by Original Dub » Tue May 17, 2011 8:59 pm
No sign of Tarnat's at all, but Elano's made it on to this top 25. Guess who's no 1?
25. Rivelino (Brazil v East Germany, 1974): Jairzinho went to ground in the middle of the wall and Rivelino threaded a shot through the gap where his team-mate had stood.
24. Paul Robinson (Tottenham v Watford, 2007): He hoofed a free-kick five yards outside his area up-field and, with a huge, comical bounce, it looped over Ben Foster.
23. Rivelino (Brazil v Czechoslovakia, 1970): The man with the famous left foot earned the nickname 'Patada Atomica' (Atomic Kick) thanks to his ferocious free-kick at the World Cup.
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22. Clayton Blackmore (Manchester Utd v Montpellier, 1991): He bent the ball one way, then the other.
21. John Metgod (Nottm Forest v West Ham, 1986): Never has a shot cannoned off the bar with such ferocity. His 10-yard run-up was something else.
20. Dietmar Hamann (Germany v England, 2000): His quickly-taken long-ranger brought the curtain down on Wembley and Kevin Keegan.
19. Gary McAllister (Liverpool v Everton, 2001): A delicious 44-yard drive to win the derby.
18. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool v Aston Villa, 2007): A stunning 87th-minute free-kick to seal victory.
17. Elano (Man City v Newcastle, 2007): A 35-yard firework that exploded into the top corner.
16. Jess (for Hounslow Harriers, 2002): If fictional goals are allowed, then Jesminder 'Jess' Kaur Bhamra's sublime strike in Bend it like Beckham should be considered.
15. Zico (Brazil v Scotland, 1982): The Brazilian, aka the 'White Pele', found the top-right corner with a snaking shot that dipped majestically.
14. Davie Cooper (Rangers v Aberdeen, 1987): He set the tone for a pulsating Scottish League Cup final, drifting a first-half set-piece past Jim Leighton into the roof of the Dons' net. Rangers won 5-2 on penalties.
13. Xavier Zanetti (Argentina v England, 1998): He finished off a wonderfully woven free-kick in the World Cup win over England. Gabriel Batistuta lined up a 25-yard set-piece, but Juan Veron unexpectedly passed low to Zanetti who he hit a left-foot shot into the top corner.
12. Micky Thomas (Wrexham v Arsenal, 1992): In true David v Goliath fashion, Wrexham, bottom of the Football League, recovered from a goal down to win 2-1. Thomas hit the leveller, a thunderbolt from 25 yards.
11. Teofilo 'Nene' Cubillas (Peru v Scotland, 1978): Scotland manager Ally MacLeod said they could win the World Cup. Reality hit home in their opening Group D match. Trailing 2-1, Peru won a 77th-minute free-kick. Juan Munante dummied and Cubillas slid the ball around the outside of the wall on its way to the top corner.
10. Jose Luis Chilavert (Velez Sarsfield v River Plate, 2000): As a fouled team-mate lay on the pitch, with River Plate's goalkeeper believing play would be suspended until medical attention was sought, he blasted through a melee of players into an unguarded net - surely one of the most cynical strikes of all.
9. John Arne Riise (Liverpool v Man Utd, 2001): He turned the ball into a speeding bullet into the top corner.
8. Matthew Le Tissier (Southampton v Wimbledon, 1994): Jim Magilton rolled the ball back a yard to Le Tissier, who charmed it into the air before looping a shot into the top-right corner.
7. Garrincha (Brazil v Bulgaria, 1966): The 'Little Bird' manipulated the flight first left, then right, as the ball flew back into the top right.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd v Portsmouth, 2008): The magician sent the ball on a ride Alton Towers' architects would be proud of. Having swooped over the wall from 25 yards out, it dipped viciously at the last.
5. Ronaldinho (Brazil v England, 2002): Did he really mean it? After the pony-tailed one glided the ball over a bewildered David Seaman from an impossibly acute angle to send 10-man Brazil into the World Cup semi-final with a 2-1 win, debate was furious.
4. Ernie Hunt (Coventry v Everton, 1970): In the days when players could dink a free-kick into the air with the first touch, Willie Carr flicked the ball up with his heels and Ernie Hunt volleyed it into the right corner.
3. Paul Gascoigne (Tottenham v Arsenal, 1991): No Spurs fan will forget Gazza's sublime set-piece in the 3-1 FA Cup semi-final win. The 40-yard free-kick left Wembley stunned as it accelerated into the top-left corner.
2. David Beckham (England v Greece, World Cup qualifier, 2001): With a nation's hopes resting on Becks' pristine white boot, he produced one of the most replayed free-kicks ever, to avert a Greek tragedy and a dangerous World Cup play-off against Ukraine.
1. Roberto Carlos (Brazil v France, Lyon, 1997). The Brazilian seemed to have aimed at the ball-boy to the right of the goal. He had merely chosen to ignore the laws of physics as the ball departed from its straight and natural course, switching direction at the last moment into the right side of the net.
Last edited by Original Dub on Tue May 17, 2011 9:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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