Mexican ace Hugo Sanchez scored 26 goals as Real Madrid streaked to the 1987-88 title â but nothing else that season will live as long in the memory as his strike against Logrones.
âÂÂIt was the goal of my life,â smiles Sanchez, âÂÂand the kind â¨of goal you imagine since you are a little boy â especially me. My father inspired me with these bicycle kicks. He was 40, just playing with his friends, but he would try these acrobatics. â¨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.
âÂÂRafa [Vazquez]âÂÂs cross was absolutely superb. I only had to step back and calculate when to jump in order to smash â¨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.
âÂÂSuddenly 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.
âÂÂThe referee congratulated me, saying it was the goal of the century. Later on â¨I realised that Logrones reads backwards as â¨âÂÂSenor golâÂÂ: âÂÂMister GoalâÂÂ!âÂÂ
After the game, Madrid manager Leo Beenhakker declared, âÂÂIf a player scores a goal like that, the game should be suspended and â¨a glass of champagne offered to the 80,000 fans that witnessed it.â Cheers!
Interview: Martin Mazur. Portrait: German Aczel. From the October 2011 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!
