Is Argentine football falling apart?

Every football addict in Europe owes something to South America. The number of talented players who cross the Atlantic Ocean to shine in the old continent is huge.

But Argentina's football is going through a difficult moment. The beginning of the second part of the Argentine Primera Division has been postponed amid players' strike. The other three professional league have suffered the same delay.

Several clubs are facing financial problems and they have not been able to pay their players. The government has made a promise to the players and the fans: football will be back in Argentina and the players will be paid soon.

Mauricio Macri's government made a $22m payment to the AFA. But it seemed to be not enough.

The government owes much more money to the AFA. Because of the cancellation of the contract regarding the sports broadcasting rights, the AFA must receive $33m from the government.

Argentina professional football is supposed to start next weekend. If the two parts find an agreement.

Football is for tough guys - Throwback to...

It was the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands in 2010. Nigel De Jong, notoriously a tough player, challenged Xabi Alonso a little bit roughly.

He got away with a yellow card! Unbelievable...

Football is for tough guys - Carles Puyol

If you think about tough players in football, you cannot forget to mention Carles Puyol. The former Barcelona defender was a real icon of hardness.

The image that sums up how Puyol behaved on the pitch is this.

During a League Cup game at Santiago Bernabeu in 2013, Barcelona were leading Real Madrid 1-0. To show that they weren't enjoying the game, the home fans had the clever idea to throw a lighter to the Catalan defender Piqué, who immediately showed it to the referee.

But the captain Puyol had different plans. He forcibly grabbed the lighter and threw it off the pitch. A tough guy doesn't want to fuel useless debates.

That wasn't the only time that the former Barcelona's captain showed how tough he was. During another game he told off two of his teammates for disrespecting the opposition.

After scoring the fifth goal at Vallecas, Thiago Alcantara and Daniel Alves celebrated in questionable way. But for Puyol that was disrespecting to the home fans who were watching their team being torn apart. And he stopped them.

Carles Puyol is a great man before a player. And he's really tough.

Football is for tough guys - Jamie Collins

Jamie Collins is the first tough guy of this new series. The reason he has the honour to be first in this list is the way he made Alexis Sanchez understand that there's no room for softness in football.

During the second half of yesterday night's FA Cup game between Sutton United and Arsenal, Collins didn't seem to enjoy the way Sanchez let himself fall as soon as an opponent brushed against him. So, he pushed him gently to the ground.

Jamie Collins, 32, defender and captain of National League side Sutton United, started his professional career at Watford, but soon moved to Havant & Waterlooville, where he impressed for his tenaciousness.

He then played for several other teams, before settling down at Sutton United in 2015. Since then, he managed to win the National League South.

Collins is a semi-professional footballer. When he's not on the pitch he works in building sites as a builder.