Sam Allardyce is genuinely giddy over becoming England manager (“Excuse me, I can’t stop smiling because I’ve got this job,” he said after laughing on cue to prove his point). This enthusiasm was not enough to get him to his first day of work on time, however.
Keylor Navas is Isco’s barber now
It can be difficult to find a barber you can trust while on the road, so with Real Madrid in North America for preseason, Keylor Navas has stepped up to keep his teammates well groomed.
Godzilla attempts penalty with tail before J-League match, fails
To promote the upcoming release of Godzilla Resurgence in Japan, a person in a Godzilla costume attempted a penalty with its tail before a J-League match between Kawasaki Frontale and FC Toyko over the weekend. With Kawasaki Frontale’s dolphin mascot in goal, the spinning tail-whip shot failed, leaving the job up to co-star Hiroki Hasegawa to put the ball in the net.
Andrei Arshavin scores wonder goal in Kazakhstan
Believe it or not, 35-year-old Andrei Arshavin is still playing football. Though he’s a long way from his days with Arsenal, playing for Kairat in the Kazakhstan Premier League, he’s still got some of the moves that made him a standout performer back at Euro 2008 and he showed this in a match against Taraz.
Fabio Borini is apparently Leo Messi’s style idol
So who do you think looks better?! @TeamMessi Do you think he tried to copy me?! 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/EjHoNDYRRz
— Fabio Borini (@borinifabio29) July 24, 2016
Leo Messi has added platinum blond hair to his unlucky beard, making him look like someone completely different. Namely, Fabio Borini.
The Sunderland striker, who has also gone for platinum hair and a human color beard this summer, is wondering if Messi was inspired by him and it’s easy to see why he might think that. Aside from the fact that Messi probably doesn’t even know who Fabio Borini is, of course.
Spanish club unveils blueberry and strawberry themed kits
The trend of garish food themed kits in the Spanish lower division continues with CD Pinzon’s strawberry and blueberry shirts. Like other Spanish food kits we’ve seen, these represent the region’s agricultural output. Sadly, they do not seem to be scratch and sniff. I mean, you could scratch and sniff them, but they’ll just smell like body odor instead of fruit.
Norwich third kit pays homage to famous “bird poo kit”
Coming in hot from the position that any attention is good attention, Norwich City have unveiled a third kit that “pays homage” to their 1992-94 kit that is consistently rated as one of the ugliest of all time.
Pep Guardiola has adorable conversation with young Man City fan in a taxi
This is spectacular. Pep Guardiola surprised Man City fan Braydon (and I mean absolutely blew the kid’s mind) by going on a taxi ride with him and the result is YouTube gold.
Braydon informed Guardiola of the dreary Manchester weather he would have to get used to, complemented the new manager’s summer signings, and suggested Pep call Leo Messi to see if he’d want to make a move.
Finally, Braydon told Guardiola, “Since you don’t have many friends in Manchester, whenever you need a friend, come to my house for tea.” And that’s when you will melt into a puddle of warm goo. Enjoy.
Mario Götze makes awkward return to Dortmund, regrets Bayern move
Borussia Dortmund fans burned his shirts and called him “Judas,” but now Mario Götze is back after three years with Bayern Munich. Back in April, when rumors of a potential return first surfaced, Dortmund fans held up banners that read “Milan or Madrid. Just not Dortmund. Piss off Götze!” during a match against Werder Bremen.
Spain’s new coach fainted on television while covering the 2006 World Cup
Spain announced that Julen Lopetegui will replace Vicente Del Bosque as manager of the national team. Lopetegui isn’t the highest profile Spanish coach out there, but he led the nation’s U-19s to a European Championship in 2012 and the U-21s to a European Championship in 2013 before taking charge of Porto for two years.
This is an impressive rise for the former goalkeeper, who became something of a meme in Spain when he passed out on television 10 years ago while covering the 2006 World Cup. And if that’s what happens to him just when he’s talking about the World Cup, I hope the team’s physios are at his side come 2018.