may have thought that the off-season was a difficult time for the footballer's WAG. With little interest in football, you have to put up with your significant other cluttering up the house, playing FIFA with his mates and counting his money in a vastly expensive onesie. That certainly seems to be the opinion of [.
You can normally tell when Diego Maradona has landed in Argentina. It starts with a swarm of journalists around the former footballer, and ends with El Diego kicking off and kicking out at anyone that bothers him. After a flight from Dubai to Argentina (which also created reports of violent behaviour), Maradona walked into an [.
You know, this type of thing happens way too often. A Copa Libertadores match between Huachipato of Chile and Gremio ended in a draw violence when those from Huachipato began attacking Gremio coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo for suggesting the Chileans enjoy a vacation (presumably he was less polite). Vanderlei, owner of the world's most extensive coaching resume, attempts to flea, but fails and offers us a very important lesson: if nonsense might go down, don't wear loafers on a football pitch.
A mob of masked andseverelypeeved Huracan fans have stormed the club's dressing room after a training session yesterday and set about flogging several shades out of some of the players after the Argentinian side limped out of the national cup on Wednesday evening.
STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW. Thank you, because this deserves respect. It might be a little bit nerdy, but you have to be hugely impressed by anyone that has spent such an incredible amount of time creating something that is essentially useless, but so so beautiful. Someone has posted a Youtube video which [.
Brazilian football has it's fair share of downright crazy, but thankfully last night's shenanigans didn't involve riot police, fires or referees being kicked in the head. Instead, this was a ridiculous goal. Danilo of CRAC ensured that his side beat top flight Nautico in the Copa do Brasil thanks to a rather odd second half [.
You might think that the greatest thing in football might be a goalkeeper scoring or a dog getting on the pitch, but you'd be wrong. However, during a Pernambucan championship game between Sport Recife and Belo Jardim in Brazil, the electronic cart that takes off injured players broke down, and that's the greatest thing.
The fans of Nacional made the world's largest flag for a football match. For some reason. It measures 600 x 50 meters and it basically engulfed 2/3 of an entire stadium during their Copa Libertadores match against Toluca.
And now, as is the case with every single one of these flags, banners, what have you, we're left with a question:
