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The Champions League is undoubtedly the greatest European competition ever, with clubs battling it out every year for qualification. To participate in it is a great opportunity, even more so to score goals on these special European nights. Over the course of history, we've had some special individual performances lighting up the big stage.
Not many have scored 4 goals in a Champions League game
An even more elite group is that of the 16 players who have scored four or more goals in a single Champions League match. Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and recently Sebastien Haller are some of the active players who have achieved the same.
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However, on this list we take a look at five retired players who scored four goals in a single Champions League game back in the day:
#5 Simone Inzaghi
While the world probably knows more about his brother Filippo Inzaghi, Simone Inzaghi owns a record that his sibling doesn't have. He scored four goals in a Champions League match for Lazio against Marseille during the second group stage of the 1999-00 edition of the tournament.
Playing as a striker for a host of clubs, Inzaghi is mostly remembered for his time at Lazio. He spent more than a decade at the club, helping them win the Scudetto during the 1999-00 season. He finished that season's Champions League campaign with nine goals in 11 games. Inzaghi is currently the manager of Inter Milan and has been in charge at the club since the start of the ongoing season.
#4 Mario Gómez
Mario Gómez has had a career with plenty of glorious moments, scoring four times in a Champions League match in the 2011-12 season being one of them. The former Bayern Munich striker netted four goals in a 7-0 win against Basel in the Round of 16 second leg, overcoming a 1-0 deficit from the first. Bayern ultimately went reached the final in Munich, eventually losing out to Chelsea on penalties.
The German international has led the line for various clubs, scoring in abundance everywhere. He really hit his prime at Bayern, helping them win seven trophies, most notably the Champions League in 2013. Gómez was also an everpresent figure in the national team, featuring in five major tournaments for them. He has found the net 31 times for Germany and finished as top-scorer in Euro 2012.
#3 Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko and the Champions League are pretty much synonymous. He is the sixth-highest goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals, four of which he bagged against Fenerbahce in a 4-0 victory for AC Milan on November 2005.
He previously won the Champions League with AC Milan in 2003 and was runner-up in 2005 and 2008. Shevchenko was also awarded the Ballon d'Or in 2004, one of the many laurels he has won in his glittering career. Since retiring from his playing career, Shevchenko has stepped into coaching. Notably, he has been the national team head coach of Ukraine since 2016, but recently stepped down after Euro 2020.
#2 Ruud van Nistelrooy
The Dutch striker scored four goals for Manchester United against Sparta Prague in a 4-1 Champions League victory in 2004. Ruud van Nistelrooy has scored 38 goals in 47 European games for the English club, and was their all-time European record goalscorer for a period. With 56 goals to his name, he is the tournament's sixth-highest goalscorer.
Van Nistelrooy has also been the top-scorer in three different Champions League seasons. He had a very successful time in England with Manchester United scoring goals aplenty and winning the Premier League once. He has represented his national team 70 times netting 35 goals in that period.
He is currently the coach of the PSV Eindhoven under-19 team having previously served as assistant manager of the Netherlands football team.
#1 Marco van Basten
The inaugural season of the Champions League after its rebranding from the European Cup saw Marco van Basten score four times against IFK Goteborg for AC Milan.
All four of them were superb goals, with the third being a brilliant overhead kick. Fabio Capello famously remarked after that memorable performance from Van Basten:
"I would rate Van Basten as a 9.5 tonight, but only because I don't think perfection exists."
The Dutch striker had previously won the European Cup thrice with Milan before the induction of the Champions League and a Cup Winners' Cup with Ajax.
Regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all time, Van Basten was a recipient of the prestigious Ballon d'Or award thrice in his career. He has only played for Ajax and AC Milan in his short yet prolific career, etching his name in both the club's histories. At domestic level, he has won three Eredivisie titles with Ajax and four Serie A titles with Milan.
He has also been a constant with the Netherlands national team, most notably the Golden Boot winner in their UEFA Euro 1998 triumph. Van Basten's individual achievements include being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992, ranked sixth in the FIFA Player of the Century 1998 internet poll and tenth in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS.
For a player of such stature and promise, it's a shame that an injury halted his career at the age of 28. He later ventured into coaching with Ajax and the Netherlands national team, most notably at Euro 2008.
