The Daily Bee (March 16th, 2021): Mateu Morey to Miss Time with Calf Injury

Good Morning (well, it’s afternoon here...) Fear The Wall!

The pandemic is doing a number on all of our bodies. I just walked to the shop and by the time I’d climbed the hill on the way back, my knee was hurting.

For football players, the struggle lies in being asked to do their job but just do it even more often. The congested schedule, and the limited break over the summer, have placed some pretty unreasonable demands on footballers’ bodies, and as a result, we’re seeing a lot more injuries than normal this season. Borussia Dortmund have fallen foul of this curse, just as everyone has, but the latest to be added to the pile is Mateu Morey.

Morey was subbed off after 70 minutes against Hertha Berlin, having put in an amazing performance, after feeling some tightness in his calf. Initial reports suggested that he would be good to go before the match against FC Koln on Saturday. However, the club have now announced that the injury is worse than initially thought. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious, and they’re just being careful with him.

I know that Borussia Dortmund fans will be sure that this is yet more proof that BVB are uniquely unlucky and that all our players are always injured, but this is something that every club is struggling with right now, and some much more than Dortmund. As a Southampton fan, I cannot begin to stress how hard the pandemic has hit our squad. There is a small chance that we end up getting relegated, and it is, in part, due to the fact we have at thin squad and couldn’t cope with the fatigue and injuries.

So yeah, it sucks that Morey is injured. Most of all, it sucks for him! He was playing some really good football, and a stretch in the first team has aided his development massively. I really wish this didn’t happen to him. But it is what it is, it’s Meunier SZN baby!

Vladimir Darida Receives Three-Match Suspension

Another player that left the Hertha Berlin game with an injury was Marco Reus, after he was clattered by Vladimir Darida. It was a pretty vicious tackle, and one that was met with immediate punishment, with the referee sending Darida off without hesitation. The DFB have now had their say on the matter, banning Darida for three games.

This seems fair to me. It was a horrendous tackle, and on a player known for being a little brittle as well, so it easily could have done some serious damage. Luckily, Reus seems to be okay, but Darida still needs to be punished because there’s no place for that kind of tackle.

Though it was a particularly dangerous play, I also want to highlight Darida’s own reaction to what he did:

Photo by FRIEDEMANN VOGEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

I think it was a hot moment and he either misjudged the timing or, more likely, lost his cool, and immediately realized his mistake when he made contact. Doesn’t make a difference when it comes to punishment, he has to be dealt with for what he did, not how much remorse he showed after the fact, but I do think it shows that it was a mistake and not a reflection of his character.

The Daily Buzz

What is the worst thing you’ve ever done in a game? I once spat at someone (look, I was very young, okay?), and I’ve stamped on someone’s leg before (look, I was also pretty young at this point... but definitely old enough to know better).