1
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
Itzhak Hayk, a 73-year-old
goalkeeper from Israel, has
entered the record books as the
oldest active footballer ever to play
an official match.
Hayk, who was born in Iraq and moved
to Israel at the age of four, played the full
90 minutes for Ironi Or Yehuda, a team in
the Israeli fifth tier.
After the match, in which his side
were beaten 5-1 by Maccabi Ramat Gan,
Hayk received a certificate from Guinness
World Records.
“This is not only a source of pride for
me but also to Israeli sports in general,”
said Hayk.2
THE NAME GAME
A couple from Brive-la-Gaillarde
in France have been banned from
calling their son “Griezmann Mbappe”
after two of the country’s World Cup-
winning team.
A judge agreed that naming the boy
after Antoine Griezmann of Atletico
Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian
Mbappe was “contrary to the child’s
interest” after the matter was referred to
the public prosecutor by local authorities,
who have the power to do so if it is felt
that a choice of name could be damaging
for a child.
The youngster’s parents have now
decided to call him “Dany Noe” instead.3
FAMILY AFFAIR
Goalkeeping brothers Blair and
Max Currie were both sent off on
the same day in Scotland.
Stranraer custodian Max saw red in
his side’s game with Scottish League One
leaders Arbroath, and 40 minutes later
Clyde keeper Blair, 25 was dismissed
against Annan in League Two.4
DANI ON THE DANCE FLOOR
Dani Osvaldo who retired in 2016,
is the latest footballer to take to
the dance floor.
The former Boca Juniors, Roma
and Southampton forward has been
partnered with professional dancer
Veera Kinnunen in the show Ballando Con
Le Stelle, which is the Italian version of
Strictly Come Dancing.5
COMIC HEROES
Paintings depicting former
International footballers and
created by comic authors from around
the world are being displayed during an
exhibition called “Haircut Football Club”
at the Cite du Livre in the French
southern city of Aix en Provence.
It looks like a giant Panini album
with 250 portraits lining the walls of
the exhibition.
Styles featured in the exhibition
range from the curly locks of Carlos
Valderamma and Graeme Souness
to the mullet of Mario Kempes, Ruud
Gullit’s dreads and the pig tails of
Taribo West.REPORTS WE COULDN’T MAKE UP
becomes a double-edged weapon.
So, the 3-6-0 is also an invitation to
coaches to insist that all of their players
be ready to use the heel pass – not
simply for its flamboyance, but as a highly
effective attacking weapon. And, equally
important, that all of his players be alert
to receive such a pass.
A typical misunderstanding came in
Tottenham Hotspur’s inaugural game at
their new stadium. Harry Kane, 15 yards
inside the Crystal Palace half, ran towards
the sideline to collect a pass rolling
towards him on the ground. There was
space behind him, where Christian
Eriksen was lurking.
Kane met the ball and backheeled it,
first-time, behind him. But Eriksen did
not anticipate the pass and the ball ran
tamely to Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate.
Kane’s pass could have been better,
but Eriksen should have been ready for it.
A week or so before that, MLS
bestowed its Goal of the Week award on
Cincinnati’s Allan Cruz for scoring with a
backheel, leaving the Portland keeper
totally bewildered. The goal was variously
described as cheeky, deft or audacious.
Add spectacular and brilliant and you
have Real Madrid’s Argentinian midfielder
Fernando Redondo at Manchester United
in 2000. He used a backheel to nutmeg
Henning Berg and then served up an
assist for a Real goal.
The heel pass has daring, beauty and
impact. Of course, if all the world’s
coaches follow my advice, the backheel
will lose much of its surprise value, but I’ll
worry about that when it happens. In the
meantime there is a place in the game
for the backheel – not as a decoration,
but as a skill to outwit defenders.
Coaches talk a lot about space on the
pitch, but the unused space opened up
by the backheel is still largely unexplored
territory. Which is a great pity as anything
making life more difficult for defenders
should be mercilessly exploited.
Reut
er
sVet...Itzhak HaykFootwork...
Dani OsvaldoHair-raising...no
Barnet players
are featuredCruz’s goal was
variously described
as cheeky, deftor audacious
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