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After watching Manchester United’s inspired comeback against Chelsea this weekend, and also seeing Cisse score an absolute cracker of a debut goal, I got to thinking about other miracle moments in the world of football. So without any further ado, here are my top 5 miraculous English football moments.
Return of the King
It was a cold January night, and there was an FA Cup tie being played at the Emirates stadium; not that anybody cared of course. All 59, 615 pairs of eyes in the immediate vicinity were focused on one person, and one person only: Thierry Henry. After 5 years away from his beloved club, the King had returned to London on loan from the New York Red Bulls until the end of the season. Arsenal fans were in absolute hysterics.
Arguably the greatest player to have ever worn an Arsenal shirt, Henry’s return was already the stuff of legends. He wouldn’t even have had to score for Arsenal fans to sing his praise. But of course this was Henry, the legend, the King. Of course he was going to score. He had scored the goal before he had even stepped on the pitch.
The game itself was a dreary 0-0 stalemate, definitely not the most exciting game the FA Cup has ever seen. It seemed like everybody, including the players, were waiting for Henry to come on and score the winner.
When he came on to the pitch in the 68th minute, everybody waited. Nothing else could happen. No other ending to this fairytale had been written. And Henry didn’t disappoint. In the 78th minute, Song played a beauty of a pass to Henry, who took a touch away from the defender, and slotted it past the Leeds keeper.
The King had returned.
Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan
Maybe the most famous football comeback of the last decade, Liverpool vs AC Milan will go down in the history of the Champions League as arguably the best final of all time. I was a Liverpool supporter myself at the time, and I remember skipping school one day to go to my great-aunts house to watch the game. I also remember crying at half-time, but being a hell of a lot happier at the end of the game.
Liverpool were only in the final courtesy of a brilliant comeback earlier in the year against Olympiakos (Gerrard scoring a 90th minute thunderbolt to send Liverpool through), but after 45 minutes it appeared their luck was up.
AC Milan scored the quickest ever goal in a Champions League final, with Paolo Maldini scoring after only 52 seconds. Crespo added two more goals, and Liverpool were down 3-0 at the break.
Enter Steven Gerrard. In the 53rd minute, the influential captain headed in Riise’s cross to start the comeback. Smicer blasted in a second, and when Liverpool were gifted a penalty on the hour mark. Xabi Alonso stepped up to take it, and despite a save from Dida, Alonso smashed in the rebound.
The game remained at 3-3, and eventually went to penalties, where the spaghetti-legged heroics of Jerzy Dudek, capped off one of the most exciting Champions League finals of all time.
Arsenal 4-4 Newcastle
By far the most thrilling game of the 2010-2011 season, and perhaps one of the best games the Premier League has ever seen. Arsenal were traveling to St. James Park to look for all 3 points, and when they went 3-0 up in ten minutes, not even the most optimistic Newcastle fan could hope for any points whatsoever.
Walcott and Djourou put Arsenal up 2-0 in the first 3 minutes, and Van Persie added a 3rd in the tenth minute. The goal-fest stopped for about 16 minutes, when Van Persie added the 4th to surely seal the game.
Not even half an hour had gone yet Arsenal had already sealed the game, surely. They failed to score any more before the end of the first half, and went in at the break 4-0 up. Things surely couldn't get any worse for Newcastle; and it didn't.
Instead, after the break, the entire game turned on its head. Abou Diaby's red card in the 50th minute meant Newcastle had a man advantage, and there can be no doubt that they used that advantage.
20 minutes later, Best was fouled in the box by Laurent Koscielny: penalty to Newcastle. Barton struck it well, and Newcastle had one back. Seven minutes later, and Leon Best slotted the ball under Szczesny: 4-2. Newcastle smelled blood and poured on the pressure. Koscielny gave away another penalty (this one perhaps a little more contentious than the first one), and Barton once more converted. 4-3.
Then in the 87th minute, with perhaps the best goal of the season, Cheik Tiote, from the edge of the box, smashed in a volley to finish the comeback.
A fitting end to a stunning game.
The Great Escape
As West Brom and Portsmouth lined up, the theme song from the hit movie "The Great Escape" blared out. It was a fitting song for the day. When Bryan Robson took over on November 11, 2004, West Brom were barely above the relegation zone. Things could only go from bad to worse however, as a 5-0 thrashing dealt out by Liverpool on boxing day meant that West Brom were bottom of the table come December.
In the history of the Premier League, no team that had been bottom of the table come Christmas had ever survived: West Brom fans held very little hope for anything other than a return to the Championship. Even a 2-0 win against Man City (Bryan Robson's first of the season) couldn't bring West Brom out from propping up the table and they stayed there until the 3rd of March, when they beat Birmingham City 2-0 to move to 19th. They stayed in 19th until the 23rd of April, until a disappointing 4-0 defeat at Middlesborough ended a 4 game unbeaten streak.
After an encouraging 1-1 draw with Manchester United heading into the final week of the season, West Brom needed a win against Portsmouth and hope that Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton all lost their games against Charlton, Fulham, and Manchester United respectively. They were still bottom of the table, and it was still a far stretch, but survival was a lot close than a couple months ago. 27,751 fans packed into The Hawthorns to watch what could potentially be the most exciting final day in Baggies history.
The West Brom-Portsmouth game started off slowly, but elsewhere things were picking up. The Norwich-Fulham and the Charlton-Palace game results were going West Broms way, with Fulham and Charlton both leading 1-0, but Southampton had taken the lead against Manchester United. 30 minutes into game day, West Brom were heading to the Championship.
However, Fletcher equalized for Manchester United and Fulham put Palace down 2-0. Things were looking good for West Brom, as long as they grabbed the goal they needed against Portsmouth.
At half-time, Charlton and Fulham were winning, but Southampton were deadlocked with Manchester United, meaning West Brom were not safe. But the day wasn't over. Fulham went 3-0 up, guaranteeing that Norwich were headed down. Palace pulled one back against Charlton, but Manchester United had taken the lead against the Saints!
All West Brom needed to do was win against Portsmouth, and two goals from Horsfield and Richardson guaranteed all three points. The Baggies game ended 2-0, but nobody left.
All West Brom fans waited for the confirmation of the results elsewhere, and the moment they heard they had stayed in the Premier League, the Hawthorns erupted.
Bryan Robson will forever be immortalized as the man who engineered the Great Escape.
Greece 2-2 England
This game in itself was special, because not only was it a magical moment for the entire England team, but it was also a special moment for a specific player on the England team: David Beckham. It had been a tumultuous couple of years for David Beckham. He had become an England outcast at the 1998 World Cup, and had been fighting for his place in the hearts of the England fans for the next 3 years.
The start of his decline in fame had come against Argentina, at France 98. Both England and Argentina had made the quarter finals, and the soon to be bitter rivals had drawn each other.
Things got off to the worst start for England, as they conceded a penalty in the 6th minute, which Gabriel Batistuta converted. Shearer, however, equalized mere minutes later again from the penalty spot, and the score was tied at 1-1. England took the lead next, with Owen firing his country ahead. But deep into first half stoppage time, Javier Zanetti leveled the score line and both teams headed into the break with 2 goals each.
However, disaster struck for David Beckham, as two minutes into the second half, he reacted to a foul by Simeone and kicked out. The referee showed red, and England lost the game on penalties, with Beckham returning to England a hated villain, seen as the main reason England were kicked out.
However, several years later, Beckham became a hero. It was the final game of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers for England. They played Greece, a country who had no chance of getting to the World Cup, with England needing a win or else the threat of a tricky play-off game against Ukraine beckoned.
The game started off poorly, with Greece taking the lead 10 minutes before half time. Sheringham leveled after the break, but Greece scored again seconds after.
England failed to grab a goal back, until Greece conceded a freekick in the 93rd minute. David Beckham, the previous scourge of England, the most hated player after the 98 World Cup, stepped up to take it. There could be only one outcome. He smashed the ball into the back of the net, sealing World Cup qualification.
Beckham was a hero once more.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to follow me on twitter at @obrienfootball
Written by Cormac O'Brien
Follow him on Twitter @obrienfootball
Like O-Posts on Facebook
Follow the site on Twitter
Return of the King
It was a cold January night, and there was an FA Cup tie being played at the Emirates stadium; not that anybody cared of course. All 59, 615 pairs of eyes in the immediate vicinity were focused on one person, and one person only: Thierry Henry. After 5 years away from his beloved club, the King had returned to London on loan from the New York Red Bulls until the end of the season. Arsenal fans were in absolute hysterics.
Arguably the greatest player to have ever worn an Arsenal shirt, Henry’s return was already the stuff of legends. He wouldn’t even have had to score for Arsenal fans to sing his praise. But of course this was Henry, the legend, the King. Of course he was going to score. He had scored the goal before he had even stepped on the pitch.
The game itself was a dreary 0-0 stalemate, definitely not the most exciting game the FA Cup has ever seen. It seemed like everybody, including the players, were waiting for Henry to come on and score the winner.
When he came on to the pitch in the 68th minute, everybody waited. Nothing else could happen. No other ending to this fairytale had been written. And Henry didn’t disappoint. In the 78th minute, Song played a beauty of a pass to Henry, who took a touch away from the defender, and slotted it past the Leeds keeper.
The King had returned.
Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan
Maybe the most famous football comeback of the last decade, Liverpool vs AC Milan will go down in the history of the Champions League as arguably the best final of all time. I was a Liverpool supporter myself at the time, and I remember skipping school one day to go to my great-aunts house to watch the game. I also remember crying at half-time, but being a hell of a lot happier at the end of the game.
Liverpool were only in the final courtesy of a brilliant comeback earlier in the year against Olympiakos (Gerrard scoring a 90th minute thunderbolt to send Liverpool through), but after 45 minutes it appeared their luck was up.
AC Milan scored the quickest ever goal in a Champions League final, with Paolo Maldini scoring after only 52 seconds. Crespo added two more goals, and Liverpool were down 3-0 at the break.
Enter Steven Gerrard. In the 53rd minute, the influential captain headed in Riise’s cross to start the comeback. Smicer blasted in a second, and when Liverpool were gifted a penalty on the hour mark. Xabi Alonso stepped up to take it, and despite a save from Dida, Alonso smashed in the rebound.
The game remained at 3-3, and eventually went to penalties, where the spaghetti-legged heroics of Jerzy Dudek, capped off one of the most exciting Champions League finals of all time.
Arsenal 4-4 Newcastle
By far the most thrilling game of the 2010-2011 season, and perhaps one of the best games the Premier League has ever seen. Arsenal were traveling to St. James Park to look for all 3 points, and when they went 3-0 up in ten minutes, not even the most optimistic Newcastle fan could hope for any points whatsoever.
Walcott and Djourou put Arsenal up 2-0 in the first 3 minutes, and Van Persie added a 3rd in the tenth minute. The goal-fest stopped for about 16 minutes, when Van Persie added the 4th to surely seal the game.
Not even half an hour had gone yet Arsenal had already sealed the game, surely. They failed to score any more before the end of the first half, and went in at the break 4-0 up. Things surely couldn't get any worse for Newcastle; and it didn't.
Instead, after the break, the entire game turned on its head. Abou Diaby's red card in the 50th minute meant Newcastle had a man advantage, and there can be no doubt that they used that advantage.
20 minutes later, Best was fouled in the box by Laurent Koscielny: penalty to Newcastle. Barton struck it well, and Newcastle had one back. Seven minutes later, and Leon Best slotted the ball under Szczesny: 4-2. Newcastle smelled blood and poured on the pressure. Koscielny gave away another penalty (this one perhaps a little more contentious than the first one), and Barton once more converted. 4-3.
Then in the 87th minute, with perhaps the best goal of the season, Cheik Tiote, from the edge of the box, smashed in a volley to finish the comeback.
A fitting end to a stunning game.
The Great Escape
As West Brom and Portsmouth lined up, the theme song from the hit movie "The Great Escape" blared out. It was a fitting song for the day. When Bryan Robson took over on November 11, 2004, West Brom were barely above the relegation zone. Things could only go from bad to worse however, as a 5-0 thrashing dealt out by Liverpool on boxing day meant that West Brom were bottom of the table come December.
In the history of the Premier League, no team that had been bottom of the table come Christmas had ever survived: West Brom fans held very little hope for anything other than a return to the Championship. Even a 2-0 win against Man City (Bryan Robson's first of the season) couldn't bring West Brom out from propping up the table and they stayed there until the 3rd of March, when they beat Birmingham City 2-0 to move to 19th. They stayed in 19th until the 23rd of April, until a disappointing 4-0 defeat at Middlesborough ended a 4 game unbeaten streak.
After an encouraging 1-1 draw with Manchester United heading into the final week of the season, West Brom needed a win against Portsmouth and hope that Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Southampton all lost their games against Charlton, Fulham, and Manchester United respectively. They were still bottom of the table, and it was still a far stretch, but survival was a lot close than a couple months ago. 27,751 fans packed into The Hawthorns to watch what could potentially be the most exciting final day in Baggies history.
The West Brom-Portsmouth game started off slowly, but elsewhere things were picking up. The Norwich-Fulham and the Charlton-Palace game results were going West Broms way, with Fulham and Charlton both leading 1-0, but Southampton had taken the lead against Manchester United. 30 minutes into game day, West Brom were heading to the Championship.
However, Fletcher equalized for Manchester United and Fulham put Palace down 2-0. Things were looking good for West Brom, as long as they grabbed the goal they needed against Portsmouth.
At half-time, Charlton and Fulham were winning, but Southampton were deadlocked with Manchester United, meaning West Brom were not safe. But the day wasn't over. Fulham went 3-0 up, guaranteeing that Norwich were headed down. Palace pulled one back against Charlton, but Manchester United had taken the lead against the Saints!
All West Brom needed to do was win against Portsmouth, and two goals from Horsfield and Richardson guaranteed all three points. The Baggies game ended 2-0, but nobody left.
All West Brom fans waited for the confirmation of the results elsewhere, and the moment they heard they had stayed in the Premier League, the Hawthorns erupted.
Bryan Robson will forever be immortalized as the man who engineered the Great Escape.
Greece 2-2 England
This game in itself was special, because not only was it a magical moment for the entire England team, but it was also a special moment for a specific player on the England team: David Beckham. It had been a tumultuous couple of years for David Beckham. He had become an England outcast at the 1998 World Cup, and had been fighting for his place in the hearts of the England fans for the next 3 years.
The start of his decline in fame had come against Argentina, at France 98. Both England and Argentina had made the quarter finals, and the soon to be bitter rivals had drawn each other.
Things got off to the worst start for England, as they conceded a penalty in the 6th minute, which Gabriel Batistuta converted. Shearer, however, equalized mere minutes later again from the penalty spot, and the score was tied at 1-1. England took the lead next, with Owen firing his country ahead. But deep into first half stoppage time, Javier Zanetti leveled the score line and both teams headed into the break with 2 goals each.
However, disaster struck for David Beckham, as two minutes into the second half, he reacted to a foul by Simeone and kicked out. The referee showed red, and England lost the game on penalties, with Beckham returning to England a hated villain, seen as the main reason England were kicked out.
However, several years later, Beckham became a hero. It was the final game of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers for England. They played Greece, a country who had no chance of getting to the World Cup, with England needing a win or else the threat of a tricky play-off game against Ukraine beckoned.
The game started off poorly, with Greece taking the lead 10 minutes before half time. Sheringham leveled after the break, but Greece scored again seconds after.
England failed to grab a goal back, until Greece conceded a freekick in the 93rd minute. David Beckham, the previous scourge of England, the most hated player after the 98 World Cup, stepped up to take it. There could be only one outcome. He smashed the ball into the back of the net, sealing World Cup qualification.
Beckham was a hero once more.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to follow me on twitter at @obrienfootball
Written by Cormac O'Brien
Follow him on Twitter @obrienfootball
Like O-Posts on Facebook
Follow the site on Twitter
5 comments:
Should be titled top 5 miraculous ENGLISH football moments
Fair point, title's been changed. Hope you enjoyed the article nonetheless.
Cheers,
Omar
Great article, the AC vs. Liverpool was the best comeback of all time!
Thanks bro, glad you liked Cormac's piece.
Thanks for the compliments and I hope you continue to visit the site.
Cheers,
Omar
Manchester United winning the Champions League vs Bayern Munich coming back with 2 late goals which went towards winning an unprecendented treble isn't on here but Henry returning to the team he dumped for a few games is. Haha, clueless.
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