Chennai: Football is all about goals, as the focus in basketball is on sending the ball through the hoop and the priority in running is coming first. Plenty of goals have been scored at the Fifa World Cup from the first edition in Uruguay 84 years ago. It’s impossible to remember all the efforts that hit the back of the net on the grandest stage of football but some are unforgettable.
Here is a list of four World Cup goals that captured the imagination of fans.
Diego Maradona (for Argentina vs England in QF, 1986):
Having scored Argentina’s first through downright cheating in the 51st minute, the onus was on Maradona to mitigate the damage. Offset it he did four minutes later with a slalom that sent the football world into raptures. The feeble challenges of England defenders reflected resignation about the inevitability of the climax. Maradona’s solo effort was voted the Goal of the Century in a Fifa poll.
Saeed al-Owairan (for Saudi Arabia vs Belgium in 1994):
Saudi Arabia’s group match against Belgium was in its infancy when Owairan scored a goal out of the blue. If Maradona had taken off from the right side, the Saudi started from the left in his own half before he left a trail of beaten Belgian defenders. The finish was almost similar to the Argentine’s. The Saudi royal rulers lavished Owairan with expensive cars only to punish him later for drinking alcohol in the company of a foreign woman.
Dennis Bergkamp (for the Netherlands vs Argentina in QF, 1998):
Leonardo da Vinci said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Dutch maestro Bergkamp epitomised the Italian’s philosophy with a stunning winner in the dying minutes of the game. Only a genius could have come up with a strike of such uncomplicated beauty. Controlling Frank de Boer’s 40-yard cross-field pass from the left with a velvet touch, Bergkamp made a fool of Argentine defender Roberto Ayala before finding the net with the outside of his right foot.
Carlos Alberto (for Brazil vs Italy in final, 1970):
With a 3-1 lead, Brazil had carved the result in stone before captain Carlos Alberto applied the finishing touch to a superbly conceived team move. It all started just outside the Brazilian box and the ball reached Pele in front of the Italian box after a series of fine passes but Pele’s nonchalant final ball was perfect.
