The scorer of two of his country’s three goals, Mandzukic added insult to injury in Croatia’s 3-1 victory over Ireland. When hurtling towards the sideline, the striker capped off his afternoon by cleaning out Trapattoni — the oldest manager in the competition at a sprightly 73 years young.
Somewhere Martinez is smiling and nodding.
Back in the 2003 American League Championship Series, the former Red Sox pitcher mixed it up with Yankees’ bench coach Don Zimmer during a bench-clearing scuffle. Then, a raging Zimmer shuffled towards Martinez at top speed, only to be unceremoniously tossed to ground by the Sox ace. The incident sparked a major controversy — Yankee fans found it to be vicious. Meanwhile Sox fans had to wait two long years for the birth of Youtube.
No such controversy surrounds Mandzukic’s clearly accidental tackle. The striker made sure to profusely apologize to the unhurt Trapattoni and both sides seemed to operate under “no blood, no foul” regulations.
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