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4. The most dangerous scoreline in football: 2-0
I'll admit here that I have consistently peddled this particular misconception for a very long time. Yes, I was once ignorant about this too!
It's a scene you've surely witnessed before: The game starts with an attacking flourish from your team, while the opponents seem unable to string three complete passes. Calculated incisiveness from your favorite playmaker hands you the first goal, while a defender heads in the second from a corner. Two goals up in the first half! You're winning!
Then, thoughts of your opponents making one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of football suddenly come to mind and plague you for the entirety of half-time. After all, 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline, right?
While opponents scoring three goals in the second half will become the most talked-about comeback on social media throughout the season, there's no proof that this is often the case.
In reality, most of the teams that picked up a 1-0 lead in the first half will do their best to cling to it, rather than push for a second goal immediately. Bigger teams that play with high attacking prowess, however, don't usually stop scoring after the first goal. They drive for the second, third and fourth, barely leaving their opponents a chance to score a well-placed consolation goal, much less start a comeback.
There are rare occasions when a team drops a 2-0 lead and ends the match losing 2-3. Remember, it's because these comebacks are rare that they're often talked about with so much excitement. Not because they began with a dangerous scoreline.
3. The "Last Man" Red Card Misconseption
The counter-attack ensues with pace and incisive through-passes. Within 6 seconds, the ball has gone from one end of the pitch to the other in a dangerous manner. Suddenly, the striker's pace puts him ahead of the opposing defenders, right in the position to face an onrushing goalkeeper. Before he can place the ball around the goalie's outstretched frame, his leg is tripped by a defender behind him, and the ref blows the whistle!
Commentators ask their colleague, "Was he the last man?" while fans are screaming for the referee to brandish the red card because, "Can't you see he was the last man!"
In reality, whether that defender was the last man or not is entirely meaningless to the ref's decision to give a straight red. Being the last man to tackle a player is not a red card offense. Seriously, look it up.
The red card is only awarded in such a situation if a player prevents a clear goalscoring opportunity. More often than not, however, it is the last defender who is in a position to prevent such an opportunity.
The last man could commit a foul on the halfway line, but he might only pick a yellow card (or no card at all).
So, take note, tackling a player one-on-one with the goalkeeper will almost always be deemed a sending off offense, whether the player who committed the foul was the last man or not.
2. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was Portsmouth FC's First Goalie
Sir Doyle is, perhaps, one of the most brilliant literary minds to come out of the UK. Sherlock Holmes, our beloved fictional detective, was created by Doyle, and has long evolved into a good part of pop culture, especially after numerous Hollywood adaptations.
So, how is it that there exists a longstanding and widely-held belief about the legendary crime fiction writer in connections with a historic English club? Yes, apparently, it is believed that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the first goalkeeper in the history of the 2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth.
While it is true that the late author was a keen sportsman and a goalkeeper, Sir Doyle only played at an amateur level for Portsmouth AFC, a team which disbanded in 1886. Neither the team nor the man have any connections to modern day Portsmouth FC who were founded two years later.
1. Pele’s goal record was due to no offside rules
There is nary a football fan who has no basic knowledge of the footballer that is Brazil's Pele. Earlier this year, the world legend congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo on breaking his official record of 767 goals throughout his career.
Many pundits and fans alike have argued - albeit ignorantly - that Pele would never have scored so many goals if he had played by offside rules. It's a general misconception that during the period Pele played (1957 - 1977), the offside rule largely hadn’t been introduced.
However, this is as untrue as every other myth you've read thus far.
The offside rules were more difficult when Pele played! In 1925, the rules were amended so that a player would be offside unless at least two opponents were in front of him, and that rule didn't evolve till 1990.
That Pele scored as many goals as he did while having two opponents in front of him is a testament to just how good he was!
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been luckier to play with evolved offside rules, so they only have to be level with the last man. If they had played in Pele's era, it's unlikely that they would have scored as many goals as Pele did!
