Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one of the greatest goals in football against EnglandOver the decades, we have seen some fantastic goals scored in important games – ones that will forever be etched in our memories. We take a look at those special goals that were created and scored out of absolutely nothing!
#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden vs England
Of course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had to be on this list! How can anyone forget this absolutely brilliant goal against England?
If scoring a hat-trick wasn’t enough, the Swedish striker went on to add one more goal to his tally for the night – the most memorable one of the lot and arguably one of the greatest goals of all time!
A long ball saw England goalkeeper Joe Hart come off his line to head a clearance away from the danger zone – or so he thought.
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Ibrahimovic kept his eyes on the ball, leapt into the air and scored with an overhead kick that sailed over the back-pedalling Hart and English defenders Cahill and Shawcross who could do nothing to stop it.
Let the commentary describe the audacity of this goal which even had the disgruntled England fans applauding him.
#2 Giovanni Van Bronckhorst - Netherlands vs Uruguay
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst hasn’t scored many international goals – only 6. But it is his sixth goal that he will remember the most!
In a match against Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the Dutch captain received the ball in the 18th minute on the left flank; about 40 yards from goal. What happened next stunned everybody watching the game.
What looked like a cross into the box ended up being a screamer that went past the outstretched hands of Fernando Muslera and into the top corner. A fantastic goal that even had the Dutch Royal Family on their feet, cheering on in utter disbelief.
#3 Joe Cole - England vs Sweden
Who remembers this volley from back when Joe Cole was a fan favourite?
England played Sweden in the 2006 World Cup and Cole gave the Three Lions the lead with an absolutely stunning volley.
The English midfielder was on hand to control a Swedish clearance and had ample time to control the ball. But he took it one step further.
From 35 yards out, he chested the ball down and immediately whipped in a volley that soared over the defence and dipped under the crossbar, leaving the goalkeeper absolutely flummoxed.
#4 Papiss Demba Cisse - Newcastle vs Chelsea
Papiss Demba Cisse lit up the Premier League when he joined Newcastle in January of 2012, scoring 13 goals in 14 appearances that season.
And arguably the greatest of the lot was one of the goals of the season – the curler against Chelsea that beat Petr Cech all ends up.
Newcastle had a throw-in on the left and it was chested down for Cisse to collect. But he didn’t just stop there to pass or initiate an attack. He went for goal.
What looked like a strike that was destined to miss the left post by a few yards ended up in the inside of the side-netting on the right, dipping into the goal and way beyond the outstretched arm of Cech.
#5 Didier Drogba - Chelsea vs Everton
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has scored some brilliant goals in his time at the club, but this one stands out as one of those magical goals which are hard to emulate.
It was a move started by goalkeeper Hilario who sent a searching ball into Everton’s half. Andrei Shevchenko was there to flick it on with his head towards Drogba and the Ivorian did the rest.
After controlling the pass with his chest and letting it bounce once, Drogba unleashed a fearsome strike with Tim Howard at the edge of his six-yard box unable to stop such a lethal shot.
The shot had everything – pace, dip and a slight curl!
It was one of those goals that saw Jose Mourinho do one of his famous celebrations by running down the touchline.
#6 Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United vs Porto
The 2008/09 Champions League saw Cristiano Ronaldo score this scorcher against Porto.
Receiving the ball in the centre of Porto’s half, the Portuguese forward let loose a fearsome strike that beat the diving Helton and hit the back of the net. A phenomenal strike in the sixth minute that gave the Red Devils an early lead.
The angle and distance of the shot gave no chance to the goalkeeper who had very little time to react.
#7 Ronaldinho - Barcelona vs Chelsea
Ronaldinho was World Player of the Year for the second year in a row in 2005 and against Chelsea in the Champions League, he showed exactly why!
The Brazilian forward received the ball from Andres Iniesta who immediately made a run into the Chelsea box. As the defenders and Petr Cech waited for ‘Dinho to thread the ball through the defence, he literally did the samba on the spot before slotting it past the stranded goalkeeper.
Ronaldinho knew it was a goal even before it hit the back of the net!
#8 David Beckham - Manchester United vs Wimbledon
Another goal that nobody saw coming was David Beckham against Wimbledon.
It was Manchester United’s first match of the season and the midfielder got hold of the ball just inside his own half. What happened next was a simply breath-taking.
With the goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line, Beckham sent a shot soaring over the stranded keeper and into the back of the net – exactly in the centre!
The United no.7 had well and truly announced himself on the global stage with that goal.
#9 Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur
Nothing like a North London derby to make such goals even more special!
Arsenal had just taken a 1-0 lead through Robin van Persie and Spurs had just kicked off. But a casual pass was deflected and found its way to the feet of the Spanish midfielder in the centre circle.
With his second touch, he powered past the two Spurs midfielders before his next two touches took him past the last defender and one-on-one with the goalkeeper. And as he reached the edge of the box, he took a shot on goal to beat the goalkeeper to raise the roof off Emirates Stadium with Arsenal fans in delirium after two goals in one minute.
#10 Lionel Messi - Barcelona vs Real Madrid
No, we weren’t going to leave the little Argentine magician out of this list.
Back in 2011, Real Madrid faced off against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final. The match will be remembered for Pepe getting sent off and Jose Mourinho sent to the stands, but Lionel Messi single-handedly (single-footedly?) scored a goal that caught the Real Madrid defence napping.
The Barcelona forward received the ball from Sergio Busquets in Madrid’s half before skipping past Lassana Diarra and Raul Albiol, before surging past Sergio Ramos and marcelo to beat Iker Casillas with a side-footed finish.
#11 Thierry Henry - Arsenal vs Manchester United
The icing on the cake goes to Thierry Henry’s effort against Manchester United at Highbury – a goal that had “inspiration” written all over it.
Standing just outside the box with his back to goal, the French striker received the ball with a defender heckling him. While everyone expected him to hold the ball while allowing the runners to get ahead of him, Henry let the ball roll over his foot and jump up in the air before he volleyed it past the dumbstruck Fabian Barthez in goal and into the top corner.
The way it looped over the keeper and dipped was inch perfect and the goal even had Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger off his seat applauding the fine finish.
