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There are few things that can endear a debuting player to the fans of a new team quite as much as a really good debut goal. It’s actually surprising how many players do manage to hit the back of the net in their debut – Alvaro Morata and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both scored goals in their Premier League debuts for their new sides this season, for instance, while Harry Kane struck on his England debut in a game against Lithuania in 2015.
All three of those examples though were relatively pedestrian goals. Sometimes, however, a player scores a truly world-class goal on their debut to really make their mark in the history books. Here are five of the best debut goals in football history.
#1: Stan Collymore – Premier League debut for Bradford City, 2000
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One of English football’s all-time great enigmas, when he moved to Bradford City in late 2000 on a free transfer it felt like Stan Collymore probably didn’t have many magical moments left in him. Despite flashes of greatness at his previous club Leicester City, at just 29 it felt like his best years were behind him and it came as no surprise when the Foxes allowed him to leave.
That made it all the more shocking when he scored one of the Premier League’s greatest ever goals on his debut for the Bantams in a high-profile game - a heated West Yorkshire derby against Leeds United. A poor clearance was controlled by Bradford’s Italian forward Benito Carbone, who crossed the ball into the box, where it was met by an incredible overhead kick from Collymore.
The ball flew into the net beyond Leeds keeper Paul Robinson, and Collymore had made himself a hero in the eyes of the Bradford fans after just 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the classic debut goal was largely Collymore’s only contribution at the club – he played just 7 more games for them and scored one more goal before financial pressures forced Bradford to allow him to leave for Spanish side Real Oviedo, where he retired just two months later.
#2: Mario Stanic – Premier League debut for Chelsea, 2000
Chelsea’s 4-2 win over West Ham on the opening day of the 2000/01 season actually saw two debuting players score goals – striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and Croatian midfielder Mario Stanic. But despite Hasselbaink going on to become Chelsea’s leading scorer that season, it was Stanic’s first goal – he added a second later on in the match – that really sticks in the memory.
A pass from Dennis Wise from just inside West Ham’s half found its way to Stanic late in the second half, and the Croatian controlled it by flicking the ball up with his right boot. Somehow he followed that by keeping the ball in the air with two more touches – like a child in a playground – before hitting an unstoppable right-footed volley into the top corner from 35 yards.
The goal was of simply unbelievable quality – perhaps you could criticise West Ham’s defence for not closing Stanic down, but on the other hand, how could anyone have foreseen him hitting such an amazing shot? Stanic went on to score another six goals for Chelsea over the best part of four seasons at Stamford Bridge, but unsurprisingly never topped this debut classic, which was nominated for ‘Goal of the Season’ by Match of the Day.
#3: Danny Rose – Premier League debut for Tottenham Hotspur, 2010
Although he landed himself in hot water with Tottenham fans last summer thanks to a controversial interview in which he suggested he wanted to move away from Spurs, fans with slightly longer memories will probably always see the England left-back as a hero – recalling his insane goal in his Premier League debut against the club’s most bitter rivals Arsenal, back in 2010.
Rose had made his official debut for Tottenham a couple of months later in the FA Cup, but this was his first ever game in the Premier League. Somehow it only took him ten minutes of the match to make his mark. A Tottenham corner was cleared by a punch from Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, but the ball dropped to Rose 30 yards out – who unleashed a left-footed volley that soared past the keeper and into the roof of the net.
It was a shot of such power that The Times described it as “so thunderous that you could hear the whack off his boot above the din of the raucous crowd”. Sky Sports actually clocked the speed of the shot at a phenomenal 69.7 miles per hour – essentially no goalkeeper in the world would’ve saved it. Tottenham went on to win the game 2-1 and ended up qualifying for the Champions League a few weeks later, and it was Rose’s debut goal that proved to be the catalyst for the final push. Now that’s a debut.
#4: Wayne Rooney – Champions League debut for Manchester United, 2004
To score a goal on your debut is one thing; to score a hat-trick is another entirely. In the case of Wayne Rooney – who made his debut for Manchester United against Turkish side Fenerbahce in September 2004 following a £25m move from Everton at the age of just 18, not only did he score a hat-trick, but his third goal was one of incredible quality – a free-kick that made United’s legions of fans instantly forget about their former dead-ball expert David Beckham.
Rooney had already scored two goals – the first a deft chip over the onrushing goalkeeper with his left foot, the second a low shot from the edge of the box with his right – and United were already 3-1 up when they were awarded a free-kick just outside the box. Showing no signs of fear under pressure, Rooney curled the ball with the side of his right foot up and over the wall and past renowned keeper Rustu Recber into the net to secure his hat-trick.
United went on to win the game 6-2, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson instantly hailed the display as the best debut he’d ever seen. Rooney became the youngest player to ever score a Champions League hat-trick – a phenomenal feat considering it was his debut for United and also his debut in the competition – but it’s that third free-kick goal that stands out the most over a decade on.
#5: Zlatan Ibrahimovic – MLS debut for Los Angeles Galaxy, 2018
If anyone thought Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s recent move to Major League Soccer with LA Galaxy was a signal that his amazing career was finally about to come to an end, his debut for the side probably made them change their mind.
No stranger to debut goals – Zlatan had scored on his Serie A debut for Inter Milan, his La Liga debut with Barcelona, his Ligue 1 debut with Paris St. Germain and in the Charity Shield on his debut for Manchester United – his first for Galaxy topped them all.
Galaxy were trailing local rivals LAFC by 3 goals to 1 when he was introduced in the 71st minute, and immediately he had an impact, helping to set up a goal to make the score 3-2. Around five minutes later the ball bounced in front of him around 40 yards out, and he hit a ridiculous right-footed half-volley that flew over LAFC’s goalkeeper and into the roof of the net, evening the score at 3-3.
Even by his lofty standards, this was a special goal – up there with his absolute best. When he scored the winner from a header during injury time, it simply felt like it was meant to be. Ibrahimovic had arrived in the USA with the biggest possible bang – and one of the all-time great debut goals.
