After Wayne Rooney reminded us all that he used to be a fairly decent professional footballer with his derby day belter against Manchester City last Saturday, the received (Sky Sports-infused) wisdom seems to be that the decidedly off-colour striker’s effort was, without need for second thought, the greatest overhead kick ever scored by anyone, anywhere, ever.
However, that’s not quite the case – as the following, ten-strong video essay will hopefully attest to.
Oh, and apologies for the slightly tongue-in-cheek strapline. I hope we can still be friends.
Let’s press on, shall we?
10. Dean Ashton – Man Utd vs WEST HAM, 2008:
Fergie was quick to peg Rooney’s flying shinner against bitter rivals City as the greatest goal that had ever graced Old Trafford, though former West Ham striker Ashton has grounds to take issue with that particular assessment…
9. Joseph Desire Job – MIDDLESBROUGH vs Sporting, 2005:
After joining on the back of a wave of promise, Job never really ‘clicked’ during his time at the Riverside. However, for one fleeting moment during Boro’s UEFA Cup second round defeat to Sporting Lisbon back in March 2005, the watching world witnesses just what the Cameroonian striker was capable of…
8. Manuel Negrete – UNAC vs Puebla, 1985:
Four wondrous touches; the initial chest control, the ‘sombrero’ (or the ‘chapeau’ for those of you with Gallic pretensions), a deft flick of the forehead and then BOOM!…
7. Trevor Sinclair – QPR vs Barnsley, 1997:
Sadly, it never got any better than this for our Trev, who quite rightly came away with Match of the Day’s goal of the season award in 1997 for this blistering bicycle kick against the Tykes in the FA Cup…
6. Eliran Atar – Maccabi Netania vs BNEI YAHUDA, 2009:
Israeli forward Atar made the 2009 Puskas Award shortlist (i.e. an award doled out to the scorer of the most ‘beautiful’ goal of the year) for this acrobatic strike, though somehow only managed to finish fourth in the final vote behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta and Grafite.
That said, the look of sheer, discombobulated amazement on the collective faces of everybody present (including Atar’s) serves to tell you more about this freakishly pure connection than I ever could…
5. Unknown – 5-a-side tournament, 2007:
This clip has become somewhat of a viral sensation since it was first posted on Youtube a few years ago, and it’s perfectly understandable as to why.
A goal of truly scintillating beauty, regardless of what level of the game it was scored at…
4. Rivaldo – BARCELONA vs Valencia, 2001:
Brazilian artisan Rivaldo (who, incidentally, has a few overhead corkers under his belt to pick from) finished the 2000/’01 campaign as La Liga’s second top goal-scorer (one goal behind Real Madrid striker Raul), thanks chiefly to the hat-trick he scored against Valencia on the last day of the season.
A momentous hat-trick which first and foremost secured Barca a spot in the following season’s Champions League and, secondly, just so happened to culminate in this little beauty…
3. Youri Djorkaeff – INTER MILAN vs Roma, 1997:
French playmaker Djorkaeff notched his fair share of cultured strikes during his 22-year career, but I’d wager that none come close to the angled, airborne Exocet that he unleashed against Roma during his maiden season with the Nerazzurri…
2. Mauro Bressan – Barcelona vs FIORENTINA, 1999:
In stark contrast to the scrappy build-up, La Viola midfielder Bressan pulls a career-defining, 25-yard pearler out of his ‘you know where’ to open the scoring in a pulsating Champions League game that eventually finished 3-3.
Several years later, ITV voted the Italian’s effort as the second greatest Champions League goal ever scored, nestled sweetly behind Zinedine Zidane’s iconic volley in the 2002 final…
1. Marco van Basten – AJAX vs Den Bosch, 1986:
The Dutch legend, seen here doing what he did better than almost anybody else to have ever played the game, i.e. score goals that seem to tamper with the laws of physics…
So there we go. Missed any blindingly obvious candidates? Please feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments box below…
More from the Soccerlens Archives:
10 Outrageous Disallowed Goals
10 Famous Debatable Goals
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