FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifying Play-offs

Magnificent French performance. Iā€™m delighted that all the losers who hold a manufactured grudge against a great friend of Ireland have been silenced.

[quote=ā€œRudi, post: 862712, member: 1052ā€]Are Sky really trying to say Zlatan was clapping Ronaldo?

What a bunch of retards.[/quote]
Thought they was ridiculous myself. What was he clapping for at that stage though?

He was attempting to rally his team mates at 4-2 on agg.

Surely the only explanation. Didnā€™t look like that type of clap though.

He was back on the halfway line trying to urge his teammates on like a true warrior.

And Iā€™m pretty sure the clip was after Ronaldoā€™s second of the night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmqNkkNvW0U

Yeah it definitely was. It was game over at that stage thatā€™s why they possibly thought it. As if he was conceding victory in the personal battle. I dont think even big Zs ego is that big! It nearly looked a sarcastic clap to me though.

There were 15 odd minutes left and they needed two goals. They had already got two in the space of four minutes, he was just trying to lift his teammates and give it another go.

The Big Z proved me wrong tonight. An outstanding performance and the World Cup will be poorer for his absence. He has the heart of a person with a big heart.

I know I think weā€™ve established that. He looked a beaten man though

This is football!! his tears after playing his last game for Iceland tells you everything about the sport and the manā€¦

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohi0_E9dBI

[quote=ā€œMark Renton, post: 862922, member: 1796ā€]This is football!! his tears after playing his last game for Iceland tells you everything about the sport and the manā€¦

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ohi0_E9dBI
[/quote]
Thereā€™s no fucking crying in sport.

Not on the field certainly.

Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic[/URL] has insisted that he did not applaud Portugal star [URL=ā€˜http://www.goal.com/en-us/people/portugal/1945/c-ronaldoā€™]Cristiano Ronaldo after the latter completed his hat trick in Tuesdayā€™s World Cup qualification win.

The Paris Saint-Germain striker was seen clapping his hands after Ronaldo scored his third goal of the game to effectively end Swedenā€™s World Cup ambitions, but Ibrahimovic has stressed that he was simply attempting to rouse his teammates rather than show the Madrid man his appreciation.

ā€œWas I applauding Ronaldo? No, I was just trying to encourage my teammates,ā€ Ibrahimovic told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I clapped my hands to cheer them up and motivate them for the last few minutes.

ā€œWe had already gone down before. It is important not to give up until the final whistle because the unexpected can always happen.ā€

The PSG striker did confess his admiration for the 28-year-oldā€™s prowess on the counterattack but insisted his own sideā€™s defensive lapses made life easy for the Madrid man.

ā€œHeā€™s obviously a great player, but we allowed him way too much space. Nobodyā€™s as good as he is on the counterattack. This game once more showed his biggest qualities,ā€ added Ibrahimovic. ā€œIs he the best player in the world? I can only say that he scored one goal more than I did.ā€

And Blue Boy was trying to let on he was applauding Ronaldo. :rolleyes: He really would swallow anything Sky Sports/joe.ie throw at him.