Soccer

All in the Game: O’Sullivan the pride of North Carolina

Harry Redknapp in a pickle; costly Mendy mistakes, word of mouth and more

Denise O’Sullivan of the North Carolina Courage. Photo: Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images

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Mary Hannigan
Mon Nov 22 2021 - 09:00

Best Twitter exchange of the week that illustrates the esteem in which our Denise O’Sullivan is held over in North Carolina?

We’ll go with the one started by a woman called Aimee Wilmoth.

“I can’t believe I just saw Denise O’Sullivan and was too shy to say hi. My daughter who plays soccer is going to be mad that I didn’t get a picture.”

To which Denise O’Sullivan replied: “At Happy & Hale [a café]? You should have said hi!”

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At which point another woman, going by the name of ‘Steelersyall’ interjected. “Oh no, that was 100 per cent me with the awkward ‘should I tell you I freakin’ love you?’ look at Happy & Hale.”

At which point Aimee returned to reveal where she had spotted O’Sullivan. “At the orthodontist… I was the mom staring you down.”

She can go nowhere without being recognised by admiring mams, it seems. As her Courage comrade Jessica McDonald, a United States international, added: “I get shy around Denise O’Sullivan as well… so, I totally get it.”

Most unfortunate experience of the week

We’ll go with poor old Harry Redknapp’s appearance on a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? when he was trying to win some loot for a very worthwhile charity.

He was doing completely grand until he got to the £1,000 question, “which actor played Vietnam veteran John Rambo in five action films?”

Straight off ‘Arry said, “I don’t fink it’s Sylvester Stallone”, so when Stallone was left after he used his 50-50, he confidently chose Bruce Willis. This confidence was a curiosity because ‘Arry admitted he had so little interest in films, the last one he saw in the cinema was Doctor Zhivago …. and that was released in 1965.

“You’re leaving with absolutely nothing at all,” said a sensitive Jeremy Clarkson, ‘Arry left utterly gutted. The Sun wasn’t much kinder - as they put it, “NILLIONAIRE!”

Still, nothing will ever beat the greatest ever answer to a ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ question. “Which word specifically links a type of mammal with an archbishop or high-ranking bishop? A: Carnivore. B: Rodent. C: Primate. D: Marsupial.” The response? “D: Marsupial.”

Word of mouth

“A manager is like a parachutist - you don’t know if the parachute will open or not. And sometimes, people don’t even give you the parachute.” - Watford gaffer Claudio Ranieri sympathising with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before Saturday’s game at Vicarage Road during which Solskjaer’s parachute failed to open.

“My fingers would have been red raw if I had to apologise [on Twitter] for every below par performance in the course of my career.” - The ever humble Kenny Cunningham.

“I’m even more handsome now than when I left. Long live Barca, long live Catalunya, long live the mothers who gave birth to you all.” - Dani Alves, a bit on the chuffed side after returning to Barcelona.

“He’s going to prove his critics wrong. The so-called experts have their opinions and that’s their job.... but as a true example of a Manchester United player, Harry is always there for his team.”- Solskjaer before Maguire literally wasn’t there for his team after being sent off against Watford.

Quote of the week

“We don’t know what to do with the ball.” - David de Gea, after that Watford mullering, hinting at what might be behind Manchester United’s current woes.

By the numbers

526: That’s how many million Euros Manchester United spent on players in the three years since Solskjaer became manager. No, really.

Costly mistakes

There but for the grace of God, and all that, but media outlets using the wrong photos of people charged with crimes isn’t entirely uncommon, the mistakes usually proving to be highly costly.

More than a few outlets, you suspect, will be hearing from the lawyers of Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Real Madrid full-back Ferland Mendy some time soon.

As Edouard noted last week on Instagram, a gobsmacking number of them have used a photo of either him or his cousin Ferland for stories about Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy, no relation to either man, who has been charged with six counts of rape and one of sexual assault.

“Sad to see that in 2021, in France as well as in England, for some, black people have neither names nor distinct faces,” wrote Edouard. “It’s not that complicated to differentiate two faces, especially when the football jersey is of valuable help!”

True enough. The photos of Edouard largely showed him in his goalkeeping kit, with, as a further clue, ball in hand, while Ferland was shown in his Real Madrid kit, and not a sky blue one. One French paper even failed to distinguish between Ferland and Benjamin, despite both being, well, French internationals. Face in hands.