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Perhaps the most important aspect of football is the simple pass. Just ask Paul Scholes, as he so duly proved to Cristiano Ronaldo in a training session for Manchester United. As legend has it, Scholes called Ronaldo over after watching him do a bunch of step overs, and showed him a tree 50m away and hit it with deadly accuracy.
Ronaldo tried his best to do the same but could not. Scholes or Sat-Nav as he would be nick-named was spot on there. How important is that killer pass? Whether from open play or a free kick or a corner, some passes have made legends of the goal scorers and have turned games and ties on their head.
Here is a look at some iconic passes that changed games and made history. Kindly note the videos start exactly at the pass.
#10 The pass – Dennis Bergkamp to Patrick Vieira
The game – 2004, Arsenal vs Leicester City
The story – Arsenal needed to avoid defeat in their last game of the season, at Highbury, to accomplish a feat no other team had ever done – To finish a season unbeaten in the league. They found themselves 1-0 down to Leicester, courtesy a Paul Dickov goal. Thierry Henry promptly equalised from the penalty spot to draw level, but the final goal that cemented them in the history books was a sublime move.
Dennis Bergkamp took the ball in the opposition half, waited for a Patrick Vieira run and slid an arrow of a pass through the Leicester defence to find his captain. Vieira, casually finished off the move by rounding the keeper and scoring. Brilliant.
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