Soccer Sorcery

Two days after being shocked by his exclusion from Great Britian's Olympic team despite his vigorous campaigning for London to be the host city, David Beckham carried on doing what he does best -- producing lovely free kicks and setting up his teammates for goals. Beckham equalized for the LA Galaxy against San Jose in the 31st minute of what would be a five-goal first half. With a free kick in excellent position from just outside the box, Beckham curled in his third goal of the season, rendering San Jose keeper Jon Busch motionless (Busch, who had a swollen left eye, was replaced at the start of the second half by coincidentally named backup David Bingham). Though the goal probably wasn't enough to prove he deserved a spot more than Craig Bellamy, Micah Richards or former Manchester United teammate Ryan Giggs -- the three overage players who were selected for the squad -- it will likely be enough to prompt commentators to invoke Beckham's name whenever someone scuffs a fr

Mario Balotelli's influence has officially reached Japan as his stone-faced flex celebration from Italy's Euro 2012 semifinal against Germany gains an imitator. During the J-League match between Kawasaki Frontale and Vissel Kobe, the visitor's Ken Tokura scored with an bullet from distance that froze the keeper. Like Balotelli before him, Tokura then pulled of his No. 9 shirt and flexed with his poker face on until his teammates joined him. It would have been far better if Tokura had gotten a Balotelli haircut before the match, though. Video via @mahero21

The U.S. women's team played their final match before the London Olympics and goalkeeper Hope Solo once again came up big for her side. With the U.S. up 1-0 just before halftime, Canada mounted one last attack. Canadian legend Christine Sinclair took a low shot from outside the box that took a deflection off a U.S. defender, sharply changing the path of the shot. Though Solo was about to dive towards the far post to make the save, she managed to catch herself and dive back the other way once it deflected off her teammate to get a hand on the ball before it could reach the goal line. She then scrambled back up to grab the loose ball at the post just as a Canadian attacker came at her with a sliding boot to the face/ball. Upon close inspection, it appears that late challenge may gotten the ball over the line, but since the keeper had possession at the time, it could only be ruled a foul. Plus, whether the entire ball crossed the line isdebatable. Anyway, it was a great show of reflex

MidfielderOliver Norwood has leftManchester United and signed a three-year deal at Huddersfield Town. The 21-year-old spent loan spells with Scunthorpe andCoventry last season but has now sealed a permanentmove away from Old Trafford. Norwood told Huddersfield's official website: "I had been at Manchester United from the age of seven and I love the Club - it was always my dream to play for United - but there comes a time when you have to be realistic. I want to make a career for myself; I don't want to be constantly going out on loan, I want to settle down at a Club." Norwood never made a first team appearance at United. What do you think? Have your say. Tweet

Riding your bike through a park on a sunny day is usually quite enjoyable, but riding your bike through the part of the park with goals and people passing a football around can have consequences. And the video above features those consequences. A person on a bike attempts to cut through a kick around just as the ball was passed right in front of him. The resulting collision sent the biker to the ground and the ball careening away from its intended target. The reaction of the filmers/spectators leads us to believe this wasn't some kind of setup, but even if it was, the biker probably regretted his route. This has been the Dirty Tackle of the Day: a chronicling of unfortunate events.

Almost a full day after Cristiano Ronaldo was filmed departing Euro 2012 and arriving back in Portugal to a horde of waiting fans, we ran the latest edition of Future News (i.e. news that hasn't happened yet) about Ronaldo missing the team plane and succumbing to the siren song of a Ukrainian aiport Cinnabon. A few hours later, with the help of far too many gullible and research averse journalists, the very fake story was being spread around the world as something that actually happened. The main culprit behind a post featuring Ted Mendes, national team pilot and part-time strip club DJ, turning into something more than just a typical bit of Dirty Tackle nonsense seems to be the EFE -- the world's top Spanish-language news agency and the fourth largest news agency on the planet. Once they wrote it as true and beamed it out across the wire, it spread fast across Spain and Latin America. Crediting the " Ukraine 2012 information center ," the EFE's story appeared ev

There are too many to count at this point, and their scoreboards are surely dismal, particularly when compared to Paul the Pus. Lin Ping the panda wins the award for best psychic, if only because pandas are awesome. They say she chose Spain and Germany but it certainly appears she heads to Spain and Italy first, no? It was simply too difficult to take the ball off the Italians. Insert commentary on Andrea Pirlo here.

The day after beating Germany 2-1 to advance to a Euro 2012 final against Spain, Italy manager Cesare Prandelli celebrated his team's success by enjoying a beer at his press conference with a man wearing a Super Mario shirt. One would hope that this is more Prandelli's way of showing his superiority over the land of Oktoberfest and not a sign of letting down his guard before the job is done. But if anyone deserves a toast today, it's Prandelli's own Super Mario Balotelli . Who, incidentally does not drink alcohol.

Maurice Watkins has stepped down from the board of Manchester United. Watkins' involvement at Old Trafford spans 28 years and he was influential in the appointment of Sir Alex Ferguson as manager in 1986. Chief executive David Gill said: "Maurice has been a source of calm, measured advice and someone who always has the genuine interests of the club at heart." Tweet

Shinji Kagawa Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed 13million new boy Shinji Kagawa will be the star attraction on Manchester United's pre-season tour of South Africa and China. Kagawa is one of the few certainties in the travelling party after Ferguson's summer plans were hit by the need to rest players after Euro 2012 and also the departures of others, including Ryan Giggs and David de Gea, for Olympic duty. The Reds are also supplying three players to England's European Under-19 Championship quest, while Nemanja Vidic and Chris Smalling will not be considered due to injury and Darren Fletcher is due to begin the first tentative stages of his comeback from a chronic bowel complaint. The pressures on his squad means Ferguson is unlikely to know until the eve of departure exactly who will be on the flight to Durban on July 16. Kagawa will be there, though, offering United fans the first opportunity to see him in action since his summer move from Boru

Eric Cantona on stage with Justice Tonight this week Should I stay or should I go? Thats what Eric Cantona thought 15 years ago in Manchester. He decided to go, choosing to walk out of United and football after a brilliant, controversial career. On Monday at the Stone Roses concert in the Lyon Roman amphitheatre, Cantona stood on stage with Mick Jones from The Clash and sang, Should I stay or should I go? The crowd loved it and Rock the Casbah too, the Stone Roses loved it and the Liverpool supporters in Justice Tonight loved it. Justice Tonight is a collective comprising Jones, Pete Wylie from the Mighty Wah! and The Farm. They exist to campaign for justice for the families of the 96 killed at Hillsborough. They are again supporting the Stone Roses at Heaton Park this Sunday, though another Cantona cameo is unlikely. Then again, you never know whats coming next with Cantona. That a United legend was supporting the Hillsborough campaign may surprise, b

Luka Modric has long been a target for United but seems destined for Real Madrid The return of Nemanja Vidic will be like a new signing for Sir Alex Ferguson but United fans will just be hoping thats not the extent of their business this summer. As Luka Modric edges ever closer to a move to Real Madrid, Ferguson looks set to have to shift his focus once again in the search for the players to challenge Citys superiority in the Premier League and make a serious dent on Europe next season. While news of Vidics return from knee-ligament damage is a significant boost ahead of the new campaign, it will be only small consolation if United miss out on yet another major target. Modric is still to seal a move to the Bernabeu, but it is looking like a depressingly familiar story from Uniteds perspective. Ferguson has already missed out on Eden Hazard in his attempts to add a marquee signing to the side that missed out on the title by goal difference last season. The Bel

Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to spent a few extra hours in Ukraine after missing Portugal's flight home. The team's captain and leading scorer, who earlier missed the chance to take a penalty in Portugal's Euro 2012 semifinal shootout loss when Spain won before his turn in the order, was left shaking his head and pulling up the legs of his shorts as he watched the plane fly off without him. "It was just a question of me speaking with the travel planner," said a clearly distraught Ronaldo. "She saidto me, 'Do you want to sit in the fifth zone -- in the back of the plane?' and I said 'yes.' Sometimes I sit in the first, the second or the third. I agreed to take the fifth. And then I went to get a Cinnabon and the plane took off without me. It's an injustice. And that Cinnabon gave meindigestion." Though Portugal manager Paulo Bento realized the mistake only after landing in Lisbon, the plane's captain, Ted Mendes, wasn't upset a

Two first-half goals from Mario Balotelli proved to be enough to give Italy a 2-1 win over Germany and put them in the final against Spain, but goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon didn't enjoy the final moments of the match at all. Two minutes into added time, Mesut Ozil scored for Germany to make things a little tense in the final moments, causing Buffon to blow a gasket. After the final whistle, he explained his fury (via Football Italia ): "We are playing for something unique and totally prestigious, so it's not right with the performance we put in to risk it in the last five minutes and play with fire. "If they had scored with a lucky ricochet for 2-2, we'd end up losing in extra time 9-2. We are playing in the Euros here and cannot take it lightly. "I always evaluate performances and attitudes rather than strictly wins or losses. We are still young, apart from a few old men in the squad, and need to learn. It's only right for the old men to tell them off an

Based on the fact that they've been rather excellent throughout Euro 2012, most people assumed Germany would make easy work of dismissing the Italians in their semi-final game. Mario Balotelli , of course, spoiled Das Party and now the Germans head are left wondering what went wrong. (Thankfully, the Bayern Munich players in the squad will be able to show the others how to cope with the disappointment of being denied a trophy that virtually had their name written on it.) German tabloid Bild believed victory was such a forgone conclusion, however, that they published the provocative image above, showing their "exclusive" scoop of the Italian formation on their plane ride home. "We wish them a good journey home," reads the sarcastic caption. For some reason, this image is no longer visible on the Bild website. Bild weren't the only publication guilty of excessive conceit though, as the Hamburger Morgen Post used their front cover toaccessorize a pepperoni pizz

Prior to Euro 2012, Italy striker Mario Balotelli warned that if racially abused, he would walk off the pitch and go home . But after having racially charged bile hurled at him from opposing fans and even newspaper cartoonists back in his home country , Balotelli decided that instead of leaving, he would stay to score goals, flex his muscles and hug his mother. And in Italy's semifinal match against heavily favored Germany, that's exactly what he did, helping to set up a rematch of Italy's tournament opening against Spain (the first meeting ended 1-1). After squandering too many chances early in the tournament and scoring one of its best goals against Ireland , the 21-year-old's confidence and self-belief has remained his strength. He missed shot after shot in Italy's quarterfinal against England, but still volunteered to take the first penalty in the shootout Italy would eventually win to put them in the semifinal. And despite a previous home firework accident an

If you happened to spot the little German flag emblem on Italian midfielder Riccardo Montolivo's boot during Italy's Euro 2012 semifinal against Germany, rest assured that it isn't a brazen signal of another Italian match-fixing scandal. In fact, the 27-year-old Fiorentina man has worn the German emblem on one boot (with the Italian flag on the other) throughout the tournament and he does it as a tribute to his German mother and Italian father. Though he was born in northern Italy, his mother's side of the family are all from Germany . Montolivo, who holds German citizenship, grew up speaking German at home, and is still fluent in the language. And all this leads to a member of the Italian team wearing one German boot (well,technicallythey're both German since he wears adidas).

His match-winning penalty yesterday was excellent, a true midfielders side-footed stroke off the post and in. The type of stuff Andrea Pirlo and Sergio Ramoswell, nevermind. But his method of extracting the most magic from his chance at glory boils down to something which took Tom Hanks several months on a deserted island to succumb to: talking to a toy made by underpaid children in Southeast Asia. We had to make history, he said. I had a funny feeling about the penalties and I was thinking about them this afternoon. They told me initially to take the second one but I said no, give me the fifth as I had this premonition. When I stepped up to take the penalty I said to the ball that we had to make history and it shouldnt let me down. I talked to the ball four years ago [when he scored the winning penalty against Italy] and it didnt let me down. No word on whether or not he thinks the ball spoke back to him.

Spain celebrate as Uniteds Nani (inset) looks dejected On the pitch were three of the four most coveted players in the world yet it is another who may have caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson as Spain booked their place in Sunday's final of Euro 2012. Hand the United manager a blank chequebook and the names of Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and Xavi would be right at the top of his wanted list. Only Lionel Messi was missing from the full set. But not even those three illustrious names could turn a fitful semi-final into the spectacle it deserved to be. In the end, it took a penalties to secure Spains place in the final of a third successive major championship. Ronaldo failed to replicate the stunning form that had crushed Holland and the Czech Republic in Portugals previous two matches. But it was perhaps the displays of Spains tiki-taka masters Iniesta and Xavi that was most surprising on the night. A principal reason for that was Port

Manchester United will face Leo Messi Manchester United will tackle old foes Barcelona in a high-profile pre-season friendly in Gothenburg on August 8. The pair have met in two of the last four Champions League finals, plus the 2008 semi-final. More recently, they met in Washington last summer as part of pre-season preparations for the 2011-12 campaign. One notable absentee will be Ryan Giggs, who is due to be confirmed as an over-age player in Stuart Pearce's GB Olympics squad when it is announced early next week. However, Wayne Rooney should be amongst those involved after his post-Euro 2012 break. United have already arranged a trip to Norway the previous Saturday, when they will play Valerenga, and are also due to visit South Africa and China as part of their preparations for the new season. "Manchester United against Barcelona is one of the top fixtures in world football and we are delighted to work with GotEvent to bring this match to the be

David Beckham Former Manchester United and England midfielder David Beckham has been left out of the Team GB Olympic football side. The 37-year-old had hoped to be named as one of three over-age players but has not been selected by Olympic team coach Stuart Pearce. It is understood United's Ryan Giggs, Liverpool's Craig Bellamy and Manchester City's Micah Richards will be the three over-age players confirmed by Pearce next week. United had told the FA in May that they did not want any of their over-age players apart from Welsh winger Giggs to be considered for selection. The club ruled out Pearce picking Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes and Jonny Evans for the Olympic tournament. It means United players Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling, who both missed Euro 2012 through injury, may be part of the Olympic squad. Beckham said in a statement: "Everyone knows how much playing for my country has always meant to me, so I would have been honoure

Spain celebrate as Uniteds Nani (inset) looks dejected On the pitch were three of the four most coveted players in the world yet it is another who may have caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson as Spain booked their place in Sunday's final of Euro 2012. Hand the United manager a blank chequebook and the names of Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and Xavi would be right at the top of his wanted list. Only Lionel Messi was missing from the full set. But not even those three illustrious names could turn a fitful semi-final into the spectacle it deserved to be. In the end, it took a penalties to secure Spains place in the final of a third successive major championship. Ronaldo failed to replicate the stunning form that had crushed Holland and the Czech Republic in Portugals previous two matches. But it was perhaps the displays of Spains tiki-taka masters Iniesta and Xavi that was most surprising on the night. A principal reason for that was Port

NEW HOME: Shinji Kagawa at Manchester United's stadium Old Trafford Shinji Kagawa will have the eyes of the huge football-loving portion of Japans 127m population on him when he begins to forge his new Manchester United career next week. On Monday, the 23-year-old officially becomes a Red when his four-year contract starts. Last week, the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder passed his medical, had his work permit rubber-stamped and completed all the formalities of his 17m move. Later next week he will be introduced at Carrington to the first of his new team-mates as those Reds not involved at Euro 2012 assemble for the beginning of pre-season work. And the Japanese football followers will put aside any club affinities to follow the fortunes of their biggest ever export. The English-speaking newspaper Japan Times will also be monitoring Kagawas progress with United in the Premier League and their football writer Andrew McKirdy says Japan is eagerly awai

After scoring the final penalty in Spain's quarterfinal shootout against Italy at Euro 2008 and setting up Andres Iniesta's extra-time winner against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final, Cesc Fabregas has once again come off the bench to play a key role for his side. And apparently his latest success, the decisive final penalty in Spain's Euro 12 semifinal win over Portugal , was partially the result of his psychic powers and ball whispering abilities. From the Telegraph : "I had a funny feeling about the penalties and I was thinking about them this afternoon. That life has given me another chance like this is really incredible," Fabregas said. "When I stepped up to take the penalty I said to the ball that we had to make history and it shouldn't let me down. They told me initially to take the second one but I said no give me the fifth as I had this premonition." The part about talking to the ball is reminiscentof Happy Gilmore -- the source

Portugal defender Fabio Coentrao apparently did not appreciate whatever Spain backup goalkeeper Pepe Reina was shouting from the bench because shortly before halftime in their Euro 2012 semifinal match, Coentrao pointed to Reina and grabbed his crotch. This earned him one of the match's nine yellow cards and didn't seem to make Reina anymore friendly. Reina got the last laugh, however, as Spain would end up winning the match on penalties. Coentrao, who was one of Portugal's top performers throughout the tournament, could only cover his face with his hands as he quietly walked off the pitch...

The 120-minute long Euro 2012 semifinal match between Spain and Portugal was roughly equivalent to watching someone slowly get a needle jabbed in their eye while a stadium full of spectators quietly did the wave to keep themselves distracted. But the shootout that followed managed to leave an even larger void -- more specifically a Ronaldo-sized void -- than everything thatprecededit. Whether it was Portugal manager Paulo Bento overthinking the shooting order or Cristiano Ronaldo trying to position himself just right for maximum spotlight/glory/attention saturation, the result was one of the world's best footballers missing out on the chance to take a shot at preventing Spain from reaching a third straight major tournament final because the game ended before it was his turn. Xabi Alonso and Joao Moutinho failed to score with the opening shots for their respective sides to carry on the theme of this never-ending match and lead one to believe that the ball boys would have a go before

Danny Welbeck celebrates his strike in Uniteds memorable 8-2 victory over Arsenal last season When Uniteds Euro 2012 England contingent kick back on the beaches and reflect, only Danny Welbeck will look back on his adventure with any real sense of satisfaction. That personal contentment will, of course, be tempered by the fact that his first Three Lions tournament ended early. But it shouldnt detract from positives the Mancunian striker has added to his CV. His Old Trafford colleagues wont look back with the same pride. Wayne Rooney should be kicking himself as hard now as he booted Montenegros Miodrag Dzudovic last October. That act of stupidity resulted in his two-match ban and meant the Reds hitman not only missed the start of the tournament, but couldnt hit the ground running when he did return, as shown by his sluggish performance in the quarter-final against Italy. Roo did spark briefly with his headed winner against Ukraine but it didnt herald form

Luka Modric acknowledges the Croatia fans during Euro 2012 Sir Alex Ferguson is under pressure to splash the cash on Tottenhams man in demand Luka Modric, with Reds fans desperate to avoid a repeat of last summers tortuous transfer saga over Wesley Sneijder. Modric enhanced his formidable reputation with a series of sparkling displays for Croatia at Euro 2012 and there have already been ominous noises that he is a key target for Real Madrid. The 26-year-old playmaker has been on Fergies radar for 12 months and, although rated by Spurs at 35m, the fact is if United can drive that fee down they have two significant aces up their sleeve. Spurs failure to secure Champions League football next season could be a key factor in the Reds favour. And Modric would significantly improve his salary and become one of the highest earners at Old Trafford on more than 100,000 a week should he move north up the M1. Although United have already strengthened their midfield this s

There were major fears of racism in Ukraine and Poland ahead of Euro 2012, but it turns out some of the most egregious offenses have come from within the visiting players' own countries. Police in England are investigating the racial abuse of Ashley Cole and Ashley Young on Twitter after the pair failed to score in England's penalty shootout against Italy and around the same time, Italy's best-selling sports paper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, decided to publish a cartoon depicting Mario Balotelli as giant gorilla King Kong. Balotelli, who said before the tournament that he would leave the pitch and go home if he was subjected to any racial abuse , has already been one of the players targeted with monkey chants fromCroatian fans (among others) is said to be "deeply unhappy" with the cartoon according to The Guardian. Anti-racism group Kick It Out has also questioned the thought process behind its publication. From The Guardian : The cartoonist, Valerio Marini, was t

Someone has been leaking Germany's lineups to the media and team captain Philipp Lahm is not happy about this. "It is a great pity if leaks like this occur and it is a disgrace that the line-up was in the public domain so early," Lahm told the press. "The person who has the problem is the guy responsible for leaking that information, because at the end of the day, he might be damaging the hopes of a nation.Maybe that person hasn't understood how team team sports work. I think it is a shame, but we won't be hiring any detectives." That's because Philipp "Marlowe" Lahm is on the case. The following is a transcript of his investigation. Lahm: Alright, gentlemen. There's a glass of milk with my name on it going warm somewhere, so I'll make this quick. Someone in this room has gotten a little too chatty with the button pushers and our lineups are being spread around faster than an inflatable sheep at a weirdo convention. I won't st

International suspensions in the wake of a disappointing major tournament exit are becoming something of a national pastime for Les Bleus. After the clusterfuck that was South Africa 2010, Laurent Blanc seemed to right the ship, losing to Spain in the quarters, but thats nothing to cry about. (On a double by Xabi Alonso? Maybe.) Of course, then Samir Nasri became the latest in a long line of terrible children a role which hes reportedly played before. (Long rumors encircling Euro 2008.) And now he might get the long-term suspension which puts him in the corner with his clown hat. The 25-year-old, who played a central role for France in the early stages of the tournament and scored the equaliser in a 1-1 draw against England, told a reporter to you are looking for s***, you are looking for trouble when approached for a quote after the defeat to Spain in Donbass. When the journalist in question told Nasri to get lost the midfielder continued the abusive rant and said f*** you before in

After a bit more infighting , France went out of Euro 2012 with a whimper in a 2-0 quarterfinal loss to Spain -- their second straight loss and by the same margin as their defeat to Sweden in their final group stage match. Their elimination was immediately followed by Samir Nasri cursing out a French journalist . And now, one member ofparliamentin particular, Olivier Faure, doesn't think it's so great that the players are getting a bonus of 100,000 each for all they did. From the AFP : "Today, many French people will ask why we pay so much out to people who respect the public so little," Faure, a close ally of President Francois Hollande, told Europe 1 radio. The French earned further brickbats in the press when most of them did not greet fans on their arrival back from the competition in Poland and Ukraine, leaving a sour taste among supporters. "When the French are suffering from things such as a fall in their purchasing power and yet see players pocketing 100,

One would imagine that Phil thinks Andrea Pirlo is afraid of leaving home, homesick, or something which is a far cry from the actual interpretation of his implication. Whatever the case, were all glad his slight faux pas came over the airwaves. And for the record, no man with hair that fabulous can possibly be homophobic.

German forward Lukas Podolski has been able to make several updates to his resum lately: alongside "Arsenal FC player" he can now add "Europop sensation" after teaming up with Cologne-based band Brings for their single 'Hallelujah'. According to iTunes , Brings have been troubling the German Top 40 since the early nineties with their "brand of gritty rock similar to AC/DC" (wait, what?). Having spent most of his career in Cologne, Podolski presumably jumped at the chance to work with the city's most prominent 'Klschrock' outfit. Say what you want about the song and Poldi's vocal performance, but you can't deny he knows how to rock a white-V-neck-tee-and-tartan-necktie combo. Thanks to @KillaKam for the spot

AC Milan's Brazilian star Alexandre Pato has put Manchester United on alert by hinting he could be tempted by a move to the Premier League. The 22-year-old forward is comitted to the Rossoneri until 2014 and has also been linked with Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid. "I love English football. I have friends who play for Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United," said Pato. "At the moment I have a real taste for playing in the UK, being in London with one month to go before the Olympics. "My priority is to finish my contract in Milan. I have a lot to thank them for and my focus is to continue doing what I do, to bring joy to the fans in Milan and continue my contract until 2014. "And then afterwards, who knows?" Pato, 22, is preparing to feature in his second Olympic Games, aiming to deliver a gold medal having won bronze with Brazil in Beijing four years ago. Brazil face Great Britain in a pre-Olympics friendly at th

Paul Scholes in action against Portugal in Euro 2004 in what proved to be his last appearance for the Three Lions If only Paul Scholes had played for England against Italy. Millions of people watching Roy Hodgsons brave but doomed lions flounder against the Azzurri knew exactly what was wrong. Realistically, there are precious few players who could have helped stem the blue tide. But, arguably, our main hope of salvation was sat at his Saddleworth home, no doubt sharing in the nations agonies and frustration. When former England and United striker Michael Owen posted on Twitter that the Three Lions had missed Paul Scholes minutes after our Euro 2012 quarter-final exit to the Italians, his message was retweeted almost 15,000 times. Owen had obviously struck a chord when he tweeted: [Andrea] Pirlo was awesome but we have a player of a similar age and equally as good. Unfortunately, he wasnt there. #Scholes. No doubt all the frantic social media a