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The "Where should I put this?" Thread;; Strange stories from the crazy world of football.
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Topic Started: 25 Sep 2012, 05:56 PM (237,925 Views)
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subtle_anxiety
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19 May 2018, 01:20 AM
Post #8981
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- BIGP1888
- 18 May 2018, 07:28 PM
- subtle_anxiety
- 18 May 2018, 06:33 PM
I'm sure I saw a video of the semi final against Rangers,n which was given an early 90s makeover complete with Archie McPherson commentary. For the life of me I can't find it now and it seems like a very random thing for my brain to have fabricated. Anyone point me in the right direction ? https://twitter.com/ScottishCup/status/996458189808918528?s=19 Magic cheers man
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AG67
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19 May 2018, 08:29 AM
Post #8982
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- Bob Loblaw
- 18 May 2018, 10:31 PM
- CMC88
- 18 May 2018, 10:24 PM
- MONSTER
- 18 May 2018, 10:20 PM
Stevie Clarke in a phone call with Mourinho two days ago. Offer he can’t refuse ?
Wants him as his assistant? Mourinho said he isn't bringing anyone in to his coaching team to replace the departing Rui Faria.
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Tauriskos
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19 May 2018, 09:16 AM
Post #8983
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- tonyjaa-csc
- 18 May 2018, 10:28 PM
Great read. A flop who played active part in Barcelona squad that won everything is there to win in club football (with 100+ appearances).
I remember how he was vilified in Spain for "refusing" NT, and now that the true reason is fully revealed, it's really disgusting how Spanish FA betrayed him and how he was treated by Spanish media and fans, like "little pr*ck to arrogant to play for Spanish NT".
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fatboab
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19 May 2018, 08:15 PM
Post #8984
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Just before the Dawn
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I absolutely love Celtic.
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KrnyBhoy
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19 May 2018, 09:57 PM
Post #8985
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Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
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- fatboab
- 19 May 2018, 08:15 PM
I absolutely love Celtic.
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Gothamcelt
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21 May 2018, 10:36 AM
Post #8986
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Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
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I'm sure this would get a good discussion going in the pubs and clubs on a Saturday night.
Punishment for cocaine use while taking part in sport does not fit the crime
Spoiler: click to toggle Peru’s Paolo Guerrero is trying to overturn a drugs ban so he can appear in the World Cup.© Reuters Peru’s Paolo Guerrero is trying to overturn a drugs ban so he can appear in the World Cup. Warrior by name, warrior by nature but three weeks before the World Cup Peru’s all-time top scorer, Paolo Guerrero, is facing a battle he not only cannot win but arguably should not be fighting at all. Until last week the 34-year-old thought he was off to Russia for his career swansong. Instead he is off to Switzerland to beg the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, for a reprieve after the court of arbitration for sport extended his ban for testing positive for cocaine from six to 14 months. Sadly for Guerrero the meeting is the footballing equivalent of attempting a 50-yard scissor-kick after the ball has been deflated. No matter how audacious the effort the shot is unlikely to fly into the top corner – even though Cas accepts that Guerrero, who says he accidentally ingested cocaine in a tea, did not intend to enhance his performance. Peru national soccer team captain Paolo Guerrero talks during an interview with Reuters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 21, 2017. His tattoo reads "Faith".© REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes Peru national soccer team captain Paolo Guerrero talks during an interview with Reuters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 21, 2017. His tattoo reads "Faith". Guererro’s case does at least shine an overdue spotlight on the rules that govern sports people taking cocaine. No one disputes it should be on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list, given the effect it has on people’s health and communities. Or that a form of punishment should exist for those who take it. But the current rules have many in anti-doping circles shaking their heads. For a start taking cocaine out of competition is considered fine under the Wada code. A footballer testing positive on a summer holiday, for instance, is likely to walk away with a get-out-of-jail-free card. Yet that same player testing positive after a match will face a ban of between 12 months and four years – as well as the eternal shame of being a branded a drug cheat. In my mind such people are not drug cheats – a term that should be saved for those who use banned substances to cheat. Rather they are drug takers. There is, moreover, a second important point here: cocaine’s performance-enhancing qualities are questionable at best. One senior anti-doping figure told me: “The idea that someone would use a euphoric substance like cocaine in competition is nuts. Yes, there are science papers that explain how it is theoretically feasible to have a beneficial effect. But I am not familiar with a single case where an athlete has been proved to use cocaine in competition in order to get an advantage.” A fan holds a poster of Peru's captain Paolo Guerrero, as he waits for his arrival, in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The global footballers' union wants FIFA's help to review anti-doping rules after Guerrero was banned from the World Cup for a positive test for cocaine caused by contaminated tea. FIFPro says a 14-month ban barring the 34-year-old Guerrero from his World Cup debut is "unfair and disproportionate."© AP Photo/Martin Mejia A fan holds a poster of Peru's captain Paolo Guerrero, as he waits for his arrival, in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The global footballers' union wants FIFA's help to review anti-doping rules after Guerrero was banned… There is a further twist in all this. Athletes hardly ever test positive for cocaine as such but for its metabolite benzoylecgonine, which lingers in the body for several days after the drug has been taken. The vast majority of the time athletes are taking the drug several days before a match – which is allowed – yet they still have a tiny bit lurking in their system when they are tested on a match day. This is exactly what happened to the Castleford rugby league player Zak Hardaker last September – he was banned for 14 months – and Dan Evans, the British tennis player, who was banned for one year after testing positive for cocaine last April. Essentially we have a bizarre situation where using cocaine away from sport is fine but evidence that you have used it can get you a huge ban. Think about this for a moment. We know that UK Anti‑Doping tests at amateur level – that means a budding cyclist or university rugby player could end up being banned for four years for taking a line of cocaine a few days before a race or match. It seems wildly excessive. 2018 World Cup: Russia will host the 21st edition of the World Cup next summer, with the action getting under way on 14 June and concluding with the final in Moscow on 15 July.Thirty-two countries from five confederations will be represented at the tournament, and in this slideshow we’ve picked out the key man from each participating nation.EVERY nation's most important player at the 2018 World Cup How did we get into this mess? Most people say the problem is that Wada classifies cocaine as a “non‑specified” substance – like anabolic steroids and EPO – which carry a ban of between 12 months and four years, rather than a “specified” substance, such as marijuana or salbutamol, which can be used for both medicinal and doping purposes. Because cocaine is a non-specified substance, the minimum ban is a year unless an athlete can show he or she is not at fault for having it in the body. Peru's Christian Cueva (R) and Jefferson Farfan show a number nine jersey in support of their suspended teammate Paolo Guerrero, during their 2018 World Cup qualifying play-off second leg football match against New This is easier said than done. Richard Gasquet managed it after persuading Cas that cocaine was present only due to him passionately kissing a woman who had taken cocaine at a nightclub. So did the West Brom and England footballer Jake Livermore, who was cleared after taking cocaine following the death of his son. But these are rare exceptions. What needs to change? One expert I spoke to suggested that a maximum six-month ban for a first offence for cocaine along with a fine that would go into the pot to fight doping is a good start. Another pointed out it was time Wada’s rule for cannabis was adopted for cocaine. This would mean someone testing positive but proving it was used in a context unrelated to sport would be deemed to have acted without significant fault and would be likely to escape a ban. Jake Livermore had a ban for taking cocaine overturned in 2015© Getty Jake Livermore had a ban for taking cocaine overturned in 2015 But changing the law will not be easy when politicians are so afraid of the public deeming them to be soft on drugs. A year before the London Olympics UKAD asked for cocaine to be changed to be treated the same as cannabis and quickly found itself slapped down by politicians on all sides. Perhaps, with Wada currently reviewing its code, there will be a change in the next year. However, as things stand, we have the farcical situation where a convicted drugs cheat such as the Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez gets a six-month ban testing positive for clenbuterol in a sport where he could kill someone, while Guerrero looks like missing what should be the greatest moment of his career merely for sipping the wrong tea. http://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/punishment-for-cocaine-use-while-taking-part-in-sport-does-not-fit-the-crime/ar-AAxyIas?li=BBoPWjP&ocid=iehp
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nervous 'tic
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21 May 2018, 10:57 AM
Post #8987
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Left back in the dressing room.
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- fatboab
- 19 May 2018, 08:15 PM
I absolutely love Celtic. Likewise for us all. I've supported Celtic through good times and through dark times. The bad times have made the good times that little bit sweeter, but through it all there is a love that grows stronger day by day, year by year. What a time to be alive.
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Tonus
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21 May 2018, 04:02 PM
Post #8988
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Season 2 episode 5 of iZombie. British character gets excited about Celtic. They were naming rats.
Liv: Why don't we name these guys after the 86 Celtics?
Ravi: As in Celtic FC from Glasgow??
Liv: As in Boston Celtics
Ravi: Then no
I laughed
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Maleys Spirit
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21 May 2018, 04:11 PM
Post #8989
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First name on the team-sheet
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Not sure if it`s been mentioned elsewhere but the footage of Iniesta sitting alone on the park at the Nou Camp until 1am is quite poignant.
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Nakasleftfoot
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21 May 2018, 04:21 PM
Post #8990
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A woman’s very afraid of the size of her opening
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- Maleys Spirit
- 21 May 2018, 04:11 PM
Not sure if it`s been mentioned elsewhere but the footage of Iniesta sitting alone on the park at the Nou Camp until 1am is quite poignant. And extremely weird, the baldy wee milk bottle
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Maleys Spirit
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21 May 2018, 04:27 PM
Post #8991
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First name on the team-sheet
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- Nakasleftfoot
- 21 May 2018, 04:21 PM
- Maleys Spirit
- 21 May 2018, 04:11 PM
Not sure if it`s been mentioned elsewhere but the footage of Iniesta sitting alone on the park at the Nou Camp until 1am is quite poignant.
And extremely weird, the baldy wee milk bottle Haha cruel but funny.
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Tim Waits
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21 May 2018, 04:39 PM
Post #8992
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Small-Minded Bien-Pensant
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- Gothamcelt
- 21 May 2018, 10:36 AM
I'm sure this would get a good discussion going in the pubs and clubs on a Saturday night. Punishment for cocaine use while taking part in sport does not fit the crime Spoiler: click to toggle Peru’s Paolo Guerrero is trying to overturn a drugs ban so he can appear in the World Cup.© Reuters Peru’s Paolo Guerrero is trying to overturn a drugs ban so he can appear in the World Cup. Warrior by name, warrior by nature but three weeks before the World Cup Peru’s all-time top scorer, Paolo Guerrero, is facing a battle he not only cannot win but arguably should not be fighting at all. Until last week the 34-year-old thought he was off to Russia for his career swansong. Instead he is off to Switzerland to beg the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, for a reprieve after the court of arbitration for sport extended his ban for testing positive for cocaine from six to 14 months. Sadly for Guerrero the meeting is the footballing equivalent of attempting a 50-yard scissor-kick after the ball has been deflated. No matter how audacious the effort the shot is unlikely to fly into the top corner – even though Cas accepts that Guerrero, who says he accidentally ingested cocaine in a tea, did not intend to enhance his performance. Peru national soccer team captain Paolo Guerrero talks during an interview with Reuters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 21, 2017. His tattoo reads "Faith".© REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes Peru national soccer team captain Paolo Guerrero talks during an interview with Reuters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 21, 2017. His tattoo reads "Faith". Guererro’s case does at least shine an overdue spotlight on the rules that govern sports people taking cocaine. No one disputes it should be on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list, given the effect it has on people’s health and communities. Or that a form of punishment should exist for those who take it. But the current rules have many in anti-doping circles shaking their heads. For a start taking cocaine out of competition is considered fine under the Wada code. A footballer testing positive on a summer holiday, for instance, is likely to walk away with a get-out-of-jail-free card. Yet that same player testing positive after a match will face a ban of between 12 months and four years – as well as the eternal shame of being a branded a drug cheat. In my mind such people are not drug cheats – a term that should be saved for those who use banned substances to cheat. Rather they are drug takers. There is, moreover, a second important point here: cocaine’s performance-enhancing qualities are questionable at best. One senior anti-doping figure told me: “The idea that someone would use a euphoric substance like cocaine in competition is nuts. Yes, there are science papers that explain how it is theoretically feasible to have a beneficial effect. But I am not familiar with a single case where an athlete has been proved to use cocaine in competition in order to get an advantage.” A fan holds a poster of Peru's captain Paolo Guerrero, as he waits for his arrival, in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The global footballers' union wants FIFA's help to review anti-doping rules after Guerrero was banned from the World Cup for a positive test for cocaine caused by contaminated tea. FIFPro says a 14-month ban barring the 34-year-old Guerrero from his World Cup debut is "unfair and disproportionate."© AP Photo/Martin Mejia A fan holds a poster of Peru's captain Paolo Guerrero, as he waits for his arrival, in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The global footballers' union wants FIFA's help to review anti-doping rules after Guerrero was banned… There is a further twist in all this. Athletes hardly ever test positive for cocaine as such but for its metabolite benzoylecgonine, which lingers in the body for several days after the drug has been taken. The vast majority of the time athletes are taking the drug several days before a match – which is allowed – yet they still have a tiny bit lurking in their system when they are tested on a match day. This is exactly what happened to the Castleford rugby league player Zak Hardaker last September – he was banned for 14 months – and Dan Evans, the British tennis player, who was banned for one year after testing positive for cocaine last April. Essentially we have a bizarre situation where using cocaine away from sport is fine but evidence that you have used it can get you a huge ban. Think about this for a moment. We know that UK Anti‑Doping tests at amateur level – that means a budding cyclist or university rugby player could end up being banned for four years for taking a line of cocaine a few days before a race or match. It seems wildly excessive. 2018 World Cup: Russia will host the 21st edition of the World Cup next summer, with the action getting under way on 14 June and concluding with the final in Moscow on 15 July.Thirty-two countries from five confederations will be represented at the tournament, and in this slideshow we’ve picked out the key man from each participating nation.EVERY nation's most important player at the 2018 World Cup How did we get into this mess? Most people say the problem is that Wada classifies cocaine as a “non‑specified” substance – like anabolic steroids and EPO – which carry a ban of between 12 months and four years, rather than a “specified” substance, such as marijuana or salbutamol, which can be used for both medicinal and doping purposes. Because cocaine is a non-specified substance, the minimum ban is a year unless an athlete can show he or she is not at fault for having it in the body. Peru's Christian Cueva (R) and Jefferson Farfan show a number nine jersey in support of their suspended teammate Paolo Guerrero, during their 2018 World Cup qualifying play-off second leg football match against New This is easier said than done. Richard Gasquet managed it after persuading Cas that cocaine was present only due to him passionately kissing a woman who had taken cocaine at a nightclub. So did the West Brom and England footballer Jake Livermore, who was cleared after taking cocaine following the death of his son. But these are rare exceptions. What needs to change? One expert I spoke to suggested that a maximum six-month ban for a first offence for cocaine along with a fine that would go into the pot to fight doping is a good start. Another pointed out it was time Wada’s rule for cannabis was adopted for cocaine. This would mean someone testing positive but proving it was used in a context unrelated to sport would be deemed to have acted without significant fault and would be likely to escape a ban. Jake Livermore had a ban for taking cocaine overturned in 2015© Getty Jake Livermore had a ban for taking cocaine overturned in 2015 But changing the law will not be easy when politicians are so afraid of the public deeming them to be soft on drugs. A year before the London Olympics UKAD asked for cocaine to be changed to be treated the same as cannabis and quickly found itself slapped down by politicians on all sides. Perhaps, with Wada currently reviewing its code, there will be a change in the next year. However, as things stand, we have the farcical situation where a convicted drugs cheat such as the Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez gets a six-month ban testing positive for clenbuterol in a sport where he could kill someone, while Guerrero looks like missing what should be the greatest moment of his career merely for sipping the wrong tea. http://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/punishment-for-cocaine-use-while-taking-part-in-sport-does-not-fit-the-crime/ar-AAxyIas?li=BBoPWjP&ocid=iehp Banning Guerrero for the WC is insanity and it pretty much sinks Peru before they've started.
[awaits outpouring of sympathy from Scots]
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Gothamcelt
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21 May 2018, 04:45 PM
Post #8993
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Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
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- Maleys Spirit
- 21 May 2018, 04:11 PM
Not sure if it`s been mentioned elsewhere but the footage of Iniesta sitting alone on the park at the Nou Camp until 1am is quite poignant. Barcelona produced a strip (don't know if it was for sale or just a mock up) and on the back it had Iniesta and the number 8 on it's side for infinity.
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Rosco67
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21 May 2018, 04:51 PM
Post #8994
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We're here to eff shampoo up!
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- Gothamcelt
- 21 May 2018, 04:45 PM
- Maleys Spirit
- 21 May 2018, 04:11 PM
Not sure if it`s been mentioned elsewhere but the footage of Iniesta sitting alone on the park at the Nou Camp until 1am is quite poignant.
Barcelona produced a strip (don't know if it was for sale or just a mock up) and on the back it had Iniesta and the number 8 on it's side for infinity. Did they no just print an 8 the wrong way round on the current strip?
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HenkesGhod
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21 May 2018, 07:09 PM
Post #8995
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/21/andy-robertson-liverpool-real-madrid-interview-champions-league-final?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Good article on Andy Robertson's rise from being let go by us to CL Final with Liverpool
Spoiler: click to toggle Andy Robertson: ‘The problem with Real Madrid is they’re all fantastic’ The Liverpool left-back on how he went from being a Celtic reject to facing Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League final by Donald McRae Mon 21 May 2018 12.36 BST Last modified on Mon 21 May 2018 14.10 BST
“It’s hard not to think about it,” Andy Robertson says as he looks forward to the Champions League final after the Liverpool left-back has reflected for 45 minutes on his uplifting story from being a Celtic reject and relegated with Hull City a year ago to facing Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid in Kiev this Saturday. “When you’re lying in bed you just think: ‘What if?’”
Robertson’s freckly face breaks into a helpless smile. He has fought hard to reach this point but the 24-year-old Scot allows himself to enjoy the fleeting anticipation of Liverpool possibly becoming European champions for a sixth time with Robertson as one of their new cult heroes. “That’s natural,” he says during a break at Liverpool’s training camp in Marbella. “Real Madrid have been to three finals in the last four years so they’ll do the same.”
Milan’s Suso: ‘I feel like I am only at 70% of what I can achieve’ Read more He taps his temple thoughtfully. “But the head is the worst part of the body because it can let you wonder. It’s about making those happy thoughts a reality. Of course we believe we can win it – but we know how hard a task we face.”
Robertson’s emergence as one of the stories of the season was sealed against a previously rampant Manchester City in the quarter-finals. Liverpool tore City to shreds in the first leg, with Robertson full of high-energy commitment throughout both games, and secured a 5-1 aggregate win. He was then outstanding, home and away, in the semi-final against Roma.
“Everyone is nervous in these games but it’s about using your nerves in the right way. Some people shy away from it but others use the nerves in a very positive way. Against City at Anfield, all 11 of us stood up to the pressure. And in the second game we showed a side we’ve not always shown. After the worst-possible start [conceding an early goal] we defended really well and gave them no chances.”
Robertson is an enjoyable interviewee because, amid Champions League fervour, he remains grounded and chockful of amusing anecdotes about how different his life was a few years ago. In 2013, while playing as an amateur for Queen’s Park and working part-time for the Scottish FA at Hampden Park, he would take telephone bookings on the phone for games and concerts. He also worked on match days.
Andy Robertson Andy Robertson, second from left, celebrates Liverpool’s equaliser during the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City at the Etihad. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images, “I once showed Vincent Kompany to his seat,” he says, imagining how bemused he would have been then had he known that four-and-a-half-years later he, rather than the Belgium international and Manchester City captain, would appear in a Champions League final. “Scotland played Belgium and I was told to show [the injured] Kompany to his seat and give him a programme. He won’t remember it.”
Emre Can to move from Liverpool to Juventus on five-year contract Read more Mo Salah is the player of the season but Robertson represents another incredible bargain. Having been part of two relegated Hull teams, while winning promotion from the Championship in his middle season, Robertson was signed last summer for an initial fee of £8m. The response from Liverpool’s supporters was underwhelming. Eleven months later Robertson is an Anfield favourite, alongside Salah, and they share a hospitality box.
“Mo’s family and friends have been lovely to my family. We come from completely different backgrounds but they get on so well. My family got a picture with him when Mo walked in last Sunday [after Salah had been awarded the Golden Boot].”
Robertson and his girlfriend Rachel are parents to Rocco, who “will be nine months on the day of the final. Rachel was the year below me in school [near Glasgow], but we hung about with the same friends. We got together when I was 19. She always winds me up. There was a memory on Facebook from eight years ago and I wished her happy birthday just after midnight. She says now: ‘Yeah, that was you trying to get in early doors.’ Obviously, being a proud man, I denied it. But she might have a point.”
Beneath the chuckling self-deprecation there are serious points to make about Robertson’s conviction. “I always believed in my ability,” he says intently. “I just had to work hard and be patient and, yeah, at times it didn’t look likely. You need a wee stroke of luck but every chance I’ve been given, I’ve taken.”
Sign up to The Recap, our weekly email of editors’ picks. Robertson was cut from the Celtic academy for being too small at 15. “If you’re let go from Celtic, the club you support, and go to Queen’s Park, people think it’s a disaster. I don’t think I cried but I was very upset. As a young boy your dream has been taken away. But I had good people around me and it was probably the best thing that happened.”
The Fiver: the Guardian's take on the world of football Read more Three years later, Robertson was playing for Queen’s Park in the lowest tier of Scottish professional football. “At Queen’s Park you just got your travel expenses so I found a job on the tills at M&S on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.”
A newspaper recently dug out a Robertson tweet from just before then in August 2012: “Life at this age is rubbish with no money. #needajob.” Robertson looks embarrassed but points out: “Life is like that for many young people.”
He had made his Queen’s Park debut against Berwick in the Irn-Bru Cup in July 2012, in front of a crowd of 372. “Rangers were in our division then and so we also played at a full Ibrox – 50,000 – and it was a great experience. We got beaten 2-0 but it was tight until the 87th minute. I missed a glorious chance which I’m always reminded of by old team-mates. I then got offered my first professional contract at Dundee United [in 2013]. The manager Jackie McNamara had been a great full-back [at Celtic] and he helped me.”
In July 2014, Robertson moved to Hull for £2.85m. “I got off to a flyer but then I injured my ankle. I couldn’t get back in the team and we got relegated. But the Championship season was massive. Steve Bruce really put his trust in me and I learnt so much. But the gaffer fell out with the club and we went into the Premier League with 12 players. Then in January we had a wee turnaround when Marco Silva came in. He was brilliant but couldn’t keep us up.”
Andrew Robertson in action for Queen’s Park against Rangers at Ibrox in 2012. Andrew Robertson in action for Queen’s Park against Rangers at Ibrox in 2012. Photograph: Kirk O'Rourke/Rangers FC/Press Association Images Robertson joined Liverpool last July and recalls the impact Jürgen Klopp had on him. “When you meet a new manager you’re nervous and this was even more so because our gaffer is world famous. But he gave me one of his hugs and relaxed me from day one. The gaffer really wants to know you. I sat down with him and he told me about his past and I told him about mine. We both had to battle for everything. He liked my story and that helped.”
His man-of-the-match debut against Crystal Palace won approval from the Kop. “People were doubting me but I played quite well and I think the fans took to me. But my problem was Alberto [Moreno] was playing very well. It was frustrating but I had to watch and wait.”
Robertson only played three of the first 12 Premier League games and he was often not even in the squad. “The manager said: ‘We’ve got James Milner on the bench and he is so versatile. You need to learn how we play and improve defensively’. Such good communication really helped. It was unfortunate for Alberto he got injured and over the Christmas period I was the only left-back. Bournemouth away [a 4-0 win in mid-December] was a big performance. The gaffer was really happy with me.”
Liverpool then went to Arsenal and a madcap game ended 3-3 after the visitors shipped three goals in five minutes. Gary Neville expressed reservations about Robertson but six months later the Sky pundit picked the Liverpool left-back in his team of the season. “He’s a great pundit,” Robertson says, “and to make his team of the season means I changed his mind.” Robertson shares Klopp’s social conscience – even if he is uncomfortable that a personal gesture to a young supporter became public knowledge. When he heard that a seven-year-old Liverpool fan had donated his pocket money to a food bank, Robertson wrote to the little boy and sent him a shirt signed by Roberto Firmino because “nobody wants the left-back’s shirt.”
‘I don’t feel like an underdog’: Jürgen Klopp eager for Real redemption Read more “It gathered pace [when his letter turned up on Twitter] which I didn’t want. The food bank is something I’ve always supported because there’s no excuse for anyone to go without food.”
For his 21st birthday, Robertson asked his family and friends to donate to their local food bank rather than buy him anything. “A normal 21st birthday present is a bottle of vodka or champagne and during the season I don’t drink. At the end of the season I have a few beers with my old man. So if someone wants to buy me a bottle of vodka I’d rather they donate the £20.”
It’s striking that Robertson asks me to downplay the food bank story – and a compassion that feels natural and low key to him.
There will be nothing low key about Kiev. How does he feel about facing Ronaldo in the final? “It’s a great challenge but the problem with Real Madrid is that they’re all fantastic players. If you focus on Ronaldo then somebody else will pop up. But we’ll have a game plan and look at all of their strengths and weaknesses.”
A year ago Robertson was facing another season in the Championship but, on Saturday night, an incredible turnaround will be complete. “Football is full of highs and lows but when people retire they often say: ‘I wish I’d enjoyed it more.’ I’m now playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world in a Champions League final. Of course there’s still that pressure but you need to enjoy it. I will.”
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drks
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21 May 2018, 08:28 PM
Post #8996
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Grant Holt has taken up wrestling...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44195987
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KrnyBhoy
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21 May 2018, 08:29 PM
Post #8997
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Retired and now a BT Sports pundit
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- Nakasleftfoot
- 21 May 2018, 04:21 PM
- Maleys Spirit
- 21 May 2018, 04:11 PM
Not sure if it`s been mentioned elsewhere but the footage of Iniesta sitting alone on the park at the Nou Camp until 1am is quite poignant.
And extremely weird, the baldy wee milk bottle Looks like kryton (the droid) from Red dwarf.
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Fly Pelican
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21 May 2018, 08:59 PM
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- drks
- 21 May 2018, 08:28 PM
Motherwell should have made him an offer.
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Father John Misty
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22 May 2018, 08:15 AM
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Nainggolan doesn't make the Belgian squad, Martinez says they can't accommodate him.
Apparently they were in the same restaurant in Ibiza one time and Martinez didn't even acknowledge him.
No Fabregas, Morata or Alonso for Spain either.
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Sergeant Pluck
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22 May 2018, 11:16 AM
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A goal direct from KO - I didn't think this was allowed...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/44204779
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