To say that most people were glad to see the back of 2016 would be more of an understatement than declaring that Leicester City haven’t exactly had things all their own way this Premier League season – it was a pretty grim affair all things considered.
But here at Sportskeeda, we’re not quite finished with the previous 12 months just yet because there is still one grievance that needs to be settled, and it’s quite a big one.
That’s right, it’s time to come up with our top five Barn d’Ors contenders to see which were the worst misses of the calendar year.
Some big names feature in our list, so read on and voice your opinion in the comments section as to who you think deserves the unwanted award.
#1 Milan Djuricic – Lokomotiva
Okay, so it’s a little harsh on the guy considering he’s not a full professional, plying his trade in the Serbian fourth tier, but it’s still a pretty horrendous miss.
We’ve all had our fair share of embarrassing moments on the pitch, whether it’s Sunday League, a kickabout with some mates or a competitive five-a-side battle, a bad miss is a cardinal sin in the beautiful game and while your team-mates will forgive certain things, spurning a certain goal is a little more difficult to let slide.
If you live by the sword, you die by the sword.
No doubt he dreamt about becoming a viral sensation at one point in his life, but not for this sort of reason. What makes his open-goal blunder it all the worse is that he actually shows some guile and persistence to put the defender under pressure before slyly nicking the ball from under the goalkeeper’s grasp, essentially nutmegging him.
Inside the six-yard area, no matter if it’s your first or twenty-first viewing of the video, it seems that the only option is to prod the ball over the line, but somehow he manages to hoof it over the bar.
Some have said missing it took some skill, but he’ll be having nightmares about this one for a while and there’ll be little to console him with his expectation-defying finish.
#2 Dele Alli – Tottenham Hotspur
It might seem like a long time ago now but back in April 2016, Tottenham Hotspur were very much still in the hunt to claim the 2015/16 Premier League title and they were doing pretty well, regularly scoring goals and playing attractive, expansive football under Mauricio Pochettino.
Of course, it wasn’t to be their season in the end – something they have quickly tried to forget – but back when they beat Stoke City 4-0 things were looking up, except for one moment which stood out for all the wrong reasons as Dele Alli produced one of the misses of the season when played through on goal.
Somehow, after expertly rounding Shay Given in the Potters goal and widening the angle for himself, the England international produced a really poor finish that saw him strike the post.
Luckily for him, it didn’t harm his team’s chance of claiming maximum points but that doesn’t detract much from the sheer fact it was a big blunder in front of goal – what do you think?
#3 Patrick Roberts – Glasgow Celtic
The Old Firm derby is arguably the most historic and most heated of rivalries in football. It’s a melting pot of spittle, sweat and sheer graft – but Patrick Roberts tried to shoehorn a spurned shot into the mix last season when Celtic visited Rangers in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
Some intelligent interplay between Gary Mackay-Steven and Leigh Griffiths on the edge of the 18-yard area saw the latter try his luck with a 20-yard effort that struck the post and when the ball ricocheted into the path of Patrick Roberts, the teenager probably thought all his birthdays had come at once.
Suddenly, he had the chance to bury it with a simple flick of his boot to give his side the impetus heading into the final 10 minutes of the first half but it all went wrong big time for the youngster as he fluffed his lines to send the ball hurtling past the near post, much to the home fans’ delight and the commentators’ disbelief.
In fairness, it was a daunting moment for the player, but those are the sort of tests that can shape a decent prospect into an improved performer.
Ultimately, it proved a costly miss as Celtic would go on to lose the match on penalties and Roberts was nowhere to be seen on the scoresheet there, either.
#4 Edinson Cavani – Uruguay
Edinson Cavani has always been one of the best strikers working in Europe – and one of the best marksmen to come from Uruguay in the last 10 or 15 years which is saying a lot considering Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan have represented Los Charruas La Celeste in that same time-frame.
However, the Paris Saint-Germain forward has had his fair share of off-colour moments, too, and while he currently leads the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts it’s important to remember that he isn’t perfect, either, as his atrocious miss against Venezuela last summer clearly attests to.
A Salomon Rondon strike ultimately proved the difference as the Uruguayans were effectively dumped out of the Copa America, but it could all have panned out so differently for them had Cavani tucked away a last-minute chance.
Having carved out space for himself with a couple of clever touches, the PSG man was through on goal with only the ‘keeper to beat inside the 18-yard box.
However, the effort he produced failed to even hit the target, let alone test the custodian as the ball flashed wide of the mark to add to his countrymen’s woes for the month.
It was a bad day for him and the team, but to his credit, he didn’t allow it to get him down for long and he is very much among the goals today. Swings and roundabouts.
#5 Edin Dzeko – AS Roma
There are bad misses. Then there are bad Edin Dzeko misses.
From three yards out and with the goal at his mercy after the ball is played into him from out wide by Maicon, it is comical how far wide he steers his effort.
It really was harder to miss against Palermo on this occasion than it would have been to score, but Dzeko took the liberty of going out of his way to try and break the internet with one of the worst misses of the year.
Even the covering defenders have given up hope as the ball connects with his foot a few yards out, only to breathe a collective sigh of relief to watch it trundle a good six feet wide of the far post, crossing the line closer to the official’s feet that the goalmouth itself.
It’s difficult to watch and yet, that replay button is just too much of a guilty pleasure.
Just one more loop. Sorry, Edin.
