Great Goals Retold

Carlos Ruiz (Philadelphia Union v Chicago Fire, 2011)

2013-05-03T10:38:00Z

Many a great goal has come from a great free-kick: think David Platt vs Belgium, or Roberto Carlos vs France. Then there’s... forget it, we could be here all day. Fewer classic strikes, however, come from absolutely terrible set-pieces – but playing for Philadelphia Union vs Chicago Fire in 2011, Carlos Ruiz did things the hard way.

Having weakly chipped a potentially dangerous free-kick straight onto a defender’s head, Ruiz chased down the clearance and made amends by flicking the ball on before wellying it over the keeper and in – with his weaker peg. “If I sound off-guard,” laughed one commentator, “It’s because it may be the first time I’ve seen Ruiz shoot with his left foot!”

The Guatemalan recalls  to FFT: “I was lucky the ball bounced back to me from the free-kick. My first thought was just to shoot as hard as I could – I thought if I stopped the  ball first, I’d hesitate too long."

“It was a golazo in the  truest sense of the term,” he continues. “It was impossible for any goalkeeper to save. Honestly, that’s the type of goal you don’t plan; you  really don’t think about it before shooting. You just attempt the shot and wait  to see what happens.

“I had attempted that shot in practice several times, but you never think you can score a goal like that during a real game. Still, what I enjoy most about football is creating something out of nothing and in this case, I was able to do just that after a bad free-kick.

“Some people have called  it the goal of the decade. For me, it’s one of the best goals  I have ever scored.”

Interview: Clemente Lisi. Illustration: German Aczel. From the June 2013 issue of FourFourTwo, out now. Subscribe!

Wim Jonk (Ajax v Torino, 1992)

2013-04-04T10:03:00Z

The Dutch giants started  the UEFA Cup final as firm favourites, but not even the most optimistic Ajax fan  could have imagined the goal that would kick-start their challenge in the first leg  at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin. Goalscorer Wim  Jonk remembers it well.

“We were a well-drilled unit and worked a lot on midfielders moving into attacking areas to penetrate the defence. This was one of those classic moments when all this work paid off.

“I would have to say it was one of the most important goals of my career, particularly as it came in the away leg and really put us on the front foot. We had beaten an Italian side in the semi-final [Genoa] but Torino had knocked out Real Madrid so we knew it was  going to be a tough ask to  get anything out of that first game. That goal after 17 minutes really helped us settle, though, and looking back,  I would say for certain it was  one of my standout goals.

“I had joined the attack in the middle of the field and arrived at just the right time. I was  a fair way out but didn’t think twice about going for goal. I remember it very well because I drifted in and then hit the  ball as hard as I could. As soon as I hit it, it was quite strange, because I was absolutely sure it was going to go in despite  the fact I was so far out.

“I hit it with my right foot  and although the goalkeeper dived full length to his left there was nothing he could do – no one could have saved that. Although we eventually drew that first leg 2-2, it set us up to seal the cup in the second leg in Amsterdam [drawing 0-0  to win on away goals].

“It’s a moment that I will  cherish forever.”

Interview: Richard Edwards. Illustration: German Aczel. From the May 2013 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Andres Vasquez (IFK Gothenburg v Orebro SK, 2007)

2013-03-05T16:48:00Z

In an otherwise functional IFK Gothenburg starting XI, Andres Vasquez stood for finesse, creativity and the unexpected. Without doubt, the finest moment for Vasquez – then 19, now playing for BK Hacken, also in Sweden – was his rabona goal against Orebro, a display of teenage impudence and the most beautiful goal ever seen in the Allsvenskan. At least, he thinks so...

"Everything happened so fast that I barely had time to think about what I did. I won a duel with their captain, Joel Riddez, just outside the box and in the corner of my eye I saw that their goalie, Peter Westman, was pretty far out. We led 3-0 and the game had gone pretty well for me. I felt happy on the pitch, and that’s when such things come into your mind.

"So I took a chance with a right-footed rabona and aimed for the far top corner. The shot seems difficult to do, but if you’re in good shape and your muscles are well stretched, it’s not difficult at all. The thing that made the shot difficult in that specific case was that the ball was in motion. You have to time it right if you’re going to hit the ball cleanly. I’ve trained on exactly that type of shot with friends and the team over the years, so it was no great surprise to me that I succeeded with it in a game situation.

"Personally, I think it is one of the best-looking goals ever made. Several times I have seen Diego Maradona put in rabona crosses [the rabona is sometimes called a ‘Maradona chip’] but never any that found the back of the net.

"It would have been nice to send a DVD of the goal to him...”

And here's Vasquez proving that incredible rabona goal wasn't a total fluke, honest, by casually doing it again:

Interview: Daniel Eriksson. Illustration: German Aczel. From the April 2013 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Diego (Werder Bremen v Alemannia Aachen, 2007)

2013-02-06T10:09:00Z

Is it too much to ask of  a Brazilian to score a simple tap-in occasionally? Clearly, for Diego, that would be unacceptable. In 2007, the midfield craftsman scored  the Bundesliga goal of the season for Werder Bremen as Alemannia Aachen flung their goalkeeper Kristian Nicht upfield for a corner in the dying moments. The ball broke to Diego, who – despite the best efforts of opposition midfielder Matthias Lehmann – nonchalantly made the score 3-1... from 69 yards out.

“Soccer is always about feelings,” Diego tells FFT in  a rare interview. “You have to be happy and free to play at your best and what happened at that precise moment was  a consequence of that.

“When we were defending the corner, I saw their keeper  in our box and knew I had a chance to catch him out. It was a case of everything happening perfectly. My first touch was good, the ball sat up in the right position and I just hit it.

“It all happened very quickly and it took me a few minutes  to believe it had happened.

“I didn’t know if it was possible, but I trusted myself and believed I could do it. If  I tried it today, I might need a few goes! It is hard to get power and direction on a shot like that – but they both came together.

“Some people think tricky things like that happen more in training, but it is actually much easier to do them in a match because you are 100 per cent concentrated and so your  body responds to your mind.

“It was definitely one of the best moments in football for me as it felt so natural and was the consequence of this one idea I had. Who knows if I’ll score one like that again... it’s difficult but not impossible.”

Interview: Titus Chalk. Illustration: German Aczel. From the March 2013 edition of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Christopher Drazan (Rapid Vienna v SV Josko Ried, 2011)

2013-01-02T12:24:00Z

The Austrian Cup may not be the go-to competition for glamour, but Rapid Vienna winger Christopher Drazan proved it’s not short on wonder strikes. Drazan, a 22-year-old with a glorious left peg, took advantage of a pre-prepared corner routine to equalise against SV Josko Ried in electrifying fashion.

“Our captain, Steffen Hofmann, takes the corner and Guido Burgstaller flicks it on from the front post,” Drazan explains. “We’d worked on it in training and it felt like the right moment to try it in a match.”

The result is one of those fleeting moments of perfection: loitering on the edge of the box, Drazan skips past his marker, runs onto the chipped pass  and sweeps a beautiful volley goalwards. Bending outwards, the ball whistles into the far inside netting, leaving Ried’s goalkeeper no chance.

Drazan runs over to the bench, first screaming, then with a look of joyous disbelief on his face. “I couldn’t believe it; I just went crazy,” he says. “The ball came to me flat and at the perfect height. As soon as I hit it, I could feel it was going in.”

Although Drazan says he hasn’t scored enough goals in his nascent career yet, this one will be hard to beat. “We  might have to wait a while until we try that corner  routine again!” he admits.

The good news, of course,  is that the moment was captured on video, and just  as Drazan hurried home to do after the match, it can forever be enjoyed in glorious  slow-motion. Austrian Cup  or World Cup, no keeper on Earth was saving this one.

Interview: Titus Chalk. Illustration: German Aczel. From the February 2013 edition of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan v Barcelona, 2010)

2012-12-05T08:18:00Z

Goalscoring legend that he is, Filippo Inzaghi’s career is not remembered for blockbuster strikes. Well, except one time...

Milan are playing Barcelona at the Nou Camp in August 2010, and after 66 minutes  are trailing 1-0 to David Villa’s first goal for the Blaugrana. Clarence Seedorf picks up the ball after some scrappy play around the halfway line and launches a delectable long  pass into the path of Inzaghi. The striker – on this occasion not offside, where Sir Alex Ferguson once claimed the Italian was born –  leaps high into the air and majestically volleys the ball home with his left foot. Woof!

“I was pleased with that goal even though it was in a friendly match, because it is not every day you score a goal like that at the Nou Camp,” ‘Super Pippo’ tells FFT. “It was a great ball from Clarence but I had  timed my run to make sure  I was on the shoulder of their last player and that I was  then able to catch it cleanly.”

“It was certainly a goal I can smile about, seeing as it was  in such a famous stadium and against the great opponents that we faced.” No doubt. Barcelona fans are used to seeing great goals, but this  was pretty unique. So the  next time you are near  a computer and someone accuses Mr Inzaghi of being an overrated goalhanger, show them this strike.

As Inzaghi himself says:  “I know I am remembered as a player who scored most of his goals from close range, but I think that this goal shows  I could score spectacular ones as well.”

Interview: Richard Whittle. Words: Huw Davies. Illustration: German Aczel. From the January 2013 edition of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Negrete (Mexico v Bulgaria, 1986)

2012-11-02T14:53:00Z

"In 1986, the World Cup was at home in Mexico and there were great expectations. We had made it through the group but people were hoping to see a little more from our team, especially with players like Hugo Sanchez, who ended up being 'Pentapichichi' [five-times top scorer in Spain] with Atletico and Real Madrid. We wanted to give the home crowd a great moment.

I scored a goal in the Mexican league where I brought the ball down, lifted it over a defender and, with my back to goal, got it into the corner [with a bicycle kick]. That one might have been better, but a World Cup goal is another story because the world is watching.

I wanted to work a one-two at the edge of the penalty area. The ball was, fortunately, a bit high: if it had been a good return pass, I don't think I'd have scored! I kept my eye on the ball and saw that the keeper couldn't get to it.

The first thing I thought about was the emotional importance of the goal. To see that when you fall to the ground 115,000 people rise to their feet is overwhelming. You won't live that again in your whole life. You don't trade that moment for anything.

In the celebration, I felt something pull my head back. It was Javier [Aguirre] pulling on my hair, telling me he deserved credit for the goal for giving me a bad pass!

As time passes, I see the transcendence of that goal. So many years later, I see it again and again on TV. It's great to be part of the sport's history."

[And here is his goal in the Mexican league, which Negrete thinks was even better...]

Interview: Keyvan Heydari. Illustration: German Aczel. From the December 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Benjamin Huggel (Basel v FC Zurich, 2009)

2012-10-03T13:52:00Z

Basel would finish the 2009-10 season as Swiss champions but were struggling to kick-start their campaign when they travelled to Zurich in late October. Enter stage left: Benjamin Huggel and a supporting cast for a goal that transformed their fortunes.

“The build-up was incredible, really – in many ways it was the perfect goal. Valentin Stocker, Scott Chipperfield and Behrang Safari [plus wonderkid Xherdan Shaqiri] were pinging the ball around and I just waiting for my chance at the edge of the box. Then Scott passed it to me and I hit it first time.

“I was pretty angry before that goal because I’d been playing as a centre-back and only moved into my normal position in midfield a couple of minutes before scoring. Because I was angry, I wasn’t really thinking of anything – I just wanted to smash it.

“We were losing 1-0 and we really needed the points, but no one made a fuss about the goal at the time. A couple of team-mates patted me on the back and said it wasn’t bad, but it was only when The Guardian ran a poll for European Goal of the Season [Huggel beat Messi, Maicon, Robben and more with an incredible 85 per cent of the vote] that people started talking about it. We didn’t talk about it in training, and we certainly didn’t try to do it again!

“I think Johnny Leoni was in goal for Zurich at the time – he sounds like a porn star but he’s actually a really decent goalkeeper – and we talked about it when we met up with the [Swiss] national team a couple of weeks later.

 “He told me that I would never hit another shot like that in my life. I told him he was probably right.”

Interview: Richard Edwards. Illustration: German Aczel. From the November 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Mancini (Roma v Lyon, 2007)

2012-09-05T08:44:00Z

“Ah, the stepovers,” former Roma winger Mancini smiles. “We call them pedaladas in Brazil. They’ve always been my trademark.” So he showed with a stepover frenzy vs Lyon – and specifically Anthony Reveillere – in the 2006-07 Champions League last 16.

How many stepovers did he pull off before knocking the ball past the French full-back and lashing it into the top corner to give Roma a 2-0 lead? Mancini guesses: “Five?” He doesn’t really know. Neither does Reveillere. “I never got a chance to ask him,” Mancini chuckles.

“It was a mix of technique, strength and acceleration –  a little bit of everything,” says the Brazilian. “It was a great cross-field ball from Francesco Totti: we may not have been best friends, but we understood each other on the pitch. He put me one-on-one with Reveillere, and I had to go for it.

“We love that sort of thing back home. It comes naturally from our childhood. It’s in our blood: we’re always looking for the pedaladas. Non-Brazilian players try it, but it’s different. When we got past Lyon, we clashed with Manchester United in the quarter-finals [and lost 7-1 at home in the second leg]. Cristiano Ronaldo was there and he has the  skill, but it’s not the same as when a Brazilian does it.”

Mancini, now playing in  his homeland for Bahia, continues: “That was one  of the most beautiful goals  I’ve ever scored – but not the best. In my first season at Roma, I scored a backheel against Lazio that earned me the name ‘Il Tacco di Dio’ [the heel of God].

“The funny thing with this goal, though, is that I got an offer from Lyon after leaving Roma...”

Interview: Marcus Alves. Illustration: German Aczel. From the October 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Hugo Sanchez (Real Madrid v Logroñes, 1988)

2012-08-28T14:09:00Z

Mexican ace Hugo Sanchez scored 26 goals as Real Madrid streaked to the 1987-88 title – but nothing else that season will live as long in the memory as his strike against Logrones.

“It was the goal of my life,” smiles Sanchez, “and the kind  of goal you imagine since you are a little boy – especially me. My father inspired me with these bicycle kicks. He was 40, just playing with his friends, but he would try these acrobatics.  I practised them to honour him. And to score a goal like that, in a packed Bernabeu, in one of the best years of my career, was simply unforgettable.

“Rafa [Vazquez]’s cross was absolutely superb. I only had to step back and calculate when to jump in order to smash  a volley with my left foot. The ball was so balanced, I could choose whether to direct it to the near or the far post. I opted for the latter, which made it even more spectacular.

“Suddenly all these people were singing my name, white handkerchiefs out... and it was only the 10th minute, so I had to keep focus. We won 2-0.

“The referee congratulated me, saying it was the goal of the century. Later on  I realised that Logrones reads backwards as  ‘Senor gol’: ‘Mister Goal’!”

After the game, Madrid manager Leo Beenhakker declared, “If a player scores a goal like that, the game should be suspended and  a glass of champagne offered to the 80,000 fans that witnessed it.” Cheers!

Interview: Martin Mazur. Portrait: German Aczel. From the October 2011 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Torsten Frings (Germany v Costa Rica, 2006)

2012-08-07T10:04:00Z

Munich, June 9, 2006: the opening match of the World Cup. After just six minutes Philipp Lahm would set  a very early candidate for goal of the tournament, curling the ball in off the post from distance. But with the score 3-2 to Germany after 87 minutes of thrilling football (and poor defending), Lahm’s goal would be bettered by his own team-mate – as Torsten Frings explains.

“It was a special moment for me, especially as it happened on home soil at a World Cup.  It was the first game of the tournament and we were  all so up for it, not just on  the pitch but on the terraces too. The fans were so excited. We knew we had to get off to  a good start.

“I remember the goal clearly. Bastian [Schweinsteiger] played the ball across to me and I had time to run onto it and hit it cleanly first time. As I hit it,  I knew it was going on target. Then I looked up and saw  it flying past the Costa Rica keeper and into the back of the net. The crowd behind the goal went absolutely mad.

“We had worked on that  set-piece in training, and as  a midfielder I was always working on my shooting, so  I guess it was a combination of a training-ground routine and the strength of the shot. I hit it as cleanly as I’ve ever hit anything before or since.

“From our point of view,  it was a dream start to  the tournament. But things could have turned out very differently, especially as Costa Rica had equalised our opening goal and were still in the game at that point. The fact that my goal came with only  three minutes left really finished them off.”

Interview: Richard Edwards. Illustration: German Aczel. From the September 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Claudio Lopez (Valencia v PSV Eindhoven, 1999)

2012-07-06T11:06:00Z

Having regularly seen the likes of Romario, Ronaldo, Ruuds Gullit and van Nistelrooy and the Van der Kerkhof twins to boot, PSV fans have witnessed some superb strikes over the years.

But one of the best strikes ever seen at the Philips Stadion was by a Valencia player: Claudio Lopez, whose amazing volley won Champions League goal of the season in 1999-2000.

“It could be the greatest goal I ever scored, in that it was spectacular but also because it’s still remembered by Valencia fans,” says Lopez,  who has become a rally driver since retiring in 2010.

“I hadn’t scored for a long time,” he recalls. “We’d started the season very badly. But one aspect our manager [Hector Cuper] had worked on with us a lot was concentration, and we stayed focused that night.

“Amedeo Carboni took a long free-kick and I ran to get the ball, as I always did. It was  a very common play – only this time, with the ball still high,  I decided to take a direct shot rather than controlling it. It was a risky decision, as you know there’s a chance you’ll miss the ball completely, but not this time. My marker couldn’t do anything, and the goalkeeper didn’t expect it at all.

“Kily Gonzalez was the first team-mate to come over to me, and he bowed down to show it had not been an ordinary goal.”

Indeed it wasn’t. Valencia would go on to reach the  final, where they would lose 3-0 to Vicente del Bosque’s Real Madrid.

Words: Martin Mazur. Illustration: German Aczel. From the August 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Antonin Panenka (Czechoslovakia v West Germany, 1976)

2012-06-06T11:41:00Z

In the July issue of FourFourTwo, Antonin Panenka exclusively recalls the greatest and most imitated penalty of all time: the chip that won the European Championship and inspired a million copycats.

On FourFourTwo.com, we give you his full, unabridged account of that goal.

"All my team-mates knew that I had a special surprise if we got to a penalty shoot-out situation. They were sure that if the moment came I had this surprise, and they were 100 per cent sure that I was going to score – me? I was 1,000 per cent certain.

I knew that there was no way any goalkeeper was going to stand in the middle of the goal and not move before I hit it – I knew that he was going to go either left or right, all I had to do was to chip it straight down the middle. I had to get it in the air because if it was along the ground then the goalkeeper had a chance of stopping the ball with his feet.

The German who took the penalty before [Uli Hoeness] had just missed so I knew that if I scored the championship would be ours. That raised the pressure, but I didn’t feel it – I just felt very calm as I ran up and took it. If it had gone wrong then obviously I would have looked a fool, but I knew there was no way that was going to happen: I hadn’t practiced for two years to make a mess of it.

It took me two years to perfect the penalty. I would spend a lot of time practising the penalty in training, and then tried it out twice in matches, but during the tournament in Yugoslavia I didn’t give anyone a chance to see it – I didn’t want to give it away, so I would just take normal penalties in training. We didn’t want any spies to see what I had in store.

Two years before the European Championship I had an idea that I wanted to create a surprise for the tournament and every day in our home stadium I trained with this style of penalty. In the meantime, I used the penalty once in a friendly and once in the Czech League, so I had already used it in a match situation. I scored both times. I took both penalties against the best goalkeeper in the country: Ivo Viktor, who was voted the best goalkeeper at Euro ’76. If I could score against him then I could score against anyone.

Panenka (second left) and Viktor (right) rejoice with their daughters

I guess we were ahead of our time, really, because we brought in local fans to stand behind the goal making a loud noise while we were training with our penalties. It was never going to be like a real penalty shoot-out but at least it put us under a bit of pressure.

It wasn’t an ideal situation because we conceded a goal in the last minute of normal time and we were very tired. The atmosphere wasn’t that positive going into extra time. We were afraid of what would happen, so we were really holding out for that penalty shoot-out – we thought that was our best way of winning the game.

Viktor was very good and the Germans didn’t have the reputation with penalties then that they have now. For both teams, we were really go into the unknown after extra time – no tournament had been decided in that way before, so it was something completely different.

For me, the penalty was a double-sided coin. On the one hand, it was fantastic to score the goal that won the European Championship for my country, and even now, over 35 years on, people still talk about it the whole time. But on the other hand, it’s the only thing that many people remember me for. The other goals, the free-kicks, everything else I did in my career didn’t seem to matter. Everyone only ever wants to talk to me about this penalty.

I have seen many people try to imitate the penalty in the years since, but no one has quite mastered it. Even now I see kids in the Czech Republic trying to copy what I did, so it has stood the test of time.

I suppose, looking back now, it was pretty brave to do that in a final – but in 1976 I didn’t think that way. I was just sure that this was my best way of scoring and our best way of winning the tournament.

Interview: Richard Edwards. Illustration: German Aczel. From the July issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Nolberto Solano (Peru v Spain, 2004)

2012-05-03T08:58:00Z

A determined attitude and cultured right foot helped ‘Nobby’ Solano to become  a cult hero in Newcastle,  but he is also one of Peru’s  all-time biggest celebrities. And why not, when he scored goals as good as this one?

Just 20 minutes into Peru’s glamour tie against Spain, ranked 71 places ahead of  the humble South Americans, Joseba Etxeberria’s loose pass was intercepted. It took just  14 seconds and nine touches between six players for Peru  to take the ball from their defensive third into the Spanish net, silencing most of a 24,000-strong crowd and sending a vocal handful of scattered Peruvians into raptures. And who was there to stroke the ball home? Solano, scorer of 20 goals  in 95 games for Peru.

“We launched  a counter-attack,”  the trumpet-playing wide-man recalls. “My friend Andres [Mendoza] crossed the ball. I chested it down, let it bounce and then, from  25 yards, set my sights on goal and hit the ball with  the outside of my right foot. It flew past  Iker Casillas.”

Although the game finished 2-1 to the Spanish superstars, who would be dumped out of the Euro 2004 group stages a few months after this warm-up match, Solano remembers the game, and his goal, with fondness.

“It was so special because we don’t often get to play countries like Spain and the very best players in the world.

“That has to be the very  best goal I ever scored.”

Words: Rob Stewart and Robert Summerscales. Illustration: German Aczel. From the June issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors v Velez Sarsfield, 2009)

2012-04-04T12:25:00Z

It isn’t often that headers  are considered truly classic  goals, but then it isn’t often that someone finds the net with their nut from an incredible 43 yards out.

Argentine striker Martin  ‘El Loco’ Palermo had a reputation for being strong in the air throughout his prolific career, and aged 35 he had his noggin to thank for what he describes as “perhaps the most spectacular goal I ever scored”.

Boca Juniors’ all-time top scorer explains: “One gift I always had was finding new ways of scoring. I didn’t look  for it – it would just happen.  A bicycle kick, a penalty where  I slipped and hit the ball with both of my feet [it still went in], a header where I ended up hanging from the bar... and that night against Velez was another special goal for my collection.”

“We were 2-2 at a packed  La Bombonera with less than 20 minutes to go. There was  a long ball from the back, Nico Gaitan pushed forward to press the last defender, and Velez keeper Montoya was forced  to clear it with a long kick.

“The ball was directed right where I was standing, close to the centre of the pitch. I instinctively tried to head it back to the empty goal, as Montoya  was completely  out of position.

“It was really magical  to see the ball kissing  the back of the net,  as it was making a dangerous curve and  I feared it would end up hitting the post.

"I took off my shirt and celebrated with all the fans, with my arms wide open. It was a key victory for us, as it was rumoured our coach, Alfio Basile, would have quit if we didn’t get the three points. After that, he stayed.”

Words: Martin Mazur. Illustration: German Aczel. From the May 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Hamit Altintop (Turkey v Kazakhstan, 2010)

2012-03-02T15:45:00Z

Poor Matty Burrows – how things may have changed had it not been for Hamit Altintop.

The Glentoran striker, whose backheel volley was watched by millions on YouTube, missed out on FIFA’s Puskas Award for goal of the year thanks to the Turkish midfielder’s amazing strike against Kazakhstan.

One of Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid signings last summer – not purely on the basis of this hit, of course – Altintop looks back on his goal with a modest smile. “As the ball was coming towards me I wasn’t thinking about anything other than hitting it towards goal,” he says.

Sometimes in football you know you’ve hit the sweet spot. That was such a moment.”

And some sweet spot it was. A lofted corner from Emre Belozoglu floated to Altintop  at the edge of the box; the next second, the ball was hitting the roof of the net. Even though his fierce right peg was well known, his team-mates’ reaction was one of amazement.

“Yes, it’s true I’ve always had a powerful shot,” says Altintop. “In training today I almost broke Iker Casillas’ hand! But that goal was a one-off. I don’t think I could hit it the same way again if I tried 100 times.”

Even so, his Puskas Award takes pride of place at home. “I’m proud because it represents all goals scored that year,” adds Turkey’s very own Mr ‘Golden Ball’ – the direct translation  of ‘Altintop’ into English.

“I don’t think I’ll win it again,” he says with a smile.  “Still, I can try though...”

And here is Matty Burrows' effort from the same year...

Words: Sefa Atay. Illustration: German Aczel. From the April 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Jurgen Klinsmann (Stuttgart v Bayern Munich, 1987)

2012-02-01T10:28:00Z

Jurgen Klinsmann was both a great goalscorer and a scorer of great goals, but he says this was the greatest of the lot.

His bicycle kick for Stuttgart against Bayern Munich, who had Mark Hughes playing for them, stunned the German champs – so much so, Stuttgart went on to thrash them 3-0.

“For a striker, a bicycle kick is something special; something you love to do,” says Klinsmann, fondly recalling his favourite strike for FFT. “You dream about scoring one, but if you score one in a very big game in front of 70,000 – and Stuttgart against Bayern is like Spurs versus Arsenal – then it’s even better.”

But it’s not all about the finish: the build-up is outstanding as well. With 18 minutes on the clock, an accurate cross-field ball is casually volleyed into the box for Klinsmann to dispatch in style. Three touches, from the left wing to the right, to the net.

Klinsmann went on to top the Bundesliga scoring charts that season, but none could top this effort, and it was rightly named German Goal of the Year.

It held greater importance  for Klinsmann himself, though. “It opened the doors to international football for me, because a month later Franz Beckenbauer called me up and shortly after that I got my first cap. That’s why it was my  most special goal.”

Klinsmann’s debut for the German national team was  a 1-1 draw with Brazil – the first of 108 caps and 47 goals – but ‘the Golden Bomber’ puts this strike ahead of them all.

Words: Chris Hunt and Rik Sharma. Illustration: German Aczel. From the March 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Allan Ravn (Brondby v Bayern Munich, 1999)

2012-01-04T11:21:00Z

The 1999 Champions League Final was an iconic match; Manchester United’s last-gasp victory over Bayern Munich is remembered around the world. What may be a bit hazy is that the two sides also met in the group stages. And outside of Denmark, it’s unlikely that anyone remembers that Danish club Brondby led that group – which also included Barcelona – after the first matchday.

But anyone who saw Allan Ravn’s stunning winner against Bayern has it etched into their memory. People still stop the 37-year-old in the street. “I think I’ve met everyone who was at the stadium that day!” Ravn laughs.

Like United some eight months later, Brondby left it late against the Germans. An 87th-minute own goal brought the Danes level. Then in the final minute, with the home fans proudly celebrating the draw against the European heavyweights, Ravn chipped the ball over two Bayern defenders and charged towards goal.

“I didn’t have enough energy to take the last man as well,” he recalls. “So either I needed to make one more dribble, which probably wouldn’t have gone that well, or take the shot.

“I saw Oliver Kahn was a bit outside the goal and I wanted to pass it over him.”

From just outside the box, the midfielder looped the ball into the top corner. The scoreboard read 2-1 and the local fans lost it. “It was like some kind of explosion,” says Ravn. “The sound was amazing.”

Ravn rates the goal, in the club’s first Champions League group match, as “absolutely” his career highlight.

Sadly,  the 10-time Danish champions lost their next five and haven’t made the group stage since.

Words: Michael Huguenin. Illustration: German Aczel. From the February 2012 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Mauro Bressan (Fiorentina v Barcelona, 1999)

2011-12-07T09:34:00Z

Mauro Bressan scored few goals in a career that spanned 20 years and nearly 500 games – yet one placed him in Champions League folklore.

Bressan’s overhead kick for Fiorentina in their European tie against Barcelona remains one of the greatest of its kind. “A lot of people remember the goal,” says the Italian, “and remind me of it when they meet me.”

With the score 0-0 after 14 minutes in their group game at the Artemio Franchi stadium – a thriller that ended 3-3 – Barça appeared to have cleared the ball from danger. Then Bressan, surrounded by players, went for the spectacular. Launching himself into the air with his back to goal, the midfielder made a perfect connection  and sent the ball flying into the top-right-hand corner of Francesc Arnau’s goal.

“It probably seemed a bit crazy at the time,” he recalls, “but I wanted to try it because I had attempted it a few times in training with not much success.” Good thing he did.

“It all came down to the way I hit it, and that came about through co-ordination, then connecting cleanly with the ball,” he continues.

Bressan’s utterly shocked reaction to the ball hitting the back of the net is also fondly remembered, and not just  by Fiorentina fans. “I have wonderful memories of my goal in Florence,” he says. “When  I got back onto my feet I just started screaming.”

And as if that wasn’t enough already, Bressan went on to  lay a perfect assist later in  the game, flicking through  a deft backheel for Abel  Balbo to slot home.

But it’s for his audacious strike  that he will always be remembered.

Words: Richard Whittle & Charlie Scott. Illustration: German Aczel. From the January 2012 issue of FourFourTwo, out now. Subscribe!

Jose Luis Chilavert (Velez Sarsfield v River, 1996)

2011-12-01T12:30:00Z

Paraguayan goalkeeper  Jose Luis Chilavert scored  62 goals in his career, his size four left foot helping him become something of  a set-piece and penalty specialist. The greatest of them all was playing for Velez Sarsfield against River Plate, with an incredible 60-metre free-kick.

“Some players have scored from long distance, but it was usually by chance,” says Chilavert. “This was different.  I saw that [River Plate keeper] Burgos was outside the box, watching birds rather than concentrating on the game.  So I started running desperately. As I arrived,  I noticed the referee was in  the way and shouted: ‘Move!’ Luckily, he did – the shot could have knocked him out if he hadn’t ducked.

I thought the ball was going too high, but then it started going down quickly. When Burgos tried to react, it was too late. I landed on the floor like an airplane and so did my team-mates. Even River players congratulated me! It was very special for me as my father was recovering from heart treatment and I could dedicate it to him.

We won the game and  I gave my shirt to the referee. It was his last professional game and, besides, he deserved  it for his reflexes!”

Interview: Martin Mazur. Illustration: German Aczel. From the February 2011 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia v Barcelona, 1999)

2011-11-01T14:50:00Z

The rise of Valencia at the turn of the century seems  a lifetime away in light of  Spain’s current duopoly. Inspired by Gaizka Mendieta, Los Che’s success began in 1999 with their first domestic trophy in 20 years, as they saw off Barça and Madrid on the way to Copa del Rey glory.

In the quarter-final first leg at the Nou Camp, Mendieta thundered in the sort of volley that would have even seen Alan Partridge straining for superlatives, his shot arrowing into that perfect intersection  of post and crossbar before anyone in the stadium could so much as blink.

“It’s funny because that  set-piece wasn’t trained,” Mendieta recalls. “It was improvised from the moment we took the corner. I saw I was on my own outside the box,  so I raised my hand asking  for the ball from [Adrian] Ilie. He put over a perfect long  pass and I just hit it.”

Not comfortable with scoring merely one goal-of-the-season contender, the Basque midfielder helped himself  to another in the 3-0 final victory over Atletico Madrid.

Controlling a cross on his chest with his back to goal, Mendieta flicked the ball backwards over the heads  of the Atletico defenders before spinning to fire in  a low left-foot volley.

"The goal in the final took more ability, self-control, awareness of other players and technique, but that volley against Barça was obviously fantastic. Saying that, it  could have gone anywhere!”

[But is Mendieta's goal against Atletico even better?]

Interview: Chris McDonald. Illustration: German Aczel. From the December 2011 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Sergio Aguero (Independiente v Racing, 2005)

2011-10-31T14:17:00Z

Fans of Argentine side Independiente will never forget September 11, 2005. On that day, they witnessed what most fans of the club say is their greatest ever goal. Sergio Aguero, aged just 17, had just made history in the Avellaneda derby with a 13-second solo run that put the finishing touch to a 4-0 win over their bitter rivals. Aguero remembers it well.

"I will never forget that day. The match was scheduled to start before noon for security reasons, so we had to wake up very early. Our stadium was packed. We were winning 3-0 with a hat-trick from Frutos.

In the 37th minute, I got a loose ball behind the halfway line, made a spin and went past Vitali. We were two against two and all I was thinking was how to make a pass for Frutos, but he was well marked. I had Diego Crosa ahead. He was retreating and waiting, so I kept running.

When I found myself in the area, the spaces had disappeared. I tried a dummy, but Crosa was intelligent and quick and didn’t buy it, so  I tried another, and finally  I decided to take the shot  with my left foot before he blocked me completely.

When I saw the ball in the net, I removed my jersey to show a T-shirt I was wearing, bearing the legend 'For you, Emiliano', in the memory of my friend Emiliano Molina, who had recently died in a car accident. It was very emotional.

When  I watched the goal on TV that night, I couldn’t believe I had made such a move. It was the perfect derby and my first ever goal at Racing. My dad would always say to me that I didn’t have to wait until getting a chance of shooting with my right foot, so we’d been practising a lot of  left-foot shots in my early years. And that day, I had the chance to tell him how right he was."

Interview: Martin Mazur. Illustration: German Aczel. From the April 2011 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Ajax v NAC Breda, 2004)

2011-10-28T15:32:00Z

Every month in FourFourTwo, a player remembers and talks us through his best ever goal. Here's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, thinking fondly about his legendary jinking run for Ajax in 2004...

“In 2004, I was at Ajax and Juve were about to sign me. [Rafael] Van der Vaart wasn’t speaking to me because he said I injured him in training on purpose. I didn’t.

When I entered the pitch for the game against Breda, the Ajax fans whistled me as they supported Van der Vaart. He was injured and could not play.

I did play, scored twice and made four assists. For one of the goals, I received the ball with  a defender on my back. Another tried to challenge me but I kept the ball from both. Then I turned and saw the goal.

I was going towards the goal dribbling past players – bam, bam, bam – as  I searched for a moment to shoot. It did not come so I kept on going past different players. Then I was past the goalkeeper.

I decided to go backwards to get a better angle to score.  I went past the same player again. I used to play with him, but didn’t realise it. He said to me: ‘Zlatan, I thought we were friends.’ I apologised because  I didn’t realise it was a former team-mate. It was my best goal.

Van der Vaart? His reaction was his problem. I did not care. The next day I signed for Juve.”

Interview: Andy Mitten. Illustration: German Aczel. From the November 2010 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!