Snow
Montreal Impact v. Columbus Crew SC, April 2013
Some will remember that the opening game at Stade Saputo in April 2013 was postponed by a day because of a snowstorm. The entire club, including its president Joey Saputo, helped remove the snow from the field and the stands. The delay will have been worth it, the sun shining on this nice Sunday afternoon. On the pitch, the duel between the Bleu-blanc-noir and the Crew SC finished all tied up, goals from Marco Di Vaio and Dominic Oduro sharing the spoils.
USA v. Costa Rica, March 2013
Aptly named the Snow Clasico, this qualifying 2014 World Cup game in Colorado between the United States and Costa Rica offered a slipping encounter. If Dempsey delivered the three points to the USMNT with his goal after a quarter of an hour gone, the Ticos did not appear out of sorts in conditions they rarely saw.
Wind
Orlando Pirates v. Black Leopards, janvier 2007
This South African league game in January (so in the middle of the southern hemisphere summer) quickly became scary: with only five minutes gone, advertising boards went flying because of the strong winds and hit players from both teams as well as an assistant referee. The game could start again seven minutes later but was abandoned for good before the end because of torrential rain and electric thunderstorms. A nice winter day – or summer, whichever.
Heat
Melbourne Heart v. Perth Glory, February 2014
You thought it was hot in Orlando last Sunday? It was nothing compared to this game played in the middle of Australia in 2014, where the temperature exceeded 40 ⁰C. Three water breaks were needed to allow players to gain back their strength and their cool.
Rain
Houston Dynamo v. FC Dallas, June 2016
Modern pitches can usually count on very efficient irrigation systems… But when the rain falls like it did on this June day in Texas, there is nothing to be done. Before the game was interrupted, though, we could see this scene which should be watched while listening to the Benny Hill Show’s theme song.
Switzerland v. Turkey, June 2008
Strong rain also impeded this Euro 2008 game, but the Swiss will not complain, their only goal coming with one or two key passes from puddles. Back from the break, though, the rain stopped and the field was dry, the Turks came back from behind to win 2-1.
Hail
Ukraine v. Northern Ireland, June 2016
At Euro 2016 last summer, hail briefly interrupted this group stage game. The ice storm did not have an influence on the result, a comfortable 2-0 win for Northern Ireland, but we can understand the players’ eagerness to leave the field quickly.
Other
Eyjafjallajökull volcano, summer 2010
Rumour has it that in the summer of 2010, Robert Lewandowski was on the verge of signing with Blackburn Rovers, but the flight to England was cancelled because of the great smoke coming from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Borussia Dortmund took advantage and showed their interest in the Lech Poznan striker, who was able to go to Signal Iduna Park through ground transport to complete his move and continue his road towards the heights of the goal scoring rankings.
