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In the wake of Robin Van Persie scoring a delightfully lobbed penalty kick during Arsenal’s 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Wolves,In The Stands recalls some of the best spot kicks ever.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq29u01. Johann Cruyff – Ajax v Helmond Sport
Cruyff was a genius. That is undoubted. But what made him such a footballing God was his ability to pull off, what seemed at the time, incomprehensible.
Like for example his decision to perform a neat little one-two in front of the goal with Jesper Olsen before tucking the ball into the back of the net. Genius!
2. Zinedine Zidane Penalty 2006 World Cup Final
The star of World Cup 2006 produced a masterful finish from the spot as France took the lead against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final.
The kick, which came crashing off the crossbar, was made all the more special because it came against Gianluigi Buffon – the best goalkeeper in the world at the time.
LA Galaxy midfielder and former England captain David Beckham is the star of the show in a new Burger King advert.
Ok, so the acting is diabolical, but hey, on this cold Spring morning, Beckham’s 31 seconds in front of the camera brought a wry smile on the lips of In The Stands’ editor-in-chief AA (you know who you are).
Now that is something not even Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering, ‘tiki-taka’ playing Barcelona side can do!
‘Becks’ we salute you.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo took on Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal in a thrilling tennis rally showcasing the new Nike Mercurial Vapor VIII boots.
The funniest part of the video comes at the end when ‘Ronnie’ looks to politely get his glowing Mercurial Vapor VIII boots off Nadal only to find that the Spaniard is reluctant to give it back!
Clearly riled, Ronaldo then hops over the net as he stretches out like a cry-baby to reclaim his pair of babies, but again Rafa was having none of it! Ronaldo’s face from there-on-in is priceless!
Al Wasl coach Diego Maradona is in trouble again after getting involved in a fight with opposition fans who hurled abuse at his sides’ WAGS!
With his team losing 2-0 at second-placed Al Shabab in a tightly-contested affair, the Al Wasl coach was nerved after noticing that certain sections of the home crowd were abusing his sides’ contingent of WAGS, which incidentally included his girlfriend Veronica Ojeda.
Not one to stand aside in phlegmatic fashion, the Argentinean footballing legend waded into the melee by confronting the crowd and had to be duly pulled away by the police as well as security after things boiled over.
Can this man ever refrain from creating negative headlines?!
A blubbering Manchester City fan was captured on TV crying after seeing his side concede a late goal as City crashed to a 1-0 defeat to Swansea at the Liberty Stadium
Luke Moore was the hero for hosts Swansea City as he headed home Wayne Routledge’s pinpoint cross in the 83rd minute to send City crashing to only their fourth defeat of the season and at the same time knock Roberto Mancini’s side off the Premier League summit following Manchester United’s 2-0 win over West Brom at Old Trafford.
The goal prompted an emotional reaction from one particular City fan which can be viewed on the video above from 42 seconds onwards.
The loss comes as the season reaches ‘squeaky bum time’ with the fans’ reaction proving very telling as memories of William Gallas’ infamous sulk/breakdown against Birmingham City in 2008 came flooding back.
As was the case with Arsenal then, was this the day of all days when the Citizens lost the race for the title?
The calls for video-line technology grew more vociferously as Queens Park Rangers defender Clint Hill had a perfectly good goal ruled out during his sides 2-1 defeat to Bolton.
QPR co-owner Amit Bhatia was left incandescent with rage at the decision and took a matter of minutes to voice his opinion on twitter.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is just too much at stake for mistakes like that from officials that to be tolerated. Disgusted,” he fumed.
“I don’t care which team you support, decisions like that ruin games and ruin seasons. Intolerable. It’s just terrible officiating. Awful.”
Sigh…
There are moments in football where you can see clear as day that player just wants to go home – one of those ‘ground swallow me up now’ moments. San Martin’s Diego Sosa had one of those moments on Saturday…
We do love a good own goal here at In The Stands but this has to one of the most bizarre own goals you are likely to see. It appears the 31-year old defender is looking to sweep the ball out of play but just smashes the ball past his own ‘keeper, who had just parried well from an Estudiantes attack, without much pressure on him.
To top things off for the Argentine, it was the only goal of the game. Dear oh dear…
Neil Warnock is a proper Yorkshireman with whom a spade will always be a spade. During the handshakes after his sides 1-0 loss to Southampton, the new Leeds manager didn’t hide his feelings from his opposite number…
And he was right. All the stats back him up with Leeds having 56% possession and having 22 shots, with 12 on target, compared to Southampton’s 7 with 4. What the stats don’t show is the insane goalkeeping performance from Saints ‘keeper Kelvin Davis, as he kept his side well in contention for back-to-back promotions. They also don’t show the amount of good chances spurned by the hosts, following Rickie Lambert’s opener
Click below to see highlights from the game.
Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin has joined Zenit St Petersburg on loan until the end of the season temporarily bringing the curtain down on his fledgling career at the Emirates Stadium.
The news came as a welcome relief for many Arsenal fans who have long since been frustrated by the Russian midfielder’s lack of form, poor play, his bizarre and outspoken rants about female drivers, and lack of goals.
The Russian captain joined the Gunners for £15 million in January 2009 having bagged the then UEFA Cup with Zenit St Petersburg the season before, and also starred for his national side during Euro 2008 as Russia reached the semi-finals.
However, he has since failed to replicate those early stellar performances in the Arsenal midfield and more recently has been the bane of many Arsenal fans who have lambasted his below-par displays.
Still, the pint-sized Russian did have his moments and beginning with his quadruple against Liverpool at Anfield in 2009, In The Stands recalls five of Arshavin’s best highlights in a Gunners shirt.
A really naughty Aston Villa mascot followed in the footsteps of Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra by refusing to shake the hand of his fellow Manchester City mascot!
Naughty naughty! And here is the Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra incident below. Apart from the height of the perpetrators, what is the difference?!
AC Milan host Arsenal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League as In The Stands looks back to the last time Arsenal were at the San Siro facing off against the Rossoneri in the 2007/2008 season.
After labouring to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg, the Gunners travelled to the San Siro as firm underdogs against the then holders AC Milan.
In a thrilling tie which saw numerous chances at both ends, it was the visitors who took the lead after Cesc Fabregas’ shot flew into the bottom corner, before Emmanuel Adebayor sealed a fabulous 2-0 win by sweeping home Theo Walcott’s cut back.
It was the furthest Wenger’s men got however as they were eliminated by Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
Catch highlights of the game above.
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