Over 135 years of football have produced a lot of matches, and countless hours of football. Despite this, there are some individual moments - perhaps just split seconds - which stand long in the memory. Goals are the essence of the sport, and this is a tribute to just some of the greatest. This list is by no means definitive, however; there have been many other great goals, scored in the absence of television cameras or in obscure leagues. These are a few of the famous great from the modern era.
Pele - BRAZIL vs. Sweden
(Brazil 5-2 Sweden, 1958 World Cup Final, Sweden)
At just seventeen years old, Pele scored one of the greatest World Cup final goals.
As the ball came to him about fifteen yards out with his back turned to the Swedish goal, he controlled
the ball on his thigh, spun around, flicked the ball over the head of the defender
who had been tight on him, and then volleyed home to the goalkeeper's right. It was
his second goal of the final, and all but secured Brazil their first World title.
There could be few better ways to do it; but Pele would just keep on getting better.
Eusebio - PORTUGAL vs. Brazil
(Portugal 3-1 Brazil, 1966 World Cup First Round, England)
The goal was a memorable one from a memorable player, but perhaps more important
was precisely what it meant; an end of an era in Brazilian football. Portugal were
leading this match 2-1 with five minutes to go when the Brazil defence failed to deal
appropriately with a corner, and the ball fell to Eusebio just about six yards out
at an angle. The power with which he struck the low volley was frightening, leaving
poor Manga in the Brazilian goal with little chance. Brazil were out at the first round,
but there would be a whole new era just waiting around the corner...
Carlos Alberto - BRAZIL vs. Italy
(Brazil 4-1 Italy, 1970 World Cup Final, Mexico)
...And this was that "whole new era". Arguably the best team ever rounded off
a magnificent World Cup campaign and final performance with this gem four minutes
from time, with the Brazilians stringing together passes right up the park, through
Jairzinho, then Pele, and then the little lay-off to his right as captain Carlos
Alberto came steaming in, to rifle the ball low and at speed past Albertosi. The
Italians, in all honesty, must have known the game was up by now, but that shouldn't
really take anything away from a goal in which the build-up was so smooth, and so
well-executed that you could sit and watch it all day. Unless you're Italian, of course.
Antonin Panenka - CZECHOSOLVAKIA vs. West Germany
(Czechoslovakia 1-1 West Germany, Czech. win on pens., 1976 European Championship Final)
Not an actual goal in a sense, but it most certainly deserves a mention as surely the
coolest example of penalty-taking ever. Football coaches have their little sayings
about uncertain circumstances - if in doubt, hit it out (for defenders); if in doubt,
go for power (for penalty takers). So with Czechoslovakia one kick away from winning
their first major international honour, Panenka could have been forgiven for putting
his head down and blasting it, a la Andreas Moller in the 1996 semi-final. But no;
instead, he showed unbelievable icy calm as he stepped up, and as the German 'keeper
committed himself to diving, slipped his foot underneath the ball and delicately
chipped it home. The man deserves eternal respect. Incidentally, the Germans
haven't lost a shoot-out since...
Archie Gemmill - SCOTLAND vs. Netherlands
(Scotland 3-2 Netherlands, 1978 World Cup First Round, Argentina)
When you're Scottish, there's not a great deal to cheer about in terms of
football. This was one of those moments though, sealing one of Scotland's two
greatest victories. Scotland needed to beat the Dutch by three goals to advance,
and this beauty made it tantalisingly close at 3-1, before the Scots let it slip
away again. Gemmill, already with one penalty under his belt in this match, jinked
inside and outside, leaving three Dutch players sprawled on the floor before coolly
clipping the ball over the onrushing Jongbloed. And the Dutch were no soft-touches -
they went on to finish runners-up, beaten only by the hosts in the final after
extra time. Pure class from the wee man.
Arie Haan - NETHERLANDS vs. Italy
(Netherlands 2-1 Italy, 1978 World Cup Second Round, Argentina)
The Dutch came into the match needing just a point to secure a place in their
second straight World Cup final. After Brandts scored an own goal, and then made
amends personally at the other end, the Dutch were on course anyway, but this
strike settled it all. From a quite absurd range, Haan decided there was nothing
to lose by just having a pop...and he was right. From a central position, the ball swerved away to the right,
tucking neatly inside the Italians' left hand post. Even a man such as the great
Dino Zoff was left with no chance.
Nelinho - BRAZIL vs. Italy
(Brazil 2-1 Italy, 1978 World Cup Third Place Play-Off, Argentina)
It was a real shame that this sensational goal was "wasted" on a relatively
unimportant fixture like the Third Place Play-Off, and poor Zoff must have agreed
that its timing against Italy was unfortunate. He must have been quite fed up
with conceding goals due to impossible mid-air ball movements. This one was
even more mind-bending than Haan's effort, with Nelinho (whose career was otherwise
fairly undistinguished, at least by Brazilian standards) shooting from the edge of
the area out on the right. The ball bent outwards, and then bizarrely back
inwards to beat the outstretched Italian 'keeper. A real collector's item.
Diego Maradona - ARGENTINA vs. England
(Argentina 2-1 England, 1986 World Cup Quarter-Final, Mexico)
Okay, this one, dubbed "the Hand of God", is just a personal favourite, but I find it endlessly amusing.
It would have been a pretty good goal had the little Maradona actually got his head
to the ball. He played a quick one-two on the edge of the area, keeping his run going
as his team mate flicked the ball over a static defence. No offside, ref...so
Maradona stuck his fist out, knowing that otherwise goalkeeper Shilton's would get there first, knocked it past Shilton into the England
net, and then had the audacity (or should that be brilliance?) to run away,
arms pumping, as if he'd just scored the greatest goal of all time. Well, the
referee was convinced.
Diego Maradona - ARGENTINA vs. England
(Argentina 2-1 England, 1986 World Cup Quarter-Final, Mexico)
The irony was, of course, that Diego was just about to score perhaps the greatest
goal of all-time. Four minutes later, in fact. Picking up the ball inside his own half,
he simply dribbled all the way into the England box, evading tackle after tackle
and leaving a few prostrate English defenders in his wake. Ignoring the calls
from his team-mates to part with the ball once inside the box, he knocked the ball
nicely over Shilton (legally, this time), and now had earned the right to celebrate
emotionally. English television commentator Barry Davies must have felt sick inside,
but had the professional integrity to sum it all up perfectly: "You have to say
that's magnificent..."
Diego Maradona - ARGENTINA vs. Belgium
(Argentina 2-0 Belgium, 1986 World Cup Semi-Final, Mexico)
What, again?? You must remember that Diego Maradona never did score
ordinary goals. This one was in many ways overshadowed by the only marginally
better score against England just days earlier, but is nevertheless a classic
in its own right. Maradona, once again, just ran straight at the heart of the
Belgian defence, meticulous footwork as ever, skinning man after man, before knocking the ball
past Pfaff, leaving the goalkeeper and defence stunned, and securing a World
Cup Final place for Argentina. Maradona more than deserved his eventual winner's
medal.
Marco Van Basten - NETHERLANDS vs. Soviet Union
(Netherlands 2-0 Soviet Union, 1988 European Championship Final, Germany)
Rinat Dassayev, keeping goal for the Soviets in this match, was
a pretty useful 'keeper. He could quite possibly be numbered inside
the top ten of all time, in fact. But you can imagine him shouting to
his defence in this game: "It's okay lads, he's not going to shoot
from there...just don't let him hook a cross back in, eh?...no
problem guys, I've got it covered...DOH!!!" But Van Basten's
incredible volley was just that, not a goalkeeping error as such.
From an unfeasible angle out on the right of the box, he simply hooked
his right foot around the ball, sending it screaming into the top
corner of the opposite side of the goal. Dassayev could be forgiven
for being a bit surprised at seeing a shot coming in, and the
Dutch were en route to their first major international title.
Saeed Al-Owairan - SAUDI ARABIA vs. Belgium
(Saudi Arabia 1-0 Belgium, 1994 World Cup First Round, United States)
They call him "the Maradona of the Desert", and Saudi Arabia's
number 10 scored a sensational solo goal - against Belgium - which
would not have looked out of place in the Argentine's collection.
There were just five minutes gone when Al-Owairan started a run deep
inside his own half, bursting past about five Belgians before firing
in high past Preud'homme for the best goal of the 1994 finals.
Admittedly, he did not quite exhibit Maradona's exquisite close
control, and nearly lost the ball towards the end of his run,
but the Saudis don't score goals like this every day, so we'll let
them enjoy it. It was enough to take Saudi Arabia into the second
round against the odds.
Paul Gascoigne - ENGLAND vs. Scotland
(England 2-0 Scotland, 1996 European Championship First Round, England)
This was the goal which nearly an entire nation missed. Just
minutes after Scots captain Gary McAllister had missed a penalty
which would have evened the scores against "the Auld Enemy" at 1-1, as millions of Scots either had stormed out of the room or were still holding their heads in their hands in disbelief,
Gazza got the ball on the edge of the Scotland box, flicked the ball
over the head of Colin Hendry, and then as Hendry lay sprawled on the
ground, Gascoigne (who had already earned the hatred of many Scots
by playing for Glasgow Rangers) met the ball again on the volley to
fire beyond Andy Goram. Great skill, and Scotland had put themselves
out of the tournament effectively in just the space of three minutes.
Davor Suker - CROATIA vs. Denmark
(Croatia 3-0 Denmark, 1996 European Championship First Round, England)
Millions of people in England were already hailing Danish 'keeper
Peter Schmeichel as the best in the world, but Suker put on a marvellous
individual display to humble the big man. Having already come
close with a lob from midfield which Schmeichel just managed to
scramble back and stop, Denmark were desperately seeking a goal when
Schmeichel wandered forward for a late corner kick to help in attack.
The corner was cleared, and Schmeichel raced back, just in time, it seemed,
to get out of jail as Asanovic's glorious cross-field ball picked
out Suker on the left. Suker cut inside, and as Schmeichel tried to
recover his positioning, the Croat forward just lobbed it right over
his head and in for goal number three to Croatia. The goal effectively
dethroned the Danes as European champions, and left Schmeichel feeling
rather smaller than his physical stature.
Roberto Carlos - BRAZIL vs. France
(Brazil 1-1 France, 1997 Tournoi de France, France)
It was just a friendly international tournament, but it was
marked by a stunning free-kick goal from the Brazilian left-back
as he took over the mantle of such players as Rivelino as the next
great Brazilian free-kick artist. As he struck the ball with the
outside of his boot from preposterously long distance, it appeared
to be headed well off target. France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez remained
rooted to the spot as a result, and a ball-boy began to move across
to catch the inaccurate effort. That was until the ball swerved
incredibly to the left, allowing it to creep in at Barthez's left-hand
post. With the remarkable combination of power, accuracy and swerve,
the poor goalkeeper could do nothing.
Take me back to the footy index!
© 1997 Mail
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