Open Mike Monday: Fabrice Muamba, Eric Abidal, Lukas Podolski, Athletic Bilbao

The power of the gesture resonated no matter which language you speak.

Get well soon Muamba. Animo Abidal.

The words, emblazoned across the jerseys of Real Madrid’s superstars, were simple. But combined with similar tributes from players across the continent, they brought a new dimension to the struggles of Fabrice Muamba and Eric Abidal.

If you haven't heard, Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed during an FA Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The 23-year-old was taken to a London hospital, where he remains in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Earlier in the week, Barcelona announced that defender Eric Abidal will undergo a liver transplant a year after having a tumor removed from the same organ. The 32-year-old French international had been a first-team regular all season.

The conventional wisdom in times like these—when players are fighting for their lives instead of fighting for silverware—tells us to remind ourselves of what’s truly important. Football, we always say, is not quite so important when something like this happens.

But that's not completely true.

In times like these, football—or soccer, or futbol, or voetbal, or calcio or whatever you call it—is important. It's important because it has the power to unite, and to help heal.

Fabrice Muamba is in critical condition. Eric Abidal is fighting for his life. All of Europe is pulling for them.

Few pursuits have that kind of power.

Best Payback, Immediate Division

The news last week wasn't all quite so dire.

Take, for instance, the case of Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards

Moments after lambasting FIFA and UEFA for stealing football from England, Richards fell, ingloriously, into an ornamental pool in Doha, Qatar. The video appears at left, and even though the quality is poor, it's still hilarious.

Just before his fall, Richards had used the platform afforded him by FIFA and UEFA at their sports-security conference to—well, blast FIFA and UEFA.

"

"England gave the world football,” said Richards. “Then, 50 years later, some guy came along and said you’re liars and they actually stole it. It was called FIFA.

"Fifty years later, another gang came along called UEFA and stole a bit more.”

"

FIFA and UEFA declined comment. Probably because everyone at both organizations was snickering all day.

Back home, the reaction wasn't quite as diplomatic. Dinosaur? Nah.

Here in America, we've got someone even crustier.

Biggest No-Brainer

For all the dire and hilarious news this week, there was also a dose of the asinine.

Late in the week, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi had to explain to Sky Sports that, no, he doesn't want to play in England.

He shouldn't have had to say anything, though.

"

"It's a league I like," he said. "I have friends that are playing there and I follow it as and when I can. Players I like are Kun Aguero and (Wayne) Rooney. These are two players that I like," Messi told Sky Sports.

"The truth is my idea has been to always stay in Barcelona and see out the rest of my career here. Like I always say, one doesn't know what can happen in the future but if it were up to me to decide, I would stay at Barcelona."

"

Thanks for that hard-hitting reporting, Rupert. In other news, Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not quit the real-estate business.

Biggest Curveball

Say this about Lukas Podolski: He always keeps you guessing.

A couple weeks ago, the Internet nearly exploded when word leaked out from Germany that Arsenal had agreed on a £10.9 million deal to sign Podolski from Cologne.

A few days later, Podolski passed a medical. Or, actually, maybe he never took one.

That's enough to make your head explode, but there's more.

The latest rumor says that Podolski could choose Lazio over Arsenal because—well, no one really knows why.

Usually these sorts of twists and this kind of innuendo is limited to times when the transfer window is open.

So much for that.

Funniest Cat-Fight

Speaking of Arsenal, loudmouth Polish keeper Wojciech "Twitter Booty Call" Szczesny has a little feud simmering with Tottenham Hotspur.

Honestly, he'd come off as a bit of a punk if the whole thing weren't so dang funny.

Here's how it went down.

First, Szczesny refused to even say Tottenham's name.

"I would not settle right now for fourth place," Szczesny is quoted by The Sun as saying. "We are four points behind the other north London club—I am not going to say their name—and hopefully we can challenge them."

Then, after Arsenal cut that deficit to one point, Harry Redknapp "responded."

"You weren't allowed to speak to the press when I was playing. If you got caught you got a fine of a week's wages, which was about £7.''

Uh, yeah, you tell him, 'Arry.

Seven pounds? When did you play? During World War I?

Everybody's New Second Team

And by favorite, I mean so frustrating you want to gouge your eyes out.

First, Athletic Bilbao dominated—yes, dominated—Manchester United over two legs in the third round of the Europa League.

The second leg finished 2-1 in favor of Bilbao last week, with Fernando Llorente scoring a ridiculously awesome opener.

Over those two legs, Bilbao played slick, flowing football and attacked United fearlessly.

They were a joy to watch, and their fantastic showing must have won over scores of neutrals across the world.

But then they went and lost 3-0 to Valencia in La Liga over the weekend. At home.

And that's why I give up. Bilbao, you're awesome. But then you stink. You destroy Manchester United in Europe. Then you slip to seventh in the league.

Whatever. I'll still watch the next time they're on.

Biggest and Best Turnaround

Chelsea is not the easiest team to like.

Their owner is a shady oil-tycoon billionaire who casts aside managers like toothpicks, their captain (and super-secret manager) is, to put it kindly, a jerk, and they gainfully employ Ashley Cole.

But give them credit—they deserve it.

Since oilman Abramovich sacked Andre Villas-Boas a few weeks ago, the Blues have won four out of four games, and along the way they've advanced two rounds in the FA Cup, overturned a 3-1 Champions League deficit and crawled back into contention for fourth place in the English Premier League.

Least likely of all, Fernando Torres scored twice in a single game, and it wasn't even against a pub team or anything. Take a moment to compose yourself.

Now they're in the Champions League quarterfinals and the FA Cup semifinals. And they're probably going to finish in the top four. Possibly. Maybe.

So, yeah, good on ya, Chelsea. You deserve everything you get.