Top 10 big match footballers in modern day football

Honourable mentions

Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira – Cometh the hour, cometh the menJose Mourinho once famously said that there’s nothing such as runners-up, saying whoever finishes second is just the first among the “losers”. While he could have put what he meant more subtly, his statement rings truer than ever in today’s age of televised broadcasting and high financial and prestige stakes.Players in the wilderness and on the fringes of their squads are catapulted into the world of paparazzi fever with one big-ticket, high-profile performance. For shining in what you may call a “normal” or routine match is one thing, shining when it matters is something else.The last decade and a half has been witness to some enthralling individual performances on the biggest of stages. While the players around them wilted under the spotlight, these men took their game a notch or two higher than always – they were the tough ones who got going when the going got tough. And, for that reason alone, they have etched their names in footballing folklore forever.Here are the 10 greatest players who made rising to the occasion a habit. They are ranked as per their performances in big-match scenarios, and not with respect to their footballing quality.

#11 Honourable Mentions

Honourable mentions

Diego Milito – The Argentinean forward famously scored four goals against Madrid, while at Real Zaragoza in the 2005 Copa Del Rey semifinal. His move to Inter was hugely successful, with him scoring the winner in the Coppa Italia final against Roma and scoring twice in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich to help Inter win the treble in 2009-10.

Roy Keane – Scoring against Manchester City in his first ever Manchester derby, Roy Keane also became the Man of the Match in the 1994 FA Cup final. His finest hour as a footballer came in United’s semi-final against Juventus in the treble season, when he not only marked Zidane out of the game but also scored the comeback goal for his team. He also scored in the Intercontinental Cup final later that year.

Roberto Carlos – Roberto Carlos had a habit of showing up at important times, with his goal at the Camp Nou in 2003 creating history, as Madrid beat Barcelona away for the first time in two decades. He also scored the winner on the final day of the 2002/03 season, as Madrid won the La Liga, and also assisted Zidane in his famous volleyed goal in the 2002 Champions League final.

Thierry Henry – Henry was very good for both Arsenal and Barcelona in a glittering career. His man of the match display in the 2003 FA Cup final, his incredible brace against United, flummoxing Fabian Barthez, and his individual brilliance at the San Siro against Inter, with Arsenal by 3 goals, all stand out. He also grabbed a hat-trick in the farewell match at Highbury.

Patrick Vieira – The spine of Arsene Wenger's all-conquering Arsenal team, Patrick Vieira made it a habit of being at the right place at the right time. His winner in the fiery league encounter against United in 1997, his goal against Chelsea in the Invincibles season, and most memorably, his goal against Spurs in the North London Derby, which won Arsenal the title that season. He went on to score again in the derby and also against Liverpool, the following season, before scoring the deciding penalty in the shootout in the 2005 FA Cup final.

#10 Park Ji-sung

The most decorated Asian footballer of all time, Park Ji-sung was one of the last footballers belonging to the dying breed of defensive wingers. Right from his early days at Kyoto Purple Sanga, he has displayed remarkable big-match temperament, scoring in the final, as Sanga won the first Emperor’s Cup title in their history.

However, the turning point in his career came upon joining Manchester United, where he captained the team in a Champions League match in his very first season. His big game ability was evident here too, as he scored his first league goal for the club against Arsenal.

His exclusion from the matchday squad for the 2008 Champions League final is still described by Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the hardest decisions in his managerial career. In the next season, though, he proved his worth by scoring and putting up a man of the match display against Chelsea in the league.

He came back to haunt Arsenal again, scoring the all-important winner in the Champions League semi-finals in 2008/09. The next season, he proved his class again by scoring against Liverpool before scoring against Arsenal, who considered him their taboo player, before scoring against them again in the 8-2 annihilation the next season.

Truly, the most tireless worker in Sir Alex’s last great United team.

#9 Oliver Kahn

Recently, in an interview with a German news channel, Manuel Neuer sounded indignant upon being compared to the other great German goalkeeper of modern times, Oliver Kahn. Neuer’s predecessor at both club and country level, the towering German custodian, was a match-winner in his own right with many of them coming in pressure situations.

Though he was a pivotal part of the team that reached the Champions League final in 1999, his best performances came later in his career. He single-handedly won the Bavarians the Champions League final against Valencia in 2001, winning the Man of the Match with a string of magnificent saves. In the shootout that followed, he saved three penalties.

However, it was in the 2002 World Cup that Kahn cemented his legacy as one of the legends of the game when he conceded just a solitary goal during Germany’s unlikely road to the finals. The only goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Ball award at the World Cup, Kahn played the final against Brazil with an injured right ring finger, having torn his ligament in the semi-final against Turkey.

However, Kahn refused to blame his injury for not being able to keep out Brazil’s goals and ended what is probably the finest month of sustained goalkeeping excellence seen in modern football history.

#8 Samuel Eto\'o

The most decorated African player in the history of the game, Samuel Eto’o has won every honour possible at club level. He holds the rare distinction of having won back-to-back Champions League titles with two different teams and holds the even more rare distinction of scoring in two Champions League finals. A big match player of the highest pedigree.

Eto’o caught the attention of big clubs by scoring a brace in the final, as Mallorca went on to win the Copa Del Rey in 2003. Upon his move to Barcelona, he won the Pichichi award in just his second season, and also scored the equaliser in the Champions League final against Arsenal, in 2006. He repeated the feat three years later as Barcelona went on to win the title by beating Manchester United.

His move to Inter was also hugely successful, with Eto’o becoming the only player in European football history to have won consecutive trebles; that too with different teams. He assisted Diego Milito in the Coppa Italia final and scored in the domestic Supercup final in his first two seasons.

He also scored a brace in the Coppa Italia final, prompting Inter president Massimo Moratti, to call Eto’o his best piece of transfer business ever.

#7 Thomas Muller

There is something about Thomas Muller that makes everybody underestimate him – right from opposition team managers, to fans of the game and fantasy league players to the EA Sports pundits.

Maybe, it is his unassuming and unglamorous way of playing the game, placing the team above self. Maybe the effortless manner in which he scores goals, make him look lucky and makes the goals he scores look easy.

Whatever it is, it is time the world stands up and takes notice of the German forward; one of the foremost big match players in the world today.

For Bayern Munich, Muller scored in the German Supercup final in the 2010/11 season against Schalke, before scoring in vain, in the Champions League final against Chelsea the following season. He scored in the DfB Pokal final against Dortmund the next season, playing an important role in Bayern Munich’s treble season. He scored in the same fixture again in 2013/14.

With the German national team, Muller has broken a host of records, scoring an unbelievable 10 goals across two World Cup campaigns. His goals against England and Argentina helped him win the Golden Boot in 2010 with Muller rising to the grand occasion. In the 2014 campaign, he scored a hat-trick against Portugal and also scored against Brazil in their 7-1 demolition job.

#6 Cristiano Ronaldo

Arguably among the world’s best players, there isn’t much left to be said about Cristiano Ronaldo. His transformation from being a tricky winger at United, to a goal-scoring machine at the Spanish capital has been a joy to watch with his stellar contributions in major matches giving his career some memorable moments.

Ronaldo’s love story with big matches began in the 2005/06 season when he scored against Wigan in the League Cup final. He also scored United’s goal in their memorable Champions League triumph over Chelsea in the 2008 final.

It was at Real, though, that the big-match player in him really surfaced. It started with his extra-time winner against Barcelona in the 2011 Copa Del Rey final. He scored against them again the next season, scoring his 100th goal for the Blancos, and again in the Supercopa the following year, becoming the first player to score in four consecutive matches at the Camp Nou, and later scored a brace, making him the first player to score in six consecutive Clasicos.

And then, he scored in the Champions League final in 2014, helping Madrid lift the coveted La Decima and also the winning penalty in the 2016 final. Now he has become the highest scorer in the competition, but that record is bound to be broken a few more times a few times by himself.

#5 Paolo Maldini

26 trophies with a single club – five Champions League titles, seven league titles, one Coppa Italia, five domestic Super Cups, an equal number of European Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, and one FIFA Club World Cup. Paolo Maldini’s AC Milan career is unlikely to be matched by any footballer at any club for a long period of time. Even forever maybe, considering the early retirements most players opt for today.

Il Capitano formed arguably the most formidable lineup seen in football at Milan along with Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, Alessandro Costacurta, and later, with Christian Panucci and Alessandro Nesta.

He put up rock-solid showings in Milan’s back to back European Cup triumphs, at the far end of the 1980’s. He was also a part of Capello’s Invincible Milan team in 1991/92 when they went unbeaten for 58 matches on the trot. He then won another Champions League title in 1994, once again marshalling the defence exceptionally well.

Talking about the Champions League, Maldini won his fourth title in 2002/03 with his Man of the match performance in the final against Juventus gaining him further plaudits. Though his team lost out in the final to Liverpool in two years’ time after Maldini had scored in the first minute, redemption was his as he lifted the trophy by beating the Reds in the 2007 final.

#4 Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi always scores. Small occasions, big occasions, the biggest occasions – they don’t matter to the four-time Ballon d’Or winner. We’re talking about a man who announced himself to the world, by scoring in the Clasico at the age of 19. Not one, not two, but a hat-trick.

With many, many more Clasico goals over the following years, Messi does not need matches against other teams to prove his big-game pedigree. He played a pivotal part in Barcelona’s treble-winning seasons, as well as in the Champions League final against Manchester United and multiple Copa Del Rey finals. He even scored the winner in the Club World Cup final against Estudiantes.

Messi then went on to score a memorable hat-trick against Sevilla in the 2010 Supercopa final. He also scored an incredible solo goal against Madrid in the Champions League semi-final that season, before scoring the winner against a hapless United team in the final.

He scored a further 3 goals against Madrid the following season, to help the Catalans win their second straight Supercopa, and then scored twice in the Club World Cup final against Santos. He scored in the Copa Del Rey final that season, giving Guardiola a fitting farewell.

The list is indless. He has scored many more goals against Madrid over the following years, many of them when the club sorely needed him to.

#3 Steven Gerrard

Few men have had the impact on a single club that Steven Gerrard has had with Liverpool. The Stevie G highlight reel collection is a fairly big one with the occasions on which he shines making them even more special. Who can forget that scarcely believable night at Istanbul when he inspired his team to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat scoring a vital goal in the process.

In what is widely regarded as the greatest match of all time, in the erstwhile UEFA Cup, the then 21-year old Gerrard scored a scorcher against Alaves, playing a vital part in Liverpool winning the cup treble that season. Then came his stunner against Olympiakos in the Champions League four years later, the goal he calls the most important one in his career.

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More was to come the next year, as Gerrard made the 2006 FA Cup final his own, scoring two magnificent goals, helping Liverpool to come back from the dead and beat West Ham United.

Other important goals include his memorable hat-trick against Merseyside rivals Everton, his spectacular hat-trick against Napoli in the Europa League and his fantastic performances at Old Trafford who knows how many times.

#2 Zinedine Zidane

Considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, Zinedine Zidane was a player who embraced the limelight, attention and scrutiny that big matches brought with them. Right from his early days at Bordeaux, when he was part of a fabled trio along with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, and at Juventus, he showed he could be counted upon when things went down to the wire.

He was with France winning two tough matches en route to the final against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup. Zidane well and truly announced himself to the world by scoring a brace on the biggest stage of them all, winning France their first and so far only, World Cup. He then scored the vital golden goal against Portugal in the Euro 2000 semis before eventually winning the title.

Upon his much talked about move to Real Madrid, Zidane went on to prove why the Blancos dished out the money they did, by scoring arguably the greatest ever Champions League final goal against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

He capped off a stellar career by leading the Les Bleus to the brink of victory in the 2006 World Cup finals, with the midfielder scoring in the match before being dismissed for the infamous headbutt on Marco Materazzi.

#1 Didier Drogba

What would the Blue Brigade of Chelsea have done without him during times of strife? Didier Drogba had an uncanny knack of scoring vital goals in the most important matches. Age has taken many things away from Drogba but it has not withered the fierce competitor and winner in the Ivorian.

While the standout goal is surely his farewell (not anymore) goal against Bayern Munich in the 2011/12 Champions League final, there were, are and will be many more great occasions, when Drogba has risen to the fore.

His decisive penalty strike in the same final, his goal against Liverpool in the 2005 League Cup final, winning the club their first trophy in the Abramovich era, the winner against United in the 2007 FA Cup final, a goal at the same stage of the competition against Everton two years later, the goal that won the historic double, by clinching the winner against Portsmouth in the 2010 FA Cup final, and yet another fine FA Cup final goal against Liverpool two seasons later, all stand as testament to the big-match ability of one of the greatest strikers of this generation... Phew!

And, no to forget his goal against Napoli that sparked a remarkable turnaround which led to the fairytale finale at Munich.

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Edited by Staff Editor