5 quirky responses to criticism by footballers

Responses are reactions to a stimulus. It is the very root of our existence. In order to live, we have to take in oxygen – hence, we react by breathing. Actions and reactions are the wheels on which this universe runs.In a football field, matches are won and lost due to reactions. The team that reacts quicker than their opponents often come out as winners by the end of the game. There are also some other type of replies: the ones that are the direct products of provocation.People like to reveal their opinion on just about everything. And, as what commonly happens, not all of them are taken kindly. To be fair, though, some opinions should never be accepted at all. Hence, there are retorts – with some being hysterically wonderful and brilliantly quirky and here are five such reactions:

#1 Luis Suarez - Play-diving

Luis Suarez celebrating after his goal

Some things in life are just obvious. The grass being green, water being wet, Jose Mourinho being a hypocrite and Luis Suarez being theatrical on the pitch. And when David Moyes, then Everton manager, stated this obvious fact, Luis Suarez didn’t go quietly.

Heading into the game, David Moyes said: "I've got concerns about Suarez, yes, because he's got history and these people are very good at it.

"Last year [in the Merseyside derby] was a dive, and the referee made a really poor decision that ruined the game after 15 minutes.”

Luis Suarez didn’t take these words too kindly, so when he scored in the derby, he ran towards Moyes and made a diving gesture to celebrate his goal. It was all good banter, though, as the former United boss said that he would have celebrated in the exact same way had he been in place of Suarez.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo - Calma

Ronaldo asks the fans to calm down

Cristiano Ronaldo is that person who everyone loves to hate. His persona comes off as arrogant to many and it is for this reason that many fans find him obnoxious despite the fact that he is the only player capable of toppling Lionel Messi in footballing terms.

The loathing of him from Barca fans is such that even if he walks on water, they will claim it is because he can’t swim. So whenever he plays at the Camp Nou and the ball goes to his feet, he is booed severely. The collective jeering of 98,000 fans is sometimes too much to take, however, more often than not, he reacts well to it.

As Real Madrid and Barcelona were tied at 1-1 at the Camp Nou, Mesut Ozil slipped in a lovely pass to the Portuguese, who took it around Victor Valdes and slammed it home to give Madrid the lead. What followed next became an iconic celebration: he made a calm down gesture to the crowd, completely silencing them with his cheekiness while also fueling the dislike for him.

#3 Wayne Rooney - Boxing

Rooney celebrates by getting knocked out

Wayne Rooney and controversy have been friends for a long time and they met once again when the Englishman had a boxing match against former teammate Phil Bardsley. The former Everton player is a known boxing fan and he tried taking on Phil Bardsley, which didn’t end up the way he wanted.

After a while of huffing and puffing, Phil Bardsley knocked out Rooney with a KO punch. The video became viral and the United forward was heavily criticized for his antics just before a big game against Tottenham.

However, he made amends by scoring United’s third goal of the game. The banter part? He celebrated the goal by imitating the KO he got at the hands of the Stoke defender.

#4 Dani Alves - Eating a banana

Alves eating the banana

Racism is one of the biggest problems the world faces at the moment. The moral shortage of people is beyond sickening and the worst part is that there is absolutely nothing one can do about it because you can’t change one’s conscience.

Dani Alves, however, reacted in the best possible way to the racist gesture towards him.

As Barca took on Villarreal at El Madrigal, Dani Alves ran up towards the corner flag to take a corner. While tracing back after placing the ball, a Villarreal fan threw a banana at him. The Brazilian then did the coolest thing ever to respond to the atrocious act: he took the banana and ate it.

Not only that, after the game, he actually thanked the Villarreal fan for throwing at him because, according to him, eating it gave him strength which helped him during the game.

#5 Mario Balotelli - Why always me?

Balo’s shirt says it all

If a list of the most volatile players ever is made, then Mario Balotelli would perhaps top it. In his relatively short lifespan, he has done more mischief than Jerry the mouse. His childish and immature acts have been a subject of a lot of criticism, something that has always strangely befuddled his mind.

At one point, after a gazillion unfathomable incidents, scathing criticism of his antics were at its peak and he was left frustrated to the point that he decided to do something about it. And so he did.

As Manchester City were ripping Manchester United apart in an encounter that ended 6-1 in favour of City, Mario Balotelli added to the Red Devils’ misery by scoring a nice goal. However, that wasn’t the best part: it was when he revealed the message he had hidden in his inside vest: “Why Always Me?”

That act of defiance is still a popular meme to this very day. And one can only wonder as to how Balotelli was clueless about being the centre of all attention.