World Cup 2010 Blog: “Asamoah Gyan Would’ve Pulled A Luis Suarez Too” plus 1 more

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Asamoah Gyan Would’ve Pulled A Luis Suarez Too Posted: 09 Sep 2010 11:24 PM PDT That handball by Luis Suarez, rather unmistakable, and subsequent penalty miss by Asamoah Gyan rocked the world far beyond the shores of Ghana. They were something of the darling team, being the only remaining African team in an African World Cup. Since then Suarez has fluctuated between villain and hero so much, typically depending on location, he doesn’t know which way is up anymore (also aided by his constant diving). Gyan, though missing the big penalty, has gone onto bigger things in his future with a big move this week while offering up some even bigger forgiveness. He’s a big man. His Sunderland intro touched on the highly controversial moment from this summer: “I’ve forgiven him it’s part of the game,” Gyan told the Daily Telegraph. “As I always say, if it was me, I would have done the same thing. In the last minute, if you’re going out, he made himself a hero in his country. It was cheating to handle the ball, but I would do the same. Maybe I will do it for Sunderland in one important game. He’s done a great job for his country. “Suárez is a hero because he got his team to the semi-finals. He’s like a hero for that cheating. The referee should have done something about it, but that’s life. Penalties? For me, I have done a good job for my country. I think 90 per cent of the penalties have been scored by me despite that miss. That’s life.” And with that we have possibly the most reasonable, objective and inarguable assessment of the Suarez handball, all from the man it ended up hurting the most. That’s rarely life.

Trapped Chilean Miners Watched Ukraine vs Chile Football Match Posted: 09 Sep 2010 01:00 PM PDT Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you should know about the Chilean miners who are quite literally living under rock. The 33 men have been trapped nearly half a mile below the earth in a 500 square feet emergency shelter ever since the mine in Copiapo, Chile collapsed last month. It’s going to be months before workers can drill holes deep enough and wide enough to rescue the men. Months. In the meantime, everyone’s thinking up ways to keep the trapped miner’s spirits up and their brains sane. Essentials like food and drink are being lowered down, but there’s also communication with loved ones and all kinds of group dynamic work being done. And, of course, there’s football. Because this past Tuesday the 33 Chilean men trapped in a 500 square feet room were able to watch Chile’s friendly away to Ukraine. A small projecter and a fibre optic cable were lowered down into the shelter, allowing the men were able to project the game onto the wall. Unfortunately Chile lost the friendly match 2-1, but the miners did get to see their national team wearing t-shirts that read “Fuerza Mineros” before the game, which presumably left no doubt in any of the 33 men’s mind that those above ground were thinking of them. One of the trapped miners is an ex-professional footballer named Franklin Lobos, and apparently he did a bit of post-match analysis via phone with rescue workers. Here’s a video news story about the miners watching the game from NDTV: Great stuff, and a nice little reminder of just how important football can be. Even international friendlies.

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