Another A-League season has been and gone. The toilet seat has been held aloft and the end of season awards have been handed out. Among them was, of course, the goal of the season, which this year was won by Erik Paartalu.
A great goal it was, but awards like this always create controversy. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, particularly when it comes to judging what makes a great goal.
TV loves the long range surface to air missile type of goal. You get the feeling Guardiola and Wenger wouldn’t be impressed with a goal unless there was a minimum of 12 passes leading up to it.
What makes a goal special can also involve more than just technique or the spectacle. The goals scored by Cahill and Holman against Serbia at the 2010 World Cup in Nelspruit probably won’t make a list of the best 100 goals of all-time, but they will forever live in my memory for the reaction they created in the stadium that night.
Our seats were at the right end to see the action (although Timmy ran to the other corner flag after he scored). Random men in the seats next to me were bear hugged. Noises were shouted in those two moments that will never be heard again.
We didn’t get through the group stage that night, but it was our first win over a European team at a World Cup (a fact that often got overlooked in analysis after the match).
Drunken pacts were made outside the stadium that night that if moments like that happened in Brazil 2014, we would be there to see them in person.
Goals can be a very powerful force.
For those of us who watch football, we want to see great football and great goals.
For those of us who play football, there is no doubt that we aspire to play great football and strive to score great goals.
But often our feet let us down and won’t do what we want them to and the truly great goals allude us.
We can, however, dream. Dream about playing for our favourite club. Dream about playing for our country. Dream about scoring goals for our country at a World Cup.
So here are three goals that would make up my dream hat-trick. They may not be the most well known goals and I don’t pretend that there aren’t better/ technically superior/more spectacular/ better team goals out there, but each of these goals were burned into my memory from the first time that I saw them.
The first goal would happen immediately after I come on as a substitute with the Socceroos 2-0 down and needing a win to get through. Coming into the midfield, I get a pass from the defence and with plenty of time and space, I take a touch to get the ball out in front of me, look up and…
The second goal is equal parts sheer audacity mixed with perfect execution and awareness. This one gets the score to 2-2 and hopefully raises the roof off the stadium, but it’s not over yet.
The third goal of the hat-trick displays many of the attributes we all wish we had. The ability to recover after a heavy first touch. Standing strong in the challenge instead of going to ground. Both feet being involved. Having the ball on a string. Ending with a delicate finish.
Why blast it into the net when I can just pass it into the net cool as a cucumber? 3-2 and it’s game over.
I think you know you have just done something special when you fool the cameraman three times in the one goal (watch the slow motion replay and count them). A hat-trick within a hat-trick.
So there you have it. My dream hat-trick. What’s yours?
roarlover34
Roar Pro
Got to agree with you there Art Sapphire the greatest hat trick in history. Not ust for beauty but for importance. That last goal, considering all the importance of it, and the way it was scored, it is the greatest football goal ever!
EvertonAndAustralia
Roar Pro
Brett Holman's goal v Serbia WC 2010 is one of the most beautiful goals I've ever seen!
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Hey, I've now made over 2,000 posts! I'm starting to feel like I have been accepted by the Roar community - thank you so much to all my loyal, and dedicated readers. I couldn't have done it without you.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
One of my favourite Carlos goals is his very first one for the club, when he was still finding his feet, and MV were in a post-championship hangover. He scored a terrific goal at Etihad, against Perth, when he waxed it with Arch on the right hand side, and set up a shot from a bit of an angle, from the edge of the six yard box, and absolutely slammed with the outside of the foot into the roof of the net.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
My three favourite Carlos Hernandez goals: 1. vs GCU. A typical Carlos golazo from about 30m. It's good to watch this shot from behind and in front, to get a full view of the ball moving up and down as it whizzed through the air. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM8MT9QMyg4 2. vs Perth, another typical golazo, from even further out - this clip is cool because it's accompanied by Spanish commentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXZk2pMbrhA 3. vs Roar, the 1000th A-league goal, another golazo, this time with the outside of the foot into the opposite corner, in what ended up being a 3-3 epic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVW0BcmYlFM The incredible thing is, there are stacks more goals - you could easily make a top 10 of quality goals when it comes to Carlos.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
My three favourite Socceroo/Olyroo goals: 1. Bresiano bicylce kick versus Bahrain. Two things to note about this goal, it's not a ball delivered from the corner flag with plenty of air, in fact, it comes in fast and rising from a half-volley, so Bresh only has a split second to size it up (comes in so fast, many camera angles miss him connecting with the ball). Secondly, it's near perfect technique, despite the fact that he's had zero time to prepare, on some shots, you can see how high off the ground he is, and pretty much parallel to the ground, it don't get much better than that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTxNFwnkq_g 2. Ned Zelic vs Holland. I had to include Olyroo goals just to get this gem into it! This was an Olympic qualifier in 1991, and is the goal that got us through. The amazing thing about the goal is not just the angle, but he tries it on from the edge of the box, which is quite incredible. He also does well to get past a defender, under normal circumstances, a team would not expect a score from that position. Watch carefuly, Ned starts his run from the half way line (replay it if you have to, it's worth it). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-SKnV17Nf0 3. Carney, versus Nigeria. Watch how Australia keeps the ball in a tight triangle on the far right for 5 or 6 passes, before the ball is put into the mixer, it's these series of passes that allows Carney to drift in unopposed and smack it on his preferred left, from about 25 metres. Incredibly, he scored an almost identical goal about 12 months ago, but from closer in. One reason why I don't mind Carney in the team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj0QyNQYH1A
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Three goals that will never be forgotten - for the sheer drama that surrounded the goal because of the enormity of THAT particular goal at THAT particular time: 3. Nihat Kahveci: 89' Turkey v Czech Republic, Stade de Genève Euro2008 Group A Final match Turkey needs to win to progress to the 1/4 Final and, after trailing 2-0 they equalise in the 87'. Then, with extra-time looming ... the GK boots the ball forward one last time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RwabNS8vio 2. Ole Gunnar Solskjær: 90+3' Man Utd v Bayern, Nou Camp Stadium UCL final 1999 After trailing 1-0 after 10', United equalise in stoppage time in the 2nd half, then they have one final corner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsNLo_a65sY 1. Michael Thomas: 90+2' Liverpool v Arsenal, Anfield Last game of the 1988/89 English 1st Division (now called EPL) season If Arsenal won by 2 goals, they would win the Championship Any other score and Liverpool would win the Championship Arsenal score but 1-0 is not enough. The clock moves into stoppage time at the end of 90' and Arsenal GK, David Seaman, has one more chance to send Arsenal into attack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85wbuePV8w&feature=related (After that dramatic afternoon, Liverpool has only managed to win one more title in the past 21 years!)
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
The author alludes to the fact that scoring oneself is even more fun than watching others do it - very true. For those of us who played in the back half (in my case, as a full back or holding mid), our successful forays forward are such a rarity that we can pretty much remember every single one. I have one favourite goal that stands out amongst all others (scored at senior competition level). It was a corner kick, and I was taking up a position a few metres outside the top of the D. The keeper comes out and gets a good fist on to it, but lands on the ground with a few players from both sides underneath him. The ball loops over to me, and with zero time to think I've hit it with my left foot (I'm a natural right footer), on the volley, and looped it back from where it came, over the heap of bodies, under the bar, into an essentially vacant net. It was so sweetly struck, like a perfect 5 iron, where zero effort appears to be used, and to watch the ball loop forward then back again, almost with the same trajectory, a mirror image, like two ping pong players trying to out top spin each other, all within the space of a single second - it's as if the world stood still for that second, and in the chaos, the oceans having parted, I found the perfect route home on pure intuition. If I had had an extra half second to think things through - I would have stuffed it up for sure.
Rivaldo scored the dream hatrick in June 2001. His amazing winning goal in the last official minute of the season qualified Barca for the Champions League at the expense Valencia, who only need a draw in the same game. I doubt this hatrick will ever be topped in terms of quality for a very, very long time. If you haven't seen it before - then watch in wonder. If you have seen it before, then here's the chance to see it all over again. Unbelievable stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro9dA0rKLzw
Fivehole
Guest
All good goals - i was always partial to this one.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHCmU4QmgEM
kinkladze
Guest
SWP v United http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9L09aN1-Jg Neville feeding the Goat - best RB my arse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ_Zqy6QqYI Dickov v Gills - wouldn't be where we are wthout this goal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXbOPAuIo74