10 biggest 'What If' moments in football history

Think of the number of things we would want to see in a parallel universe. What if Ayrton Senna hadn't died on that fateful day at Imola? What if Herschelle Gibbs hadn't dropped that catch off Steve Waugh? What if Glen Mills, the coach of Usain Bolt, hadn't complied to his protege's wish of running a 100m race for the first time in his professional career in 2007? What if India wins the FIFA World Cup a few decades from now?The possibilities are endless; the scenarios are limitless. But on a few occasions, there have been instances that almost bordered on being epochal; that almost changed life as we know it today. Naturally, football has been no stranger to these.So, let’s run down the ten biggest 'what if' moments in the history of the beautiful game. Moments we would surely want to see in the aforementioned parallel universe.

#10 What if Zlatan Ibrahimovic \"did do auditions\"?

Zlatan doesn’t do auditions

A popular story to kick things off. Arsene Wenger and his high profile bloopers in the transfer market have been well documented, with Anthony Martial being the latest one. However, none would hurt more than his failure to capture a young Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Rosengard native was a hard-nosed lad even as a youngster, and not just figuratively. However, his ego was stung when the eternal idealist, Wenger, asked him to take a trial at Highbury as an 18-year-old instead of signing him then and there. Wenger had messed with the wrong chap. To quote Ibrahimovic himself, “I thought ‘you either know me or you don’t, and if you don’t know me, you don’t want me’”. Succinctly put.

Now, think of a world where Ibrahimovic could have linked with Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires pulling the strings just behind. Think of the feisty North London Derbies we could have seen. Think of Arsenal vs Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final with Ibrahimovic leading the line for the Gunners. Think of possibly the greatest number 9 the Premier League never had.

If only he had done the auditions.

#9 What if the Munich tragedy never happened?

In Memoriam

Our generation saw the famed Class of ‘92 in full pomp and glory. We adored them, idolized them and many of us grew up with them. However, they weren’t the first bunch of players to set the turf of Old Trafford alight.

Manchester United, under the legendary stewardship of Sir Matt Busby, were successive league champions and were on their way back from a European Cup away tie at Red Star Belgrade. However, the flight crashed after refuelling, taking the lives of 23 people, including eight United players. Among the fatalities was arguably the most promising British footballer of the era, the great Duncan Edwards.

Matt Busby survived. So did Manchester United. And in a remarkable revival, which underlines the spirit of the Theatre of Dreams, they won their first ever European Cup a decade later under the indefatigable Busby. However, one can’t help but imagine the stratospheric heights the Red Devils would have reached, but for the tragedy.

Thoughts also go out to the victims of the Superga tragedy, which took the lives of the entire Grande Torino football team, who were the winners of five consecutive Serie A titles. The club is yet to recover from the loss and remains under the shadow of big sister Juventus to this day.

#8 What if Zinedine Zidane had joined Blackburn Rovers?

Jack Walker was a legendary figure at the Ewood Park, the home of Blackburn Rovers. A lifelong Rovers fan, the industrialist was the chairman of the club from 1991 till his death in 2000. The great man oversaw a remarkable slew of transfers at the club with his biggest ones being the glorious SAS partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton.

However, in a classic case of typically English bloody-mindedness, Walker let what could have been a historic signing slip through his fingers. With the club winning the Premiership with the great Kenny Dalglish at the helm in 1995, it was time for reinforcements to defend the title. Dalglish was interested in the barnstorming Bordeaux duo who had taken Ligue 1 by the scruff of its neck – Christophe Dugarry and... Zinedine Zidane.

Walker promptly replied saying “Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?”

Oh, my word. Think of it, just think of it. Alan Shearer playing off Zinedine Zidane. Blackburn Rovers could have been European royalty. Instead, they now languish in the second division of English football today.

#7 What if Alfredo Di Stefano had joined Barcelona?

Alfredo Di Stefano (R) in the Blaugrana shirt

Ranked only behind the great Pele, Diego Maradona and Johan Cruyff as the greatest footballer of the 20th century, Alfredo Di Stefano was a bona fide Real Madrid legend. Along with Ferenc Puskas and Paco Gento, he formed the greatest attacking partnership of an entire era, propelling Madrid to half their Decima titles in five consecutive years.

With only Cristiano Ronaldo striking a genuine claim to Di Stefano’s throne of being the greatest Blanco of all time, few can be as influential at the Bernabeu as the greatest Argentinean was. But then, here’s the funny part. Di Stefano was initially courted by not Real Madrid, but by their fierce rivals, FC Barcelona.

The Catalans were in the driving seat to clinch the signature of the then River Plate superstar, before some murky dealings, unclear to this day, happened. And like many other dubious instances that marred the relationship between these two clubs at the time, the hands of General Franco were behind this one too.

Football history could have been different had that one signature been clinched. Lionel Messi would have been fighting for the title of the greatest player his club has ever seen, not Cristiano Ronaldo.

If only.

#6 What if Barcelona had chosen Mourinho over Guardiola?

Moving on from a “if only it had happened” story from FC Barcelona to a “thank god it didn’t happen” story. Everybody remembers the turmoil in Catalunya post-Frank Rijkaard’s departure. Joan Laporta, the then club head, had a mighty important decision to make for a squad with burgeoning talent – the next gaffer of FC Barcelona was anybody’s guess.

Soon enough, though, two names came into the picture – one was the coach of Barcelona B at the time, the former Blaugrana player, Pep Guardiola. Hardly the name that gets fans crooning. The other was a son who departed the club a few years back and had become a celebrated manager in his native Portugal and England. Jose Mourinho was the name that would become the press’ favourite to be the next manager of FC Barcelona.

In fact, Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes was instructed to set up a meeting with the Azulgrana board, where Mourinho famously presented his extensive dossier on his future plan for the club. However, he never got along well with Laporta, who then earmarked and gave the job to Guardiola.

Needless to say, the game of football has been the winner with Guardiola’s Barcelona revolutionising the game.

#5 What if Roman Abramovich had bought Tottenham Hotspur instead?

Sven Goran Eriksson, the enigmatic Swede, is still remembered with mixed emotions in England. On one hand, he couldn't forge a team out of some of the best players in the world, including Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney. On the other hand, the people who have followed him, have made the Three Lions fans miss him. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

However, if there are one group of fans who despise him and positively loathe him, it must be the fans of Tottenham Hotspur. The Swede intervened with the plans of a certain Russian oligarch named Roman Abramovich and advised him to buy Chelsea instead of Spurs, because “only half the team needed to be overhauled at Chelsea, unlike Tottenham”. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy later confirmed that Abramovich had indeed met him months before he bought Chelsea.

Imagine a Spurs lineup featuring Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, Michael Ballack et al, with the Special One at the helm. Now, come back to earth and think of a club that is slowly recovering from a catastrophic transfer policy, with players like Younes Kaboul, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado once being on their roster.

Sadly for Tottenham fans, their claim to fame still remains their fierce derby with Arsenal, Gareth Bale, and Hermione Granger’s short-lived apparition. Ouch.

#4 What if Jean-Marc Bosman had been allowed to leave by RFC Liege?

Campbell, Pirlo and Lewandowski – Three of the greatest free transfers of all time

Union Royale Belge des Societes de Football Association ASBL vs Jean-Marc Bosman, 1995, was a pivotal case not only for European football, but for the entire legal concept of free trade. Bizarrely, till the little known Belgian midfielder took the case to court, European Union players were restricted to move from one club to another for free at the end of their contract.

A rule that almost bordered on slavery, players were handcuffed on the bench and couldn’t move until a mutual consent had been reached between the clubs in spite of the player’s contract having expired. The ruling also saw UEFA lifting its much-maligned restriction of having only three foreigners in an XI for UEFA competitions, to keeping limits only on the number of non-EU players in the club roster.

When Edgar Davids moved to AC Milan from Ajax Amsterdam the following summer, the world could see the impact the rule had made on football. All thanks to a little-known midfielder who had the audacity to fight his parent club, RFC Liege.

#3 What if Steven Gerrard hadn\'t slipped against Chelsea?

Few players in football have had a career as glorious and simultaneously tragic as Steven Gerrard. Captain, inspiration and often the sole warrior of an average, yet storied team, few players are as synonymous with certain key moments in their career as Gerrard.

From the screamer that made Andy Gray cry “What a hit, son!” to the 38-second red card against Manchester United. From the beyond heroic comeback he started against West Ham in the FA Cup final to the 6-1 defeat in his final game for the club. From the Miracle of Istanbul to the slip that shattered the hopes of a first Premier League title in a long, long career. Steven Gerrard has seen it all.

The slip, says Gerrard in his autobiography, was killing him. “The tears kept coming. I can’t even tell you if the streets were thick with traffic, or as empty as I was on the inside”. Even the neutrals cried with Gerrard that day. To imagine that but for that fateful slip, he could have bowed out of Anfield with a Premier League Winners’ medal instead of that abomination at Stoke City a year later.

Well, thanks for the memories, Stevie.

#2 What if Manchester United hadn\'t won the 1990 FA Cup?

“Ta Ra Fergie”

The domino and butterfly effects could seldom have been as huge as this, had this “what if” happened. Imagine Sir Alex Ferguson being sacked in his fourth year of asking, less than two decades before his eventual swan song. Imagine Sir Alex Ferguson never discovering the immense talent of the Class of ‘92. Imagine Sir Alex Ferguson not lifting two UEFA Champions League trophies as well as countless domestic titles. Imagine Manchester United without Sir Alex Ferguson.

Yet, even the great man himself admits that he was unsure of his position leading into the 1990 FA Cup. While stories differ as to which match was his personal do-or-die, one thing is for sure: failure to win the 1990 FA Cup would have irrevocably damaged Manchester United. In hindsight, of course.

However, the great man prevailed in the last minute. He won in the “Fergie Time” of a fledgling career and held on to his job. The rest, as they say, is history.

It is interesting to wonder if the Scotsman would have been afforded the same level of patience in today’s game. After all, one just needs to look at what happened to David Moyes. One can literally feel the shudders passing through the United fans right now.

#1 What if Lionel Messi had decided to play for Spain?

Every single football list has to have this guy. But then again, those are the perks of being the greatest footballer of all time. Now, some would disagree to that label. After all, Lionel Messi has won neither the Copa America nor the World Cup. Surely, he isn’t the greatest player of all time?

Here’s a thought – had he joined La Furia Roja as a teenager instead of Argentina and gone on to win the European Championship (twice) and the FIFA World Cup, he would have been undisputedly crowned as the greatest of all time. One signature on a contract might yet cost him that title. Not that he cares, but such are the fine margins in international football.

Think of that team. Messi leading the line with an assortment of the world’s greatest midfielders behind him. Messi being the coup de grace of a team that will go down in history. And it wasn’t implausible either.

Like he himself revealed, he was asked to play for Spain. If Munir El Haddadi can play for Spain, so could Messi. If Diego Costa can play for Spain, so could Messi. And if the great man had indeed played for Spain, only one word could have described the poetry that would have ensued – “Orgasmic”, as Ray Hudson would put it.