Goalie Blocks Shot (9 mm) and Keeps Playing
Shot blocking was taken to a new level by goalie Dusko Krtolica who was shot in the head by a 9 mm bullet, but finished the game. His team won.
Krtolica, 51, and his Buca Potok team were competing in an amateur soccer tournament in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital, on Saturday when he felt sharp pain and a headache. He believed the pain came from earlier in the match when he dived to save a goal and hit his head on the side of the goalpost.
It was not until the end of the match that Krtolica began to feel numbness on the right side of his body and his speech deteriorated. He was taken to a hospital for examination. Doctors were shocked to discover on an X-ray a bullet lodged in his temple.
The doctors were able to remove the bullet without any further complications.
"He is in semi-intensive care unit now. His condition is stable and he is recovering, but his speech is completely slurred," a neurosurgeon who operated Krtolica told ABC News. "To receive a bullet in the head and live-he already beat the odds."
Investigating police found 12 other bullet shells scattered around the field where the tournament took place. They have been sent to ballistic experts. Police suspect they were fired as part of traditional wedding celebrations nearby. There were at least three weddings taking place nearby. A man named Sejno Ligata, 42, was arrested in connection with the shooting.