Top 5 unusual individual records in football
Who doesn't love records? It is something that the fans and the players cherish equally. Records reflect a player's legacy and give them a place in the history books for years to come. The world looks upon the record holders and the next generation of players do their best to replace the holders' names with their own.
We are wary of the fact that as of now, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have got almost every record under their belt. Their rivalry has pushed them to bring out their best and in the process, the duo have established themselves as the best players ever to have graced the game.
However, whenever we speak of records, we often think of looking at most goals, most assists, fastest goals, among the others. In this article, we are about to discover something totally new. Without further ado, let's take a look at;
Top 5 unusual individual records in football
#5 Longest header goal — Jone Samuelsen
Jone Samuelsen isn't a player who would be recognized by anyone outside Norway. However, Samuelson is a record-holder in himself after registering the longest header goal in the history of the sport.
During his early Odd Grenland days, the midfielder scored from a distance of 58.13 meters using his head. This feat was achieved against Tromsø IL in an Eliteserien (Norway's top-tier league) game.
The opposition goalkeeper had come up the pitch for a corner. Later, an Odd counter-attack was put to a halt by a Tromsø IL defender who headed the ball clear only to find Jone Samuelson. He simply re-directed the ball towards the open goal post, much to everyone's surprise and thus registered the record under his name.
#4 Most goals by a goalkeeper — Rogerio Ceni
Even though goals win matches, defense and goal-keeping are equally important. Now imagine a goalkeeper scoring as many goals as the majority of forwards out there? Crazy, right? Well, Rogerio Ceni of Sao Paulo is the holder of this astonishing record.
In a career spanning over 25 years, the Brazilian shot-stopper has scored 131 goals! A specialist in set-pieces and spot-kicks, Rogerio Ceni often had to leave the goal post and take the responsibility of scoring upon himself.
He played over 1200+ games for Sao Paulo football club and is the current manager of the same team.
#3 Most consecutive hat-tricks — Masashi Nakayama
Hattricks are nothing but pure domination by the goal scorer. It shows how well a player manages to exploit the opposition and put up a stellar show. While Cristiano and Messi hold their respective hat-trick records, Japan's Masashi Nakayama holds the record for most consecutive hat-tricks.
Between 15th April 1998 to 29th April 1998, Masashi Nakayama scored four consecutive hat-tricks for his side, Jubilo Iwata. The former J1 League player smashed 16 goals in the process and holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
He also holds the world record for the fastest hat-trick at international level. Nakayama achieved this feat against Brunei in the 2000 Asian Games qualifiers. He scored three goals within a span of three minutes and three seconds.
#2 Defender with zero red cards — Philipp Lahm
How can a defender end his career without committing a cynical foul even once? Well, that's Philipp Lahm for you! With a highly decorated career spanning over 15 years, the German and Bayern Munich legend retired without getting sent-off even once.
Lahm was a technical player, a master tactician and one of the finest defenders the game has ever seen. He was known for his game-reading ability and timely tackles. Philipp Lahm was an inspiration for budding defenders and many pundits considered the former Germany captain the benchmark.
Lahm never believed in committing to the ball right away. He always drew the player close and struck at the right moment to dispossess his opponents. The same has helped the former Bayern full-back end his career without seeing a red card.
#1 Player with zero yellow or red card — Gary Lineker
While you are in awe after learning of Phillip Lahm's record, let us take it up a notch higher and introduce you to Gary Lineker. The former Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and Leicester City legend was never booked in 16 years of his career!
Being the epitome of fair play, the England international was honored with the FIFA Fairplay Award in 2000. Gary Lineker, one of England's most successful players, has scored 330 goals in his career. He is England's Hall of Fame inductee and currently serves as the honorary vice-president of Leicester City.
A respected gentleman on and outside the pitch, Lineker played a massive role in saving his former club Leicester City from bankruptcy.
This concludes our list of unusual records. Let us know which record amazed you the most in the comments section.
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Aditya Singh