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People often like to say a player or coach got their money’s worth once an ejection became inevitable. Atalanta captain Rafael Tolói got something else.
Things came to a head in the 87th minute of a UEFA Champions League match between Atalanta and Club Brugge on Tuesday. Brugge was in the process of finishing off a 5-2 win in aggregate over the Italian club, a significant upset in the first round of the tournament’s knockout stage.
As the minutes ticked down on Atalanta’s UCL bid, Tolói received some hard contact from Brugge’s Maxim De Cuyper out of bounds. Tolói by completely humiliating himself.
His first reaction was take the ball and spike De Cuyper in the head with it. However, the ball slipped out of Tolói’s hand like a cartoon. The throw also pushed Tolói off balance enough that he then fell directly on his face.
De Cuyper then turned his back and jogged away, at which point Tolói charged him and, after pushing past a ref, slammed him to the ground. It goes without saying he received a red card.
The match ended minutes later. Brugge, the champions of the Belgian Pro League last year, will advance to face either Lille or Aston Villa in the Round of 16, with one of Liverpool or Barcelona waiting in the quarterfinal after that.