Is it the tournament’s greatest ever giant-killing? Not for me. Cameroon beating Argentina still tops it in my book. Nonetheless, Pape Bouba Diop upstaged France’s cast of stars to score the winner after 30 minutes as Senegal humbled the defending champions 1-0 in the World Cup curtain-raiser in Seoul. It’s a shame the defending champions don’t play first anymore.

…and here comes part two.

Like an enormous version of Match of the Day’s 2Good 2Bad, TVGolo has put this little lot together, minus Adrian Chiles’ acerbic wit

The Maracana has seen some of the most beautiful moments in football over the years and last week Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño added their own little piece magic. Leading 1-0 at the end of the Copa Sudamericana semi-final last week against Fluminense they conceded twice in injury time to lose on a place in the final 3-1 on aggregate. The first was scored with a Cerro Porteño player down injured and then to add further insult, Fluminense scored from a quick counter attack in the dying seconds, which didn’t exactly go down very well with their opponents.

Players, staff, local dignitaries and even some military police all pile in to have their say.

Take note Thierry Henry, this is how to be honest and show a bit of sportsmanship. This is Costin Lazar of Rapid Bucureşti refusing to take a penalty because he didn’t believe the defender had actually fouled him.

This Wednesday will see Egypt and Algeria face a play-off in Sudan to decide which of them will go to the World Cup. The stakes couldn’t be any higher after they finished level on points and goal difference in Group C after Egypt’s 2-0 win in Cairo at the weekend. The bitter rivalry between these two should see a tasty game and not for the first time either. There’s a fair bit of history between these two -

2009 – The Algeria team bus is pelted with bricks thrown by Egyptian fans leaving many of their players covered in blood.

2001 – The Egyptian team bus was attacked in Algeria ahead of a 2002 World Cup qualifier. The match itself was stopped on three separate occasions due to fan violence and supporters hurling missiles at the Egyptians.

1989 – After this World Cup qualifier, the Algerian team ran towards the Egyptian bench and a brawl broke out, where Algerian player Lakhdar Belloumi threw a bottle which resulted in the Egyptian team doctor losing an eye. This player ended up having an international warrant for his arrest, which was only resolved years later through diplomatic means.

1984 – Players from both sides fight with each other on the pitch at the end of their 1984 Olympic Games qualifier.

There is an excellent article here about the game

In the meantime here’s a clip from that infamous game in 1984. Highlights include the fake kick in the knackers at 3.35 and the two footed flying lunge at 5.30

Maradona has written an outlandish apology asking for forgiveness from FIFA during the hearing into his postmatch profanity-filled tirade after Argentina’s World Cup qulaification. It’s a good read, almost as good as the outbust itself and is coursety of Jonathon Wilson at the Faster Times:

“Mis amigos, I cannot tell you how splendid it is to be here in Zurich. The mountain air, the sea breezes, the generous banks, the tick tock of your Rolexes, the fine chocolate; I come to you a humble and humbled man. Last month, when I apologized to all the women in the world I knew in my heart of hearts that it was not enough. The men of the world deserve to hear from me too.  But first a word or two in my defense for I have done the state some service, and they know it. When, after the game against Uruguay, I told those scum of the Fourth Estate that they could all suck my cock and keep on sucking it I meant nothing untoward! Nada! In Villa Fiorito, where I grew up, it was simply my grandmother’s way of calling us in to dinner after she had throttled, gutted and cooked one of the local roosters. I am a generous man with a good heart and in Montevideo I had planned a great victory feast for my journalist friends,  roosters donated by local cock-fighting impresarios, cooked on a spit like suckling pig, then skewered for easy sucking.  And in any case in lunfardo a “cock” is actually a great man, a proud and strutting rooster cocksman. The President of Argentina herself would be proud to be called a “cock” even though she doesn’t have one. But I apologize also and especially to her for the shame and disgrace that the misinterpretation of my words and gestures- -for those of you who have seen the Youtube video of the team bus my eyes were wide, my mouth open and my hand moving like that because I was dreaming of swallowing chorizos with red peppers as that is always how I celebrate a victory!  But in any case, gentlemen of Zurich, I ask you, was it not Jesus himself who said “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone?”  Is there one among you who can honestly say that there has never been a time when his chorizo has got the better of him? We have beautiful minds, mis amigos, but treacherous bodies. And the truth is I never left you, through all my wild days, my mad existence, I kept my promise… I’m sorry, the emotion of this occasion has carried me away.  My neutral Swiss friends, some people say you are cowards. I say you are the bravest of men, honest and faithful right up to the end.  If you were horses I would ride you, but in a heterosexual way, the wind in our gaucho faces, tears of remorse streaming down our cheeks. Dark swallows will return, but my ill judged words and gestures, they’ll not come back. Give me one more chance and I promise to remain on the sidelines, silent, absorbed, my chorizo tiny as a Brazilian garrincha inside my tracksuit. Disculpame!”

When I said British commentators couldn’t do passion I was wrong. Here’s Peter Martin on Radio Clyde.

PICK IT OUT LANDREAU!!!

I make this 2.7 seconds from the ref blowing his whistle to the ball crossing the line.

It was scored by quick thinking striker Nawaf Alabed for Al Hilal in their 4-0 Prince Faisal bin Fahad Cup win over Al Shoalah in Saudi Arabia.

Now I’m not suggesting anything shady was going on here here but that keeper could have easily made a save or or at least a half-hearted attempt for the cameras.

What’s the Ukranian for…

Ref: “Early bath son, you were late”

Pavlo Pashayev: “I got there as quick as I could”