...Paraguay, CONMEBOL weren’t content with just having one Lionel Messi – they wanted two Lionel Messis
1 “WILL THE REAL LIONEL MESSI PLEASE STAND UP?”
When CONMEBOL decided to host a special ‘Night of the Stars’, the audience could have been forgiven for rubbing their eyes and fearing that they were seeing double. “Look, there’s Lionel Messi! But hang on, isn’t that other guy Lionel Messi, too?”
No, it wasn’t the big reveal of the Argentine’s secret twin brother, sent out on to the pitch when Messi’s tired to stroll around disinterested and hope no one notices it’s not really him (although it would explain a lot about Bayern 8-2 Barcelona).
Instead, this was the unveiling of a statue of ‘the Flea’ at the federation’s museum on the outskirts of Paraguayan capital Asuncion – the exhibition already had statues of Pele with the 1970 World Cup and Diego Maradona with the 1986 trophy, so it was only fitting that they added one of Messi from Qatar.
The 35-year-old was also awarded the ‘ceremonial baton of football’ by CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez – thankfully not the same one recently used by various riot police in Naples, to club travelling England fans over the head.
2 WING AND A PRAYER
What’s the easiest way of livening up a Dutch second division fixture between VVV-Venlo and Roda JC? Er, Cloud Angels.
In the tradition of club sponsors bringing along their own mascot, like the magnificent Boiler Man at West Bromwich Albion, VVV welcomed the winged wonders as part of a link-up with local company Conect Telecom.
Perhaps hoping the angels could guide VVV as they try to ascend to heaven/the Eredivisie, the plan sadly backfired and they were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw. Mind you, the last time VVV were in the top flight, they were humiliated 13-0 by Ajax: that’s not our idea of heaven, to be honest...
3 A SLIGHT FLARE-UP
The A-League’s Melbourne derby descended into violence before Christmas – four months later, the teams returned to finish the match.
Melbourne Victory fans threw flares and a bucket at Melbourne City keeper Tom Glover, forcing an abandonment – both sets of supporters were already angry after discovering that the Grand Final was being moved to Sydney (the league’s top team usually hosts).
The match restarted from the 22nd minute in early April – ex-Burnley man Aiden O’Neill put City 1-0 ahead in the original fixture and made it 2-0 when it resumed, meaning he’d scored two goals in the same game, 109 days apart. No one clonked him on the bonce with a bucket, either: win-win.
4 “GERONIMO!”
Fans have be
