The 50 Best Football Photos Of 2010, Part 2

Ollie Irish

21st, December 2010

10 Comments

By Ollie Irish

Here’s the second part of our picture review of the football year (Check out Part 1).

27 June: A Brazil fan needles a Lionel Messi voodoo doll during Argentina’s World Cup Round of 16 match against Mexico. Argentina won that one but were soundly thrashed by Germany in the quarter-finals, dashing Diego Maradona’s dream of glory.

27 June: England ambassador David Beckham and defender John Terry leave the Free State Stadium on their team coach after a crushing defeat by Germany in the World Cup Round of 16. Believe? England just weren’t good enough. Simple as that.

11 July: Spain’s Andres Iniesta celebrates winning the World Cup as the final whistle is blown. Iniesta scored a late winner against the Netherlands to ensure the best team won the tournament.

5 August: Republic of Ireland gaffer Giovanni Trapattoni poses with models during a press event at the Aviva Stadium to announce that mobile provider 3 will sponsor the Irish team for four years. Watch those eyes, Gio!

18 August: Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard heads the ball during a training session at Melwood. Liverpool came into the 2010-11 season full of hope (as so often in recent years) but the Hicks & Gillett regime poisoned the club from within.

22 August: Newcastle United’s Kevin Nolan (centre, fist clenched) celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match against Aston Villa at St James’ Park. Chris Hughton’s ability to generate an intense team spirit served his side very well, but then Mike Ashley went and spoiled it all by sacking Hughton. Doh.

27 August: Former referee Pierluigi Collina captured in close-up at the Uefa Super Cup (remember that! no, thought not) between Inter and Atletico.

28 August: Tottenham striker Peter Crouch uses his considerable frame to stretch for the ball, during Spurs’ Premier League match against Bolton at White Hart Lane. Tottenham have been recast this season as English football’s entertainers, especially since the shock signing of Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid.

30 August: Scotland players jog past a water sprinkler during a training session at Dumbarton, ahead of a Euro 2012 qualifying match away in Lithuania.

31 August: A lone Southend United fan checks his match programme, prior to his team’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy match against Gillingham at Roots Hall.

3 September: Joe Hart leaps to make a save during an England training session. Hart has established himself as England’s No.1 this season and lookes set for a long stint between the sticks for his country.

11 September: Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh scores his side’s second goal with a controlled header. Chamakh has settled in well in England and given the Gunners more mobility and a genuine aerial threat up front.

18 September: West Ham United’s Scott Parker (centre) celebrates scoring his side’s first goal against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. The Irons have been renamed Scott Parker United, such is the midfielder’s massive influence in a poor team.

21 September: Wolves fans let off a smoke bomb in front of their striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake during the third round Carling Cup match versus Notts County at Molineux.

8 October: England’s Phil Jones (right) and Romania’s Ioan Hora battle for the ball during an U-21 international at Carrow Road. Jones is one of England’s best young defenders, but unfortunately he is set to miss most of the rest of the season with a knee injury.

20 October: Lionel Messi, too quick-footed for most photographers, on the run for Barcelona against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

27 October: Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny shouts orders to his defence, during a Carling Cup match in chilly conditions against Newcastle United. The massive Pole, barely out of his teens, has impressed so far this season and looks set to become Arsenal’s first-choice keeper.

30 October: Manchester United winger Nani celebrates scoring his side’s second goal during the Premier League match against Spurs at Old Trafford.

31 October: No English football photo essay is complete without the classic shot of a morbidly obese Newcastle fan with his shirt off. Check. This shot was taken during Newcastle’s demolition of local rivals Sunderland.

7 November: Rangers forward Vladimir Weiss (bottom) under pressure from St Mirren’s Hugh Murray during the Scottish Premier League match at St Mirren Park. Once again, Rangers and Celtic have dominated club football north of the border.

7 November: Chelsea’s Ashley Cole and Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt collide during their Premier League match at Anfield.

14 November: Everton’s Phil Jagielka tackles Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin through the Russian’s legs.

27 November: Newcastle forward Andy Carroll in ninja mode in the snow during a snowbound training session.

27 November: A black-and-white view of Craven Cottage, ahead of Fulham’s Prem match against Birmingham City.

27 November: Middlesbrough’s Nick Bailey (front) and Hull City’s Liam Rosenior battle for the ball during the Championship match at the Riverside Stadium. Conditions were so bad they had to break out the yellow ball. At least the game went ahead, unlike many this winter hit by the icy snap.