Unusual/Notable stuff from around the football world.

**osarusan** · 11/01/2021, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Kazu Miura signs on for another season with Japanese second-tier side Yokohama.

He's 54.

Here is King Kazu consoling Iniesta after Yokohama FC beat Vissel Kobe 2-1 last November. Playing alongside Shunsuke Nakamura these days, a spring chicken at 42.

**pineapple stu** · 13/01/2021, 4:03 PM

I should correct my original post actually - they're a top-flight side now.

I think he was left out of Japan's 1998 World Cup squad - despite being top scorer in qualifying - as he was deemed too old. At 31.

osarusan - you'll have half an idea what the craic is with him. He can't be up to it still surely? Is it a token thing or what's going on?

**osarusan** · 15/01/2021, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

osarusan - you'll have half an idea what the craic is with him. He can't be up to it still surely? Is it a token thing or what's going on?

Comes on for the last couple of minutes mostly. 4 appearences in J1 last year. In J2 before that it was 9, 12, 20, 16, going back in years.

There's a lot of publicity in it alright, maybe he helps out with coaching or something, or maybe they use him a lot for sponsorship and the like, but J-League is still a serious and professional league even at J2, so he can't be completely useless.

I was a Yokohama FC fan when I was in Japan - they were the closest team to me and my sense of Irishness made me embrace the underdog, rather than the far bigger and more successful Yokohama Marinos, who were 2 stops farther away on the subway. I loved watching him play. Even as an auld fella, he had the vision and touch of a player at a much higher level. Here he is 13 years ago - Dec 2007. I was at this game, which was the last game of the season. Yokohama FC have already been relegated (in fact, they set the record for the fast ever relegation, relegated with something like 8 games to play), whereas Urawa top the table and a win guarantees them the league. Enter King Kazu at 0.38, skipping past a player on the sideline and setting up the only goal of the game, that ended up losing Urawa the league.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojbmpc9kOCo (Despite the crowd, it's actually a home game for Yokohama FC but moved to the Marinos stadium to accommodate the Urawa fans)

**geysir** · 21/01/2021, 8:09 PM

(A preamble of a sentence to claim thread topic compliancy)
An unusual and notable event in world football was documented on film and released in 2014.

It's excellent, called Next Goal Wins and covers the remarkable rise of American Samoa from last place in the Fifa ranking to 2nd last place, a feat achieved during the qualifiers for 2014 WC. One may snigger like "they" use to snigger about the football style and standard of the North Atlantic Island countries, but this rise in fortune for Am. Samoa came after their 31 - 0 defeat to Australia.

The local FA managed to get one application for the position from Thomas a Dutch coach in the MLS, ex footballer and so the saga began. In one of his first team talks he tells them that he would have given his right foot to play for his country in the WC qualifiers, thing is he probably would've been good enough to play for Am. Samoa with just one good leg.

**tetsujin1979** · 21/01/2021, 8:28 PM

Great documentary, watched it last year.
Taiki Waititi has directed a film of the story, but it has not yet been released, with Michael Fassbender as the Dutch coach

**NeverFeltBetter** · 02/04/2021, 3:50 PM

Athletic Bilbao have the chance to win the Copa del Rey twice in two weeks: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56541183

**osarusan** · 20/05/2021, 8:52 AM

After 20 players tested positive for Covid, and along with injuries, River Plate had just 11 players left for their Copa Libertadores match against Independiente Santa Fe, and with all 4 goalkeepers unavailable, and their request to add their 5th or 6th keepers to the squad rejected, they had to play 35-year old midfielder Enzo Perez in goal, and still won 2-1 to go top of the group.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 27/05/2021, 9:38 AM

Myanmar face a World Cup qualifier with Japan tomorrow, absent at least ten players boycotting the side owing to the miliary coup: https://apnews.com/article/japan-mya...54cc40f5a652fb

**NeverFeltBetter** · 31/05/2021, 7:23 AM

CONMEBOL strip one half of the Copa hosting from Colombia, then nine days later do the same to the other half: https://www.rte.ie/news/2021/0531/12...ina-suspended/

Considering that's a fifth of the continent, now sure who you host it with now. Perhaps it'll just be cancelled?

**NeverFeltBetter** · 21/07/2021, 10:53 AM

Brazilian police pepper spray Boca Junior players after a CL tie with controversial refereeing decisions: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2021...-libertadores/

**osarusan** · 30/08/2021, 12:59 PM

Oita Trinita defender makes a pretty impressive clearance off the line in a J1 match against Vissel Kobe (action starts at 2.50).

It was in vain though, as they lost 3-1, thanks in part to an Andres Iniesta penalty.

**tetsujin1979** · 31/08/2021, 3:36 PM

in 2005, Goal: The Dream Begins was released, about a Mexican player named Santiago Munez who signs for Newcastle
Today, Newcastle signed a Mexican player named Santiago Munoz: https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-n...antiago-munoz/
Art imitates life.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 01/11/2021, 3:53 PM

Coach of a third tier Argentine club shot in the shoulder during a game when fighting erupted between rival groups of fans: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2021...-in-argentina/

**NeverFeltBetter** · 08/11/2021, 2:37 PM

Something local, with the NDSL suspending games over worsening abuse of referees: https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2021...ees-escalates/

What's the worst abuse anyone has seen a ref get? For me it was a hurling game in the Gaelic Grounds where the ref was escorted off at half-time and a number of people actively made their way as close to the tunnel to scream a long string of invective as he passed. I can't even remember why they were so angry, but angry enough that I did think for a moment they were going to hop the barricade.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 10/11/2021, 3:41 PM

Here's one that I'm sure is going to run and run as a bizarre story: a member of the PSG womens team has been arrested on suspicion of arranging for a rival for a starting place to be assaulted.

**sidewayspasser** · 10/11/2021, 4:33 PM

Wouldn't be the first time a sports woman was involved in an assault on her rival. Maybe she got inspired by Tonya Harding...

**NeverFeltBetter** · 15/11/2021, 1:34 PM

South Africa demand a replay after controversial loss to Ghana put them out of the World Cup: https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/59290195

As the article notes there's a degree of precedent actually involving South Africa, when they were forced to replay a match with Senegal in the last cycle when the ref was determined to have manipulated the game to fulfill bets. But I don't think there's any evidence, yet, that this occurred yesterday.

**pineapple stu** · 15/11/2021, 1:53 PM

Elsewhere in qualifying actually, a couple of interesting red cards in Europe. Andorra (at home to Poland) were reduced to ten men after 10 seconds (or 22 seconds, depending on whether you want to count until the foul or the card being issued)

In Germany, Liechtenstein had a man sent off after 8 minutes for this horrific foul (I think it's probably clumsy rather than cynical - he just didn't know where Goretzka was - but it's an awful challenge nonetheless) -

And another nasty tackle here in our own group as Azerbaijan were reduced to ten men against Luxembourg last week.

**sidewayspasser** · 20/11/2021, 12:15 PM

Werder Bremen head coach Markus Anfang and his assistant resign over allegations of using fake Covid certs: https://www.skysports.com/football/n...ation-document

**pineapple stu** · 27/11/2021, 7:51 PM

SAD Belenenses are taking on Benfica in the Portuguese league right now with nine players due to a covid outbreak.

That includes two keepers and four youth team players. They're 2-0 down after 15 minutes