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Football is a sport which has a lot of facets - dribbles, tackles, interceptions - but, at the end of the day it's the goals which matter. The goalscorers become fan favourites after smashing in a worldie or a couple of goals in as many matches.Strikers are generally the highest earning players in football due to their ability to put the ball in the back of the net. among the current crop of Premier League players. However, what about the ones that score the goals, but at the wrong end of the pitch?Yes, we are talking about own goals. The unfortunate event that can change the course of a match or even a player's career. Considered to be one of the most embarrassing blunders in football, a lot of fun is poked at players whose luck runs out at crucial moments.Here, we take a look at the current Premier League players who have the dubious honour of having the most number of own goals to their name:
#5 Martin Skrtel - 5 own goals
Martin Skrtel has been doing a very good job at the back for both club, Liverpool, and country, Slovakia. He has also scored some important goals for liverpool and recently, scored a late equaliser against Arsenal despite being injured.
But, Skrtel finds himself a place in this list mainly due to the 5 own goals he has scored in the Premier League.
Skrtel also holds the unwanted record for most number of goals in a single PL season – 4 (2013/14), where he scored for Hull City, West Ham, Swansea and Newcastle.
His first own goal that season came in the game against Hull which Liverpool lost 1-3. In the very next week, he scored another own goal against West Ham.
#4 Phil Jagielka - 6 own goals
Phil Jagielka started his career with Sheffield United and then moved to Everton in 2007. The Englishman has come a long way in his career. He is currently the captain of his club, Everton.
After the retirements of Rio Ferdinand and John Terry, he has been a regular alongside Gary Cahill in the English National team as well.
Jagielka has been ostracized on a few occasions for netting a number of own goals.
One such occasion was the game against Aston Villa where Everton was leading 2-1, only for Jagielka to score a late own goal to level the scores and the match ended in a draw. Those were 2 crucial points lost as Everton missed out on European competition qualification by 2 points.
He finds a place in this list due to the own goals he has scored in PL so far – 6.
#3 Rio Ferdinand - 6 own goals
Rio Ferdinand, the former English and Manchester United defender is the most expensive defender in Premier League history when he moved to Manchester from rivals Leeds United in a £30 million deal.
He currently plays for Queens Park Rangers and is known for being strong aerially and tackling. Ferdinand was a warrior like defender in his prime, but despite all these abilities he has the knack of scoring own goals, having notched up 6 to his name.
In April 2007, Ferdinand scored an own goal in 89th minute against Portsmouth. United lost the match 2-1 and that could have been a decisive mistake from Ferdinand as United’s lead at the top was cut short from 6 to 3. Luckily for him and United, they managed to hold on to their lead at the top and eventually won the title that year.
He is not expected to add a lot of own goals to his tally after announcing that he will retire at the end of the season.
#2 Wes Brown - 6 own goals
Wes Brown is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Sunderland. Before joining Sunderland, Brown had spent his entire career at Old Trafford, having joined the Manchester United youth team in 1996.
He received appreciations from many people including Sir Alex Ferguson for his defensive abilities at a very young age.
But Brown has scored 6 own goals which is, unfortunately, two more than the number of goals he has scored for his team.
Brown scored his first own goal in the Premier League against Southampton in 2001. He has scored 3 own goals, each playing for United and Sunderland. His latest one coming against Crystal Palace last November.
#1 Richard Dunne - 12 own goals
Richard Dunne is an Irish footballer, who currently plays for Queens Park Rangers. He has the worst luck when it comes to own goals, having scored the most number of goals in his own net. Dunne has played for four teams in the Premier League – Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa and now QPR.
Dunne’s proficiency in scoring own goals came to the fore in the game against Liverpool. In that game, he scored an own goal and played a part in another one. Despite leading 2-1 at one stage, QPR went on lose the game 2-3.
To be fair, Dunne is a good defender, having won the ‘Player of the year’ award at Manchester City four times. He was also a part of the Irish squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Here is a small sample from his vast collection:
