Schweinsteiger's topless female doppelgänger

Germany's Bild is running a doppelgänger campaign for a number of players and managers both in Germany and the rest of Europe. Of them all, the above takes first prize.

Bastian Schweinsteiger has never been cast in such embarrassing light, or at least not since he bleached his hair white to resemble Paul Bettany as Silas in The Da Vinci Code. Nor has Schweiny been one to flatter the cameras either (probably why he clings to his girlfriend at every opportunity).

I just hope that isn't a picture of his mother from her college years as a free-spirited topless sunbather surrounded by storm troopers in motorcycle boots (don't worry - she's actually a woman on a postcard in Ithaca, Greece and a creepy farmer with a handlebar mustache looking down on her.)

Click here and scroll down for the rest of the doppelgängers (FYI - the above picture isn't censored on the site).

Sue the player – not the Federation

Bayern Munich is seeking reparations from the Dutch medical team. Arjen Robben, playing injured throughout the World Cup, re-aggravated a left hamstring injury leaving him sidelined for the first two months of Bayern's 2010/11 Bundesliga campaign. And apparently it’s the medical staff’s fault.

I should note this is not the first time the Dutch medical staff and the football association (KNVB) have come under fire. Back in November 2009, Robin Van Persie injured himself in a friendly against Italy sidelining him for 6 weeks with a serious ankle injury. Arsenal immediately filed a complaint seeking compensation from the KNVB. Aside from wanting them to cover his salary for the time missed, they were furious over alleged mismanagement of Van Persie’s treatment. Did Arsenal have justification? Sure they did.

Drawing parallels between the two however, other than the fact that both implicate the Dutch as plaintiffs, would be inaccurate and unwise. Club teams loathe international friendlies - especially meaningless ones. Van Persie's situation was one of these instances in that the Netherlands had already qualified for South Africa months before. Only three months into the Premiere League season, Van Persie was getting plenty of playing time and had plenty more yet. There was no reason for him to play against Italy. I have no problem calling him up, but don't play him. An entirely different scenario is what makes Bayern’s case groundless and moot.