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The game of football is a tapestry decorated by stunning moments that define what this game is all about. In fact, it even reflects the nature of the world – the ugly and beautiful side of it – under the guise of kicking the ball.Moments are what make people call football ‘the beautiful game’. Not all moments are sunshine and roses, obviously, as there are some incidents that stamp a black mark on the game, making us appreciate the better ones all the more vividly.Here are nine such stunning moments on a football pitch that show both sides of the game.
#9 Barcelona fan throws a pig\'s head at Luis Figo
This is the moment very few fans don’t know about. There have been many cases where a player joined an arch rival’s team, but only one where the said player got thrown a pig’s head at him.
And that player was none other than Luis Figo.
The former Portugal star was the sweetheart of Barcelona fans. He enchanted the Camp Nou with his mesmerising skills and became the hero of their dreams. However, Florentino Perez turned it into a nightmare by promising to sign him if he won the presidential elections – and he did.
The next time Figo was at the Camp Nou, the reception he got would have given the impression that he was the second coming of Satan. When he sized himself up to take a corner, a fan threw a pig head at him and let his frustration be known.
#8 Luis Suarez bites an opponent - thrice
Well, this is 3 moments amalgamated in one section. Luis Suarez is the ultimate ‘cannibal’ of football. Apart from scoring great goals, he is renowned for another skill: biting the skins off players.
And he has done it 3 times in his career.
His first victim was PSV’s Otman Bakkal. All the poor fellow did to incur his wrath was to stand on the feet of the Uruguayan and ruin his expensive football boots. Suarez didn’t like it one bit as he went to stamp his teeth marks on Bakkal’s shoulder to counter the boot marks on his boots.
The second incident came in a Liverpool shirt. When Branislav Ivanovic dared to man-mark his highness inside the box, like every other defender does, the current Barcelona player couldn’t take that offensive act of audacity from the Serbian and sunk his pointy teeth in the latter’s arm.
And then finally, the most recent one against Giorgio Chiellini. The Italian, like Ivanovic, only seemed to mark the Uruguayan and, like he had shown earlier, he hated it. The rest is just the usual drill with the only change in the food menu – it was Italian.
.#7 Frank Lampard\'s ghost goal against Germany in the World Cup
Germany have always been England’s nemesis in the World Cup and the latter have always found it hard to get the better of the former (to be fair, they have always found it hard to beat teams in the World Cup). And when Germany were leading 2-0 in the 2010 World Cup round of 16, England fans knew that they were set for another disappointment, but they had no idea of the scale of the disappointment they were going to face.
Matthew Upson got England back in contention when he headed in a goal to reduce the deficit to one. And then it happened at the stroke of half-time.
Frank Lampard fired in a great shot that cannoned of the underside of the bar and bounced just behind the line for a goal. England were celebrating. They had done what wasn’t expected of them – they had equalized.
However, when referee Jorge Larrionda waved play on, he crushed the hearts of both the fans and the players. Lampard couldn’t believe it. FIFA couldn’t believe it and it was that ‘ghost goal’ that prompted FIFA to take serious steps towards goal-line technology.
England lost the game 4-1 from there and that moment still haunts Germany supporters.
#6 Jaba Kankava saves Oleg Gusev\'s life
Many a time have we seen players losing their life on the football pitch – those are moments that we never wish to see. However, rarely do we see a moment where a player’s quick-thinking saves the life of his peer.
Dnipro were playing Dynamo Kiev when Oleg Gusev ran in to challenge for a cross with Dnipro’s goalkeeper and fell unconscious the very next moment after the latter’s knee clattered with the former’s face He was motionless on the pitch after he had swallowed his own tongue.
Jaba Kankava’s quick reflexes saved the day as he stuck his hand inside the Dynamo captain’s mouth and cleared the throat to free the airway. He was then stretchered off, but his life was saved by Kankava, who got bit in the process. Nevertheless, a little pain is bearable when a kind act is pulled off.
#5 Zinedine Zidane\'s headbutt in his final game
Zinedine Zidane was known for his silky touches, divine passing and mesmerizing dribbling. France’s World Cup triumph in 1998 and in Euro 2000 had his face plastered over it.
It seemed like history was going to repeat itself when France faced Italy in the 2006 World Cup final. An over-aged French team was carried to the final by the legendary midfielder and fans were hoping that he would once again bring glory to France one last time before he retired.
However, that match proved to be his most infamous, a match that put a huge dent in his name. When Marco Materazzi sledged the now Real Madrid Castilla manager, he lost his cool and head-butted the Italian in the chest – an act for which he saw the red card.
It was unfortunate and unnecessary. It was his last ever competitive game and he could have bowed out with the World Cup in his hand and his head held high. Instead, a disgraced face with a head hung in shame left the pitch.
#4 Eric Cantona Kung-Fu kicking a fan
The Frenchman now plies his trade as an actor, but he was an exceptional player back in his day. But he isn’t on this list for his footballing skills.
He was also known for another thing: his fiery temper. So when a fan racially abused him, he decided to take matters into his own hands by flying in at him with an uplifted leg to the chest. It was one of the most brutal assaults a footballer ever inflicted on a fan.
And, looking at the amount of racism that occurs these days, one wouldn’t be wrong to wish to see more footballers taking the reins as Cantona did. Cantona was banned for nine months after the incident and fined £20,000 – a huge amount in 1995.
#3 Diego Maradona\'s goals against England
This game will be remembered for not one but two moments and we will amalgamate them in a single section.
Everyone remember the Hand of God. Diego Maradona isn’t among the tallest footballers, so when he leapt off the ground in an attempt to score, he used his hand to make sure he scored as he punched the ball over the ‘keeper and into the goal to score one of the most infamous goals of all time.
But that wasn’t it.
As if this moment alone wasn’t enough, Diego Maradona scored a goal that, till this day, is regarded as the greatest individual goal ever scored. The Argentine received the ball on the right side of the half-way line and ran past six players before scoring the Goal of the Century.
It was an act of sheer brilliance that bordered on impossible.
#2 Sergio Ramos\' late equalizer against Atletico Madrid
For 12 years, Real Madrid and the fans had been waiting for the tenth Champions League title – the prestigious Decima. And for the first time in 12 years, they were in the final and had the chance to win it. But then a blunder from Iker Casillas left Real Madrid fans in anxiety. They were 1-0 behind their bitter rivals and the clock showed no sign of leniency.
Having played out the 90 minutes of normal time, Madrid fans found themselves falling in a bottomless pit of despair and ridicule. So much money spent and they were losing to their neighbours whose team was built on the pillars of academy players and shrewd signings.
And then Sergio Ramos rose above all to head home from a corner in the 93rd minute. At that moment, each and every Real Madrid fan knew that their most coveted trophy was coming home. And so it happened with the former Sevilla player becoming the hero of the greatest moment in the club’s modern history.
Gareth Bale, Marceloa and Cristiano Ronaldo would eventually seal the title in extra time.
#1 Sergio Aguero\'s injury time winner against QPR
“AGUEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Every football fan ought to know this moment. This is the greatest climactic moment in the history of Premier League football and it was created by Sergio Aguero.
Manchester United thought that they had won the league after winning their final game of the season 1-0 against Sunderland. Some United fans were already rejoicing because Manchester City were 2-1 down against QPR with just 4 minutes of added time left to play out.
Edin Dzeko then scored in the 90th minute to give the Citizens a glimmer of hope. However, it seemed to be a false dawn as the clock kept ticking down to the last minute when suddenly, Sergio Aguero found himself with just the goalkeeper to beat and seal the title for City – and he did.
The stadium erupted, so did the world of football. This moment became the most celebrated in the history of the Premiership and there’s no reason for why it shouldn’t be.
