Leo Messi dismantles Bayern, makes the Camp Nou explode with tremendous goal

It took him 77 minutes, but when Lionel Messi finally ended Manuel Neuer’s goalkeeping masterclass in the first leg of Barcelona and Bayern Munich’s Champions League semifinal, he set fire to the whole school.

Just three minutes after his opening goal, he did this — turning Jerome Boateng into a pile of dust and chipping Neuer to realize what he couldn’t quite do in the World Cup final last summer. But beyond that simplistic description of events, there are no words to fully capture what Messi did in that moment. Just watch.

Qatar’s definitive guide for journalists covering the 2022 World Cup preparations

A German TV crew was recently arrested in Qatar after filming a documentary entitled “Sold Football: Sepp Blatter and the Power of FIFA” in the 2022 World Cup host nation.

From the BBC:

The filmmakers claim they were only allowed to leave the country five days later without their filming equipment, laptops and mobile phones, which were sent on four weeks later with all data deleted.

Reporter Florian Bauer said: “Now it’s public. We got arrested in Qatar, interrogated by the police and the intelligence service. Not allowed to leave the country for days.”

This was all just a silly misunderstanding, though. One that other journalists covering Qatar’s World Cup preparations will hopefully learn from.

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Didier Drogba blasts Jose Mourinho directly in the face with champagne

Chelsea TV provided some impressively in-depth analysis of the team’s celebration after clinching the Premier League title with a win against Crystal Palace. Included in that analysis was a clip that will make Jose Mourinho’s supporters and detractors equally happy.

For his supporters, the site of Didier Drogba playfully spraying him with champagne and then embracing his old friend is a heart warming moment. For his haters, seeing Drogba blind him with a blast of bubbly eyeball torture from point-blank range is a brief moment of schadenfreude.

So, whichever camp you’re in, enjoy this clip.

Video via Bleacher Report

Mainz offer player new contract after gruesome injury to cover his rehabilitation

Mainz midfielder Elkin Soto suffered a sickening knee injury during their Bundesliga match against HSV on Sunday. Though there is never a good time for a career threatening injury, this comes at an especially bad moment for the 34-year-old, since he will be out of contract at the end of the season and planned on returning to his native Colombia to finish his career.

Even though he planned to leave, Mainz have quickly made a tremendous gesture to support a player who has served the club for eight years by offering him a new one-year contract.

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Brazilian match turns into a war zone as military police battle rioting fans

The conclusion of the Campeonato Cearense final gave way to a riot on the match, prompting military police to fire rubber bullets and tear gas at fans who invaded the pitch.

After winning the first leg of the final 2-1, Fortaleza sealed the title with a dramatic 2-2 draw in the second leg. Ceara scored in the 90th minute, but Fortaleza came up with the decisive goal during injury time, prompting both sets of fans to flood the pitch at the Castelao, Ceara’s home ground, which was renovated for the 2014 World Cup.

With fans throwing broken seats at each other, the military police moved in with their weaponry, forcing the pitch invaders to flee to the opposite end of the stadium.

And now it’s time for more renovations.

Aalen player scores comical scorpion kick own goal

It has not been a good season for VfR Aalen. Sitting at the very bottom of the 2. Bundesliga, their season got even worse with a 4-2 loss to Bochum on Sunday and the last of those four goals was just plain silly. Aalen forward Collin Quaner swung his leg behind his back in a bid to try and deflect a Bochum cross into the box and in doing so, he scored a lovely backheel.

Quaner’s teammates groaned, one of them even covered his face with his shirt, but the 23-year-old couldn’t help but chuckle at his mishap. It was that kind of goal and it’s been that kind of season.