5 players whose careers were ruined due to a single game

Players whose careers were ruined due to a single game.
Players whose careers were ruined due to a single game.

#3 Jonathan Woodgate

Jonathan Woodgate being sent off - Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao
Jonathan Woodgate being sent off - Real Madrid v Athletic Bilbao

Bobby Robson called Jonathan Woodgate "one of the top four English central defenders in the Premier League, along with Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Southgate."

He had that kind of talent, but injuries hampered him, limiting him to 37 appearances over a season and a half. Despite being injured at the time, Real Madrid saw enough in the 24-year-old to pay £13.4 million to bring him to the Bernabéu in 2004.

Jonathan Woodgate hadn't played in 17 months but was thrown in right away against Athletic Bilbao, four games into the La Liga season.

Woodgate, undoubtedly eager to impress on his return to football and introduction to Madrid, hoped to score on his debut, and that's exactly what he did after only 25 minutes. The only issue was that it was at the wrong end.

Woodgate, now doubly determined to prove his worth to Madrid's skeptical fans, let his enthusiasm get the better of him when he was booked for diving in on Carlos Gerpegui. In the second half, he was booked once again and eventually sent off for a foul on Joseba Etxeberria.

He'd waited 13 months to make his Real Madrid debut and after 66 minutes, he must have left the field wishing he'd waited a little longer. He never made more than three consecutive appearances in La Liga that season, and he left on loan to Middlesbrough at the end of the season with just 14 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions.


#2 Rob Green

England v USA: Group C - 2010 FIFA World Cup
England v USA: Group C - 2010 FIFA World Cup

Robert Green made a terrible mistake for England, one of the most scrutinized teams in the world, in their opening game against USA at the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 12 June, 2010.

The event itself does not require much analysis – everyone knows how it transpired. Four minutes in, Steven Gerrard scored a well-worked goal and England looked relatively in control.

In the 40th minute, the United States took advantage of some sloppy English defending to gain possession in their half. Clint Dempsey, of Fulham at the time, turned Steven Gerrard inside out before unleashing a shot on goal.

This was not a thunderbolt of a shot. It didn't deflect. The Jabulani, famous for its devastating swerve, did not move with its usual swing and swagger.

It took two bounces off the ground in the box before landing on Robert Green's gloves. Instead of ricocheting forward for the goalkeeper to pounce on, the ball deflected into the bottom left corner.

Green has been predictably tight-lipped about discussing that game, that moment, over the years. It was a really low point for him, and it appears to have been the catalyst for his career's downturn.

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He had a solid Premier League career with Norwich and West Ham, a few decent years with QPR and Leeds before finishing his career as a reserve with Huddersfield and finally Chelsea, where he won the Europa League before retiring.

In this age of the internet, it would be absurd to say that the USA blunder should be forgotten. He made one glaring error. But a single blunder shouldn't define what otherwise was a very successful career.


#1 Loris Karius

Real Madrid v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Final
Real Madrid v Liverpool - UEFA Champions League Final

On 26 May 2018, Liverpool played their first UEFA Champions League final since losing to AC Milan in Athens in 2007. The Reds were set to face Real Madrid, a European powerhouse boasting Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale among their ranks.

Despite an early injury to Mohamed Salah, the Reds were in the game until goalkeeper Loris Karius made a huge blunder, allowing Benzema to score and effectively ending the team's hopes of winning the famous trophy that year. To make it worse, he made another error and deflected Gareth Bale's long-range effort into his own goal. Real Madrid were 3-1 victors on the night.

The following year, Liverpool signed Brazilian Alisson Becker from AS Roma. Alisson would take over as No. 1 and Karius would eventually be loaned out. That night in Kiev will live on in Karius' nightmares, as he has not played a single competitive minute for Liverpool since, and will not do so in the future.

With Alisson in, Karius was out and he signed a two-year loan deal with Turkish club Besiktas. His time in Turkey began promisingly, but the mistakes continued.

The German would return to his homeland on loan to Union Berlin. The same themes would repeat themselves as he spent the majority of the season on the bench, filling in for Andreas Luthe.

Three and a half years later, Loris Karius is the fourth choice goalkeeper at Liverpool, still looking for redemption and shaking off the narrative of what happened that night in Kiev.

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Edited by Manas Mitul
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