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Referred to as the most beautiful game, football is not a game to many, but a religion followed and worshipped ardently. And while matches always have their climatic points as the players methodically work together to either score or block goals, sometimes even the best can fall victim to a rookie demeanour that not just costs them the match but their careers as well.
It’s well attested that all sports attract a fair share of rabid fans just waiting to pounce out at the weakest link in any match. There are those who live and die for this sport and would in fact not spare any of the unfortunate players in this list if they ever got a chance to meet them.
For a game that commands utmost attention at all fronts, especially foot-eye coordination, several factors work together to produce some of the finest moments in sports history. From bicycle and scorpion kicks to daring swerves and gambit saving shots, ordinary spectators and enthusiasts alike witness a spectacle like no other. But the game is also overwrought with some of the most jaw-dropping blunders that could make even the most distant viewers wince in shock and cringe.
The life of the goalkeeper is one such profession filled with constant heckles, abuses and insults if things don’t go right. Not a job for the faint-hearted as any match can go south at any point sending a volley of trouble along their way. Miss a single goal in the silliest of fashions and you’re labelled for life.
Lose a match-winning kick, and you’ll be sent back to the dressing room. Debut on the pitch and give the opponents a winning streak inches away from goal and you’ll be disbanded by the fans for good. It’s a strange game as life hangs in the balance for these players.
And while some goalkeepers through thick and thin find a way to redeem themselves with a spectacular dedication to their skills and good sportsmanship, some like the unlucky souls on this list never made it past their primes to retell their story in a better way to the world:
#4 Marton Fulop, West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal 2012
There are howlers that cost a team a victory and then there are howlers that follow the player like a shadow for his entire life. When Iker Casillas poor summer performance against the Netherlands helped Spain raise their game in the World Cup title, it was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Coming into the final days of the 2011/12 season, Tottenham and Arsenal were battling for the coveted third place. Tottenham’s score was a point short against Fulham but Arsenal was playing an ever tougher game at West Bromwich Albion. This was also the final game of England manager Roy Hodgson.
With Fulop’s entrance into the game, Arsenal scored three goals with perhaps the second point not entirely Fulop’s mistake. A smart shot from Andre Santos raised tensions at both ends.
With nowhere to turn to, Fulop charged from the safe corners of the penalty area and allowed Yossi Benayoun to have a much easier finish which proved to be a costly mistake. For the third score, the cantankerous Hungarian pushed a corner in the direction of his own net where Laurent Koscielny was evidently too ecstatic to be given an opportunity to hit back and claim another goal. At the end of the day, Arsenal won 3-2 which put Tottenham's 2-0 victory over Fulham in pure futility.
#3 Massimo Taibi, 1999
Ask the average football lover about his or her opinion on Massimo Taibi and a good chance is that they’ll only have insults to toss. Signed in by Sir Alex Ferguson for nearly $9 million, a promising player that the Scot had great hopes from which dampened in a short span of time. His first appearance was pitted against the supreme Liverpool at Anfield where Taibi did actually put up a great display of sportsmanlike skill.
His career at Old Trafford saw its end soon as it began. The watershed moment in his career came for the worse was at the Theatre of Dreams while playing for Manchester United against Southampton where the ball was taken in the midfield area by Saints Matt Le Tissier. It was a poor turn of events after that as Le Tissier got a shot from over 30 yards despite gliding along the pitch at a slow pace.
As Taibi stepped ahead to pick up the ball, a cataclysm of sorts occurred as it went through his hands rolled into the net behind. Shock, anger and resentment grew in the air as Taibi was sacked and never played a game for Manchester United again.
#2 Andy Dibble, 1989-1990 Season
How does one even begin to talk about Andy Dibble? This Welsh goalkeeper strangely played more Premier League games than most of the other goalkeepers who suffered the fate of being removed after a horrible performance.
Many would agree that all his time and experience probably amounted to nothing as he spent nine years at Manchester City playing around 150 games taking the role of a backup to the first choice keeper Tony Coton.
His moment of despair came when he infamously allowed Nottingham Forest’s Gary Crosby to drive the ball from his hands and directly into the goal in what can only be described as the player’s most forgettable performance. Even then he never managed to prove a good position at any of the decent clubs that he joined and lost his name in the crowd of players as time went on.
#1 Richard Wright
Richard Wright was thought to be the best upcoming player to substitute for the ageing David Seaman in England while Ipswich Town was still playing in First Division. The 19-year-old Wright was caught for his fantabulous performances by Arsene Wenger who purchased him for £2 million and resulted in Alex Manninger to depart from the club.
But a string of howlers against Charlton Athletic including one where he punched a ball into his own net foolishly proved to be an obstruction to move ahead. He had the opportunity to materialize his chances, but his replacement at the half-time against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League match was the final nail in the coffin.
The player would never be utilized by Arsenal causing him to move to Everton where he later became an understudy of Nigel Martyn.
