Entering yourself into football folklore is never easy, and more often than not you need to do something fairly incredible in order to do it. As such, scoring a wonder goal on your debut is going to get you some recognition – and these lot sent the sporting world into meltdown when their time to shine came.
A few of these gents can be described as ‘flash in the pans’ so to speak, but for the majority, they’ve gone on to have long and successful careers that prove a first impression isn’t always that deceiving.
The circumstances behind the goals and incredibly important, too, because you’re likely to make more headlines if you’re playing in a game with bigger stakes. So then, with that in mind, it’s time for us all to get incredibly jealous and think about what went wrong in our own lives compared to these lucky sods.
#7 – Stan Collymore – Liverpool vs Sheffield Wednesday
Stan Collymore is better known these days for his controversial rants on the world of football, but back in the day he used to be quite a handy forward. In fact, upon debuting for the Reds the former Forest man scored a wonderful solo effort that set the tone for what would prove to be the most noteworthy spell of his career. Image Source: Twitter
#6 – Zinedine Zidane – France vs Czech Republic
Are you really all that surprised to see this beautiful man on a list like this? Good old Zinedine has always been as cool as a cucumber throughout the course of his legendary playing days, and on the international stage it all began with a magnificent effort against the Czech Republic more than two decades ago. Fast forward to the present day and the Real boss is a French footballing icon, and rightly so. Image Source: Twitter
#5 – Paulo Wanchope – Derby vs Manchester United
One of Costa Rica’s finest sporting exports, Paulo Wanchope announced himself to the world with a sensational debut goal that silenced Old Trafford back in the late 90s. To this day Rams fans consider it to be one of the greatest strikes in the club’s history, and considering some of their prior successes that’s saying something. Image Source: Twitter
#4 – Federico Macheda – Manchester United vs Aston Villa
You want memorable? We bring you Federico Macheda – a man who has fallen so far down the footballing ladder of success that this will forever be remembered as his crowning moment. With just minutes remaining as United attempt to stay in control of the title race, the Italian puts his club’s destiny back in their own hands with a beautiful effort. Image Source: Twitter
#3 – Mario Stanic – Chelsea vs West Ham
How on earth did Mario Stanic have the composure to pull this one off?! The guy took the ball under his control, did a few tricks as if he was in the middle of a training session and then unleashed an absolute belter that flew into the top corner. Oh, and he did it in the midst of a derby game against Chelsea’s London rivals West Ham. Image Source: Twitter
#2 – Anthony Martial – Manchester United vs Liverpool
Anthony Martial brought football fans around the globe back into the Thierry Henry days with this goal, as the Frenchman came on as a substitute before dancing round several defenders and slotting the ball home with relative ease. It also helped that it was during the biggest game in English football between United and Liverpool. Image Source: Twitter
#1 – Danny Rose – Tottenham vs Arsenal
You can’t quite script football as well as this, with Danny Rose smashing in an absolute thunderbolt on the volley in the North London derby. It was a game that would have massive ramifications for the remainder of the season, and seeing this youngster execute such a masterful piece of footballing beauty was great to see. Image Source: Twitter
We don’t know whether or not these players will sit back in years to come and reminisce about the fateful goals in question, but what we do know is that their ‘moments in time’ will be burned into the memory of fans all around the world for quite some time.
Start the discussion
Login to comment