Not deceptive, not effective, but Monty Pythonesque. Peter Wisgerhof, Johan Cruyff Shield, July 30. If Erika hadn't stalled, would Wambach have had time to rescue U.S. She showed Erika a yellow card and added three additional minutes to the clock, just enough for Abby Wambach to head in the equalizing goal that sent the game to a penalty shootout, won by the United States. Then, behold! A miraculous recovery! She sprinted back on, to boos and whistles from the crowd. Precious seconds passed as medics arrived with a gurney to cart her away. With a dramatic roll for added effect, Brazil's defender laid down in front of her own goal, clutching her back. Minutes away from qualifying for the semifinals, Brazil pulled all the old tricks to preserve its 2-1 lead over the United States, including wasting time. More worthy of a Razzie than an Oscar, because this gamesmanship backfired. Erika, Women's World Cup quarterfinal, July 10. The referee gave us a red card, but we felt hard done by." He (Dembele) pushed him on the shoulder and you shouldn't do that. "It was a push on the shoulder, after being kicked," he said. "Of course, we will never complain after a red card," said Fulham manager Martin Jol before going on to complain. Referee Martin Hansson bought it, Dembele trudged off, Wisla turned its one-man advantage into a 1-0 win. Pushed on the shoulder by Fulham's Mousa Dembele, the Argentine midfielder for Polish side Wisla Krakow pretended he had been thumped in the face and collapsed. Gervasio Nunez, Europa League group stage, Oct. This ticked all the boxes of standout football acting: It must be deceptive and effective and, if possible, be performed on the biggest stage. And that, pretty much, sealed Barcelona's place in the final, which it won, too. Real Madrid's almost frame-by-frame post-mortem - convincingly suggested not only that Pepe was innocent but that Alves wasn't the only Barcelona player who hammed it that night. Kennedy's assassination, the slow-mo was scrutinized across the football world for clues: Did Pepe actually touch Alves? Think of Willem Dafoe's death scene in "Platoon." Screaming, mouth agape, the Barcelona defender acrobatically spun to ground, clutching his right calf muscle, after he and Real Madrid's Pepe went for a loose ball with raised legs. Alves, Champions League semifinal, April 27. Without further ado, our nominees for Best Actor/Actress in football, 2011, are: Working on the principle that Academy Award organizers cast their net too narrowly by looking only at film actors, we assembled a jury of crack Associated Press sports reporters to select our own Oscar winner from football. Referees should yellow card ham-actors more frequently (Altintop's dramatics went unpunished) football bosses must become intolerant of such cheating and flagrant offenders should be pointed out and shamed into changing their ways. 11 fail to fool referee Felix Brych, but the slow motion replays made Altintop look silly for attempting such a stunt.įootball could combat this dark art on three fronts. Not only did the Turkey midfielder's "Help! I've lost all control of my legs!" plunge in Croatia's penalty box on Nov. Type "Hamit Altintop worst dive ever" into YouTube. But rarely does the Argentine make a song and dance of them. Because of his speed and skill, Barcelona's little forward attracts more than his share of nasty tackles. Cheating, pure and simple, and a blight on the sport. The aim, of course, is to con referees, to swing a game by getting opponents cautioned or sent off or by winning undeserved penalties and free kicks. Players who pretend an opponent attacked them, who suddenly drop dead only to make Lazarus-like recoveries moments later, who writhe like a tub of eels in faked agony on the pitch, these are the thespians who give football a bad name. It is showing now at football stadiums around the world. You don't need to sit in a dark room with popcorn to see great acting. If those names don't sound familiar then, like Hollywood's academy, you've not been paying attention. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, best actor? Pah! What about Dani Alves or Bryan Carrasco? Clearly, the Oscar will go to the wrong guy.
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