MANCHESTER, England (AP) — It’s usually an act of desperation. The last die roll that can yield most amazing results.
It could also be the result of confusion. One is for the Blooper reel.
It doesn’t happen often, but when a goalie scores, it’s usually memorable for the right or wrong reasons.
Anatoly Trubin’s header in the 8th minute of stoppage time Wednesday’s match between Benfica and Real Madrid produced one of the most dramatic moments in Champions League history. Not only did Trubin secure a 4-2 victory over the 15-time European champions, he also ensured his team won the championship. final playoff Ranking will be determined by goal difference.
“I didn’t understand what was needed,” said the Ukrainian goalkeeper. “But I could see everyone telling me to go up. I could see the manager, so I went up and went into the box, but I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. It was a crazy moment.”
No wonder Benfica manager Jose Mourinho celebrated enthusiastically. The two-time Champions League winner has achieved almost everything in a trophy-filled career, but this was new territory.
The Portuguese club entered stoppage time with a 3-2 lead and needed one more point to advance to the play-offs.
“I remember winning and losing at the last minute,” Mourinho said. “It’s happened a few times before, but in this situation where we’re winning, it’s not enough.” “You have to change things and take risks.”
This risk has certainly paid off, with goalkeepers having a long history of causing havoc in the opposition box.
The Great Escape – Iconic Moments in British Football
Trubin’s goal came in the elite competition of European club football, but veteran keeper Jimmy Glass achieved iconic status among Carlisle fans for his last-ditch effort to save the then fourth-tier side from being eliminated from the English Football League.
It was back in 1999, when the on-loan goalkeeper volleyed home the winning goal in stoppage time against Plymouth to ensure Carlisle’s survival. This moment was called “The Great Escape.”
“I just try my luck,” he said at the time. “They never pick up the goalie, right?
“I just put my head down and hit it. I thought it was going to go over the bar, but I couldn’t get it from that distance.”
Manchester United’s great goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel scored a header in the 1995 UEFA Cup match against Rotor Volgograd. Proving that it wasn’t a one-off, he became the first keeper to score in the Premier League in 2001, scoring for Aston Villa. Most recently, Liverpool’s Alisson scored the winning goal against West Brom in the 2021 Premier League.
Paraguay’s prolific penalty kick keeper
Goalkeepers don’t have to be agents of disruption, just sent in to carry out slow relief operations.
Paraguayan international José Luis Cilavert is a prolific player, once scoring a hat-trick with three penalties against Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield.
Chilabert, who also took free kicks, scored 67 goals in his career, according to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics. He is the only goalkeeper to score a hat-trick and is also the highest-scoring keeper in international football, scoring eight goals for Paraguay.
However, the IFFHS states that Brazilian Rogelio Ceni is the highest scoring keeper of all time. According to Guinness World Records, Ceni scored 129 goals in his career.
Colombia’s Rene Higuita (famous for his so-called scorpion kick saves and dribbling out of the area) was also a keeper known for scoring from free kicks and penalties.
strange and wonderful things
Keepers accustomed to punting the ball long from goal kicks have been responsible for some of the most outrageous goals from long range. But sometimes you literally need a tailwind, or an embarrassing blunder by an opposing player.
Stoke’s stadium is known to be one of the windiest in English football, and it certainly helped when keeper Asmir Begovic took just 13 seconds to score against Southampton in 2013.
His goal of 91.9 meters was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest goal in history. But it didn’t happen without a little help from Southampton’s Arthur Boruc. When the ball bounced onto him, he tripped and was left red-faced.
“It’s a cool feeling, but it was a lucky thing. I’m a little disappointed for Bolts,” Begovic told the BBC.
In 2007, Tottenham’s Paul Robinson similarly outscored Watford’s Ben Foster with a shot from his own half.
And to prove that it’s not just a modern phenomenon, Tottenham’s Pat Jennings scored from his own box against Manchester United in 1967.
The iconic Bobby Charlton, who played in that match, later said: “I had never seen it done before, so I thought it might be illegal, so I immediately turned to the referee.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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