There is more than one reason for everyone to celebrate the month of December. For some it is the chilling cold wind which sends a shiver down their spines, while for the others it is the festive season and the chores associated with it. But for us, here at Sporstkeeda, it is the time we look back to the year and cherish the best sporting moments which took centre stage in the past 12 months.
In this volume of our year-end collection, we take a tour of the top off beat sports stories which made headlines this year.
Is that Jose?
How many of us dream of watching a football match along with the gaffer himself? I’m surely one among them. Though I will have to wait for quite some time to even dream of seeing my dream come true, a young Chelsea FC supporter got the surprise of his life when he found the gaffer, Jose Mourinho, sitting beside him.
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Mourinho was given the marching orders by the referee during his side’s 4-1 win over Cardiff at Stamford Bridge and Jose decided to clamber his way into a vacant seat next to Chelsea fan Sean Buxton.
Buxton wasted no time in uploading a picture of himself and Mourinho on his Twitter account, @Sean_Buxtonzz, alongside the caption: “OMG (oh my God) Morinho (sic) is sitting next to me!!!!!”
Its Ronaldo, rest is up to you
Call it on purpose or by mistake, the French Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron was left red-faced as she confused Ronaldo, the Brazilian striker and former World Cup winner with his Portuguese namesake, the Portuguese star Cristiano.
The French mimster, speaking at at the Brazilian Embassy in Paris committed the error as she referred to Cristiano Ronaldo as the ambassador of the FIFA World Cup to be held next year.
Though this sent a way of smiles all round, Fourneyron later admitted to the mistake on her Twitter page: “Not much good with first names! A little bit tired at the Brazilian embassy tonight. #Ronaldo was the 1st to laugh.”
Breaking racket before break(ing) points
Volatile Russian Mikhail Youzhny smashed the same racket nine times, sending splinters spiraling into the air and ball boys running for cover in a stunning French Open meltdown.
Youzhny boiled over after he slipped a set and lost 3-0 to Tommy Haas in the last-16 at Roland Garros with the random act of violence becoming an instant hit on YouTube.
“You try and do all you can to help yourself. I tried it this way, but it doesn’t help really,” said 29-year-old Youzhny, who slumped to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 defeat to Haas on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
No messing with this referee
Saad Al Fadhli meted out yellow cards, red cards as well as a punch and a kick after awarding a controversial penalty in a Kuwaiti league game. The Kuwaiti referee also sent off members of the Al Naser coaching staff in a spectacular meltdown.
Could he win it? Kubot can-can
Polish Lukasz Kubot might not have won the Wimbledon title but he took the top prize for the wackiest victory celebration by dancing the can-can at SW19.
The 31-year-old, who lost to Jerzy Janowicz in the quarter-finals, performed his version of the high-kicking dance every time he won a game at the All England Club.
“It’s something that came up a couple of years ago. My team told me, my coaches, that every time I’m playing on the big courts, the big tournaments, big events, I should do the can-can after win,” he justified. “It’s one of our exercises when we are practising. The coaches like it when I put my legs very high. So it stays until now,” he added.
Hartlepool FC win; courtesy Hartley and Poole
A third division English football team Hartlepool defeated Notts County 2-1 in their league encounter with scorers named Hartley and Poole. The skipper Peter Hartley emerged the match-winner when he headed home in the 69th minute at Victoria Park, after James Poole had put the team ahead in the fifth minute.
