While one of the great things about football is the role that club supporters can play during
matches: songs, chants, and visual displays can sometimes inspire their club to find that next goal
or not give up the lead during a match. Unfortunately, this past weekend some fans of Petrolul
Ploiești in Romania took things a step further when one fan, Dragos Petrut Enache, sucker punched
a Steaua București defender, George Galamaz.
The following graphic shows games Liverpool won with goals after the 80th minute. This obviously
does not count those where Liverpool equalized to pilfer a point – such as last spring's late
late late penalty to draw at Arsenal – or games where they've piled on the misery – as against
Birmingham under Dalglish, Steaua under Hodgson, etc.
One of the things that sets soccer apart from the standard sports in America is the crowd
atmosphere, often created by the supporter groups of the clubs. Want to experiment this summer? Go
to an MLS match one night and an MLB game another night and compare how the fans at an MLS match
create the atmosphere while the scoreboard at an MLB game tells fans when to clap and cheer.
Up until the last four games, Jay Spearing's rarely looked liked having a long-term future at
Liverpool. Admittedly, he also hadn't gotten a consistent run in the side until Gerrard's
season-ending injury, only once playing more than two consecutive games: earlier this season
against Steaua and Northampton.
