I’m feeling generous this week, so I’m going to treat you to a few footballing gifts for you to tinkle through at your leisure. I’m going to show you a selection box of great goals, ridiculous gaffs and some truly sublime imagery from the lower reaches of European football. Merry Christmas!
Let’s start off by offering you what I believe to be one of the greatest goals ever scored. There’s something to be said to rifling one in from thirty yards or an overhead kick from the penalty spot, but to be honest they’re as much good fortune as anything else; a player just happens to get it right that one time out of twenty. This goal by Argentina, however, is one for the football purists. It’s Mozart, it’s Di Vinci, it’s Shakespeare… it’s sublime.Gift One
I like a crunching 50/50 as much as the next man and few things give me as much pleasure as a really tough well timed tackle (it’s a shame nobody had a camera at Edgeley Park for a Man City v Stockport friendly back in 96 when Fitzroy Simpson took not one but two Stockport players over the advertising hoards with a well timed beauty). That said, I would have to stop short of this little number which put simply is tantamount to aggravated assault.
Gift Two
Now, I know I said that I prefer a silky smooth goal to one that includes one players piece of trickery skulduggery, but this next one is a pleasure to behold. The skilful chappy must leave the ground whilst the ball is a good twenty yards away. He then finishes what will be the goal… no, the moment of his entire life. Check this out.
Gift Three
Ah, this next one takes me back. Now you’ll have all seen this before, no doubt countless times, but it’s worth watching again. It’s not the incredible scorpion kick that Colombia’s Rene Higuita performs that still amazes me to this day. It’s the bare faced cheek of him doing it right in front of his own goal. If he gets this wrong by a millimetre it’s a goal. Obviously as we all now know, he doesn’t get it wrong at all. He get’s it very very right.
Gift Four
We’ve all remember Ronnie Rosenthal’s ludicrous miss against Aston Villa back in ’92 (see here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVq5-u7MH0), but even poor old Ronnie would have bagged this one. Step forward Croatian midfielder Ilija Sivonjic. You’ve got to feel sorry for the lad and it clearly gets stuck under his foot, but nevertheless he actually appears to stop it going in. Absolute nightmare, the lad.
Gift Five
I like this one. It’s Barcelona versus Lyon and for some reason goalkeeper, Gregory Coupet feels it’s better to risk heading into his own goal rather making a clean save but giving away a free kick. The logic is questionable but the result is something truly amazing. David James recently said that this was the best save he’s ever seen. High praise indeed.
Gift Six
Finally, a website. I don’t get the chance anymore to roll around in the mud on a Sunday morning, playing against fat, round-bellied, alcoholics who only play football for the booze up afterwards. I miss it. This site showcases some truly amazing imagery from the lower depths of football – the amateur ranks. You can practically taste the half time oranges.
Gift Seven
That only leaves me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a ridiculously Merry New Year!
