When it comes to substitutions, there is no hard and fast rule. It’s a gamble football managers take and sometimes it comes off, sometimes it just does not work and goes against the manager’s actual intention.
Maybe that's why different managers have different reputations when it comes to making their subs, Sir Alex Ferguson and Louis van Gaal – two former Manchester United managers, are seen as gamblers. While Arsene Wenger and Brendan Rodgers are seen as a fairly conservative, with the Arsenal boss rarely bringing on an attacking change, unless really required.
Substitutes are meant to change the game for the better but there are a few moments or rather players who go out and do the exact opposite of what their manager tells them to do.
#5 Leicester City vs Aston Villa: English Premier League, 2015
Leicester City were unbeaten in the Premier League up until this point last season, as they walked on to the King Power Stadium to face Aston Villa. But unfortunately for the future Champions, Villa seemed to have them beat after Charles Gil tucked in the second goal fifteen minutes after the start of the second half. Things looked down and out for Ranieri’s men as they looked on course to suffer their first defeat of the season.
However, just when things looked like they could have gotten worse, Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood handed them a lifeline. In a rather bizarre decision, the 48-year-old brought on two players but instead of bringing on two defensive players that he had on the bench, Sherwood brought on not one, but two strikers.
From that point, things went downhill for Aston Villa as neither of the two changes made much impact, instead, it was Leicester City who changed the course of the game.
Ritchie de Laet volleyed in the first goal of the comeback, before Jamie Vardy and Nathan Dyer clawed out two brilliant goals and finished the game with less than a minute of normal time to go. Extra time wouldn’t make any difference and Leicester went on to win both the game and later on the Premier League title.
If Villa had won that game, would Leicester City have gone on to have that amazing season, winning both a place in the Champions League and the Premier League title?
#4 Netherlands vs Czech Republic: Euro 2004
In one of the most exciting encounters of the UEFA European Championship history, the Czech Republic came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 with less than two minutes remaining. The football on show between the Dutch and the Czechs was free flowing and unrelenting end-to-end football. The Dutch were on a roll in the first half, as only they can do when the mood suits them.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Wilfried Bouma put them two goals up, and Arjen Robben was relentlessly torturing the Czech defence with attack after attack during the first half. The Bayern Munich winger was instrumental, providing the final passes for both the opening goals.
(Video Courtesy: Roberto Justo YouTube Channel)
But the Czechs have never been considered light weights and some even considered them to be the dark horses of that tournament, as they quickly halved the deficit and brought some hope back.
But they caught a break after manager Dutch manager Dick Advocaat brought off the dangerous Robben in the second half and that was all it took. Netherlands crumbled in the space of fifteen minutes and Milan Baros tied the score, Heitinga was sent off and Smicer completed the most unlikely comeback and the golden generation of the Czech Republic survived to fight another day!
#3 Liverpool vs Manchester United: English Premier League, 2015
Less than a minuted and a half was all that it took for Steven Gerrard to get sent off, after his half-time introduction. The Liverpool captain was brought on after Liverpool went 1-0 down and Brenden Rodgers hoped that the experienced midfielder could inspire a comeback.
However, the Liverpool legend spent less than a minute in his final Liverpool vs Manchester United match, after Atkinson barely hesitated and he brandished the red card after Gerrard appeared to have stamped on Ander Herrera.
(Video Courtesy: Robert Smith YouTube Channel)
The central midfielder began his rather bizarre final derby in the famed red jersey with a brutal but legal challenge on Juan Mata, who had given the Red Devils their first half lead. Gerrard got the ball a few seconds later and just as he passed it towards the flanks, Herrera attempted to win the ball back which lead to Gerrard stamping him on his leg. The Reds were down to ten men and Liverpool fought back after Mata doubled the lead through Sturridge, who managed pulled one back for Liverpool but in the end it wasn’t enough.
The red card meant that Gerrard missed the league matches against both Newcastle at home and Arsenal, the FA Cup replay and lost the chance to make himself an even bigger legend in his last United Derby!
#2 Argentina vs Hungary: 2005, Friendly
August 16th, 2005, Lisandro Lopez walks towards the touchline and leaves the field, not before patting the eighteen-year-old who was replacing him on the back. The eighteen-year-old, wearing the number eighteen just happened to be the player that would go on to dominate football in the near future. Lionel Messi walked on, making his debut for the Argentina national team, having won the U-20 World Cup less than two months before.
The rival was Hungary, the same team that Diego Maradona had made his debut against back in 1977 and with Jose Pekerman’s Argentina leading 2-1, it seemed the perfect moment to bring on the starlet.
(Video Courtesy: Adnan Hassan Ibrahim YouTube Channel)
The Barcelona player walked on and was immediately thrust into the play, Argentina was on the attack and Bernardi found Messi with a good pass. The then 18-year-old wearing the number 18, easily turned and drove towards the area, and had defender Vanczak right beside him, trying to get the ball off him. The Argentine raised his hands to fend off the challenge and the defender fell like he was hit by a truck, clutching his face.
The referee called it a foul and then walked towards Messi, pulling out his red card and sent the forward walking back, less than three minutes after he walked out for his debut. Later an inconsolable Messi said, “It's an embarrassment, they're not going to call me up anymore," and luckily that hasn’t turned out to be the case but the superstar is yet to win an international trophy!
#1 Germany vs Italy: Euro 2016
Having been brought on in the final seconds of extra-time specifically to take part in the penalty shoot-out against Germany in the quarter-finals of the Euro 2016, Simone Zaza did something that cemented his place on this list forever! The Juventus forward walked on just before the referee blew for full-time and proceeded to give instructions to his goal-keepers.
Then soon after that after both Toni Kroos and Lorenzo Insigne finished their spot kicks with ease, Zaza walked towards the spot as Manuel Neuer paced up and down the goal. The Italian picked up the ball and placed it, before looking towards the referee for confirmation and then adjusted his run-up.
The referee blew his whistle and the Juventus attacker blazed his effort over the crossbar, but only after preceding it with a staggered run-up, that has since made him a viral sensation. The fact that it was his first and only touch of the match, made everything that much worse.
However, the 25-year-old forward has insisted that he's always used that unorthodox approach to his penalties and even pointed out that, he managed to send Manuel Neuer the wrong way, despite missing the shot. Since then, the striker has been through hell, with his brief loan spell at West Ham causing him to be subject to a further figure of ridicule, before eventually moving to Valencia on loan.
