Links! And Thiago Motta pays for slapping Mario Balotelli on picture day!

All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award-winning Dirty Tackle...

Don't slap Mario Balotelli on the back of the neck on picture day. He will mess up your tie and it will never be the same. [101gg]

Big Important Announcement: Fundraising has begun for a new quarterly football magazine that will really be something special and is long overdue. It's called Howler and I will be a regular contributor with original stories that you won't find on DT. A lot of excellent writers, editors and designers have been hard at work for months now on this and we need your help to raise the money necessary to make it as fantastic as it should be. Please check out the Kickstarter page and contribute what you can. There are some pretty awesome rewards available to those who pledge. [Kickstarter]

German football isn't s***. [The FCF]

Why not Leon Britton for England? [TFB]

Viggo Mortensen detained by airport security by celebrating a San Lorenzo goal. [KCKRS]

Fifth division amateur side Cal FC, managed by Eric Wynalda, shocks Portland Timbers in U.S. Open Cup. [US Soccer Players]

How Nike makes football shirts out of plastic bottles. [TBG]

Eden Hazard going to Chelsea for the right reasons. [Soccernet]

This is how MLS players go food shopping. [Kickette]

South Korea and the hooligans. [IBWM]