Weird Week in Football: A song, a dance, and a fighting chance
Every Monday, theScore will highlight the most outlandish moments from the wacky, sometimes daft, and perennially entertaining world of football. Here’s what made us smile – or cringe – on the pitch this past week.
Who needs the glitz and glamour of Europe’s marquee clubs when those struggling on the fringes are such great sources of entertainment? Managers danced, owners sang, and one enterprising Mexican footballer found a second source of income.
Without further ado, the Weird Week in Football:
Paging Titus Bramble
New Granada boss and former tough-tackling Arsenal defender Tony Adams replaced Lucas Alcaraz with the Andalusians last week, and if the new gaffer has his way, the Spaniards will become a hub for washed-up Premier League afterthoughts.
This morning, Kieran Richardson & Nigel Reo-Coker joined the first team squad for training, during a trial period with the club.
🔴???? pic.twitter.com/Fyu4sZP8pl
— Granada C.F. (@GranadaCdeF_en) April 12, 2017
After inviting Kieran Richardson and Nigel Reo-Coker on loan to Granada following his appointment Monday, Adams appears set to fill a squad with rejects from England’s top flight.
Titus Bramble, keep that phone handy, and Tony, keep dancing like nobody is watching.
Tony Adams vs Agadoo 🍍 pic.twitter.com/FIgLRszqeJ
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) April 17, 2017
Non-league karaoke leads to cup conquest
If Tony Adams pumps up his charges with gawkish interpretive dance, then surely there’s no harm in the methods of Billericay Town owner Glenn Tamplin, who motivated his side ahead of Wednesday’s Ryman League Cup final clash against Tonbridge Angels with a stirring rendition of R. Kelly’s “The World’s Greatest.”
Be warned, Tamplin’s got a bit of a sailor’s mouth (NSFW).
Former Premier Leaguers Jamie O’Hara and Paul Konchesky, who’ve joined Tamplin’s pet project as their footballing careers wane down, must have been wondering what they’ve gotten themselves into.
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
BILLERICAY TOWN ARE THE RYMAN LEAGUE CUP CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
🔵??🔵??🔵??🔵??🔵??🔵??🔵??
— Billericay Town FC (@BTFC) April 12, 2017
And while Billericay Town did muster up a cup win, its seventh-tier weekend fixture with a Jimmy Bullard-bossed Leatherhead ended in a 3-2 defeat, with O’Hara confronting a fan before being pried away by his mates.
Naturally, Bullard and Co. celebrated the result by taking a turn at karaoke.
Leatherhead FC 3-2 Billericay Town FC 😂 pic.twitter.com/FEF2lxCVWF
— Jmac (@Jordmac11) April 15, 2017
Aberdeen football washes up on Norwegian shores
Aberdeen-based Under-19 side Banks o’ Dee probably thought it had seen the last of a wayward ball that landed in the River Dee. Think again, after the football in question washed up on Norwegian island Vanna, 1,000 miles away from the Scots’ training base.
Thanks to Vanna resident Johnny Mikalsen and faint proprietary markings on the ball that would make your mother proud, the lost item has been located.
(Photos courtesy: BBC News)
Mikalsen emailed the club with the following note, courtesy of BBC Scotland.
Hi! You properly have one of the best long distance kickers in the world.
A friend of mine found a football with your club name on by the seaside.
It has travelled quite a distance. We are located 1,800km (1,118 miles) north of Aberdeen, on an island called Vanna, 10km north of Tromso, the capital of North Norway.
The football is just a little bit dirty after such a long distance, but fully useable. See enclosed picture.
If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, such are the movements of the North Sea.
Nadia Comaneci, eat your heart out
Leave it to a club named Energy FC to boast the gusto necessary to pull off a dazzling goal highlighted by two acrobatic offerings.
The USL side took a 1-0 lead on the Sacramento Republic when Brian Harris’ resourceful throw-in was matched by an equally stupendous bicycle finish by Miguel Gonzalez.
