Stories you will tell your grandkids

Quite a few incidents mark the footballing decade gone by. Some happy, some sad, some spectacular and some downright disgraceful. From Zidane’s head-butt in at the WC2006 to Beckham’s penalty miss in Turkey. From pizza/soupgate to Jonathan Woodgate. All of them though, are stories your grandkids deserve to know. Here are a few select ones to jog your memory.

P.S. Balotelli has been left out due to the presumable tender age your kids will be at. He will be a part of separate edition comprising of his individual exploits.

When Arsenal was Invincible

Not everybody is an Arsenal fan, it’s an exclusive club. But everyone who’s anyone does remember the season that the Gunners went unbeaten. They won the EPL in the 2003-04 season winning 26 games and drawing 12. Thierry Henry was the pick of the lot scoring 30 goals with Pires putting in a decent 14. Arsenal extended their run to 49 games in all competitions only to be stopped short of a recognized milestone of 50 by their arch rivals Manchester United. Nevertheless, nobody has ever even come close to replicating such form, and when you tell your kid, he better have a tear in his eye. (And no, Juventus doesn’t count. Thanks Napoli!)

Six minutes of Code Red

And then there were three. But that’s only before half time. A starry night in Istanbul in 2005 made heroes out of scousers and the gleam in the eye of a gyrating Jerzy Dudek is a sight I will never forget. Milan pumped in three before the half, which, in any normal game of football, are a winner and two insurance policies. That certainly wasn’t a normal game, being the UCL final for starters.

Liverpool went in to the den at half time, and were probably given a motivational book each to read by the then manager, Rafael Benitez. They probably decided against reading and thought winning was way easier. So they stepped up, and what followed was a barrage of goals. In just under six minutes they had restored parity; even Vladimir Smicer had scored, making that the biggest achievement of his career, commemorated with a Wikipedia page which has since been vandalised.

Penalties were in order and the face of Milan, Andriy Shevchenko, decided to hit one straight. Dudek had already gone left, but a trailing leg was enough to get him the big ears. That is how I remember that night. No better have since come to pass, Barcelona beat Arsenal in the one that followed and I shall say no more.

When Everton had a Wunderkind

Ask any girl who their favourite team is. Manchester United. Favourite Player? Ronaldo. Didn’t he leave for Madrid? Oh, Rooney then.

That is a true story. Not every girl is a United fan though, because some of them have to give in to their fanatic boyfriends, otherwise it is completely uncool to not be one. But how many remember where did that star striker, who holds the onus of United on his shoulders, come from.

Way before he needed hair plugs, Wayne Mark Rooney played for Everton, scoring a total of 15 goals in 67 appearances. He stopped an Arsenal 30 match unbeaten run in 2002 by scoring a last minute winner and became the youngest goal scorer in the EPL which has since been surpassed twice. His agent decided that 12,000 pounds a week was preposterous for such a virtuoso and finally settled on United.

All this at the tender age of 18. He has since gone on to become a work horse, a player of brilliant work rate and the face of almost every EA Sports FIFA edition. At 26, he has a long way to go, and United is where he should get it. Oh, by the way, remember to tell your kid that Ronaldo went for a gazillion dollars, but dressing like that is unforgivable.

When Zidane pelted one in to the net

The 2002 Champions League Final. Bayer Leverkusen against The Galacticos. Corner for Madrid. Cross headed just outside the box. Zidane puts himself in to position. Swivel of the torso, a pirouette on the volley, ball meets instep, Boom. 2-1 to Madrid. Make sure your kid watches the video or he just won’t understand. That goal was a Cup winner if there has ever been one.

When Zidane pelted two in to the net

Ever heard of a brace in stoppage time. When England met France in the 2004 Euro opener, tempers were running high, as they always do on such momentous occasions. Frank Lampard headed in a Beckham free kick to give the English a lead before half time. Awarded a penalty right after the break after Rooney went down, the the then captain, David Beckham, failed to convert and was stopped by the eccentric Barthez. Failing to capitalize, England were made to pay after letting in a majestic Zidane free kick on 90 minutes and then a penalty two minutes later. Essentially, It was Zidane 2 – England 1. The great Zizou went on to make headlines for greater/worse things, but this is a story you dare not omit.

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