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Germany play the perfect offside trap to deny Higuain in the 2014 World Cup finalThe offside law is probably the most discussed aspect of the modern game. First introduced by the Football Association in 1863, the laws were quite simple but had a lot of flaws in them. The gradual process of tweaking them took place over the next 142 years and finally in 2005, they were formulated properly.Although many people experience difficulty in understanding the offside law, and feel that it was designed to prevent football from producing too many goals or being too much fun, it could, in fact, be the best thing that has ever happened to football. The current offside law enables players to show off their talent, with there being more emphasis on technique rather than physique these days.
#1 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi was at his imperious best in a Champions League group stage match against APOEL Nicosia, with Barcelona winning 0-4. He cracked a blistering hat-trick following Luis Suarez’s opener, but it was his third and Barcelona’s final goal that took all the plaudits.
In typical Barcelona style, the players maintained possession and forced the opposition defenders to drop deep into their own half. Javier Mascherano marauded into the box and lobbed the ball to Xavi, who returned the pass after a few seconds of nifty footwork.
The resulting pass from the Argentinian was destined to reach his compatriot Messi who was offside at the time, but the diminutive forward casually let the ball go past him, allowing Pedro to run onto the ball and cut it back for an easy tap-in.
Messi’s off-the-ball movement was key to the successful execution of the goal. His positioning distracted all the APOEL defenders, who were left completely bamboozled after he ignored the pass that was meant for him. Since Messi didn't get a touch of the ball when he was in the offside position, the goal was allowed to stand.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Emanuelson goal)
Urby Emanuelson’s goal for AC Milan against Parma was the second in their 2-0 away win, and he had to give credit to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his quick-thinking. AC Milan had an early lead courtesy of Ibrahimovic and were looking to double their advantage.
In the 54th minute, the Dutch midfielder received a pass and started a run from behind the half-way line. He took two touches to completely split the defence, before taking the ball past the goalkeeper and putting the ball into the net. But it was Ibrahimovic who created the move – without even touching the ball.
The giant Swede was miles offside and didn’t really look interested in getting the ball back, which led to the Parma defenders defending considerably higher up the pitch. While slowly trudging back to the half-way line, he noticed that Emanuelson had taken a very heavy second touch, so he let the ball roll through his legs to ensure the midfielder completes his lung-busting run.
#3 Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane and Guti were unstoppable in Real Madrid’s 4-2 defeat of Sevilla in the 2005/06 La Liga season, and also pulled off one of the best goals of the season at the same game. A 7th-minute goal in the first half from Guti was cancelled out by Sevilla early in the second half, before Zidane restored their lead a few minutes later courtesy his penalty.
The heavily influential Zidane started off a move that led to the ball being crossed in from the right, and the resulting cross got cleared to Guti, who was waiting outside the box. The Spanish playmaker took a touch away from the box before threading an incredible pass right through the Sevilla defence, allowing Zidane to lash the ball into the top-left corner for his second goal of the night.
Zizou’s awareness to run back into an onside position was the key factor behind this goal coming to fruition as Guti pulled off one of the best assists of his career.
#4 Marc Overmars
Barcelona taught Liverpool a harsh lesson when the two teams met in the group stages of the 2001/02 Champions League as they came back from one goal down to win 3-1 at Anfield. Marc Overmars’ 84th-minute goal pretty much summed up Barcelona’s performance on the night, and the result had a little more sheen after it.
A 30-pass move culminated in a glorious long ball from Xavi that was picked up by an onrushing Overmars, who calmly took the ball around Liverpool keeper Dudek and comfortably slotted the ball into an empty net.
The Dutchman picked his position almost perfectly, signalling to Xavi early-on about his whereabouts, before completely annihilating the offside trap and picking his reward.
#5 Thierry Henry (Vieira goal)
Patrick Viera was imperious for Arsenal in their 5-4 away win at Tottenham in 2004, in a match which is deemed to be one of the Premier League classics. The battling midfielder’s only goal on the day came about in the 60th minute and came about with a little help from Thierry Henry.
The Frenchman robbed Tottenham defender Naybet in the opposition half and then took a touch past Ledley King. As the Tottenham defenders folded completely, Viera continued his rampage all the way to goal and finished neatly to double Arsenal’s advantage in the match.
Henry was completely offside when Viera waltzed through the defence, and since the striker didn’t make any effort to take the ball, he wasn't flagged offside – even signalling the linesman by standing in one spot with his arms raised to show that he was not getting involved at all.
