My Favorite Three Goals Ever Scored

Notice how I didn't say the "best" three goals. These standings are always somewhat subjective. No doubt that these three would appear in every football fan's top ten or twenty, and there may even be little question about the first, but who knows. For me, these are the most spectacular, meaningful, and pleasant to watch over and over again.

Click the player's name or the picture to see a video of the goal!

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1. DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA
Argentina vs. England – 1986 World Cup quarterfinal – Mexico City, 22 June 1986

This match sports the two most famous goals in football history. In the 51st minute, Maradona jumped on a loose ball in the English box and punched it past the goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The inexperienced referee allowed the goal, which has become legendary as La mano de Dios (the hand of God). But only four minutes later, Maradona scored The Goal of the Century. He received the ball deep in his own three-quarters, ran 60 meters, dribbled five English defenders along the way, and deposited the ball past Shilton with a gentle touch. While no one touch or dribble in this play is individually spectacular, this goal epitomizes the full-pitch dominance of the one truly unmarkable player in the history of the Game. When Maradona had the ball, it was nearly impossible to take it away from him. His short-range and calibrated touches, combined with sublime waist and elbow movement and surprising speed for such a short (and overweight) player, made him the most fearsome winger to ever play. While he regularly displayed these features in league and international matches, never did they come together any better than in this perfect goal.

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2. MARCO VAN BASTEN
Netherlands vs. USSR – Euro 1988 final – Munich, 25 June 1988

The Netherlands landed the final on the wings of his star striker's goals. In this exciting final match, Van Basten first headed a delightful assist for his captain Ruud Gullit's goal in the first half. Then, in the 54th minute, he hit this spectacular volley. Muren's cross from the left was probably never intended to be an assist, but Marco waited for the ball to reach his chest height and then took his shot. It resulted in a hard and straight kick, and a very precise one at that. The great Soviet goalkeeper Dasaev was perfectly positioned by the near post, so Marco only had a tiny window to squeeze the ball through, and only at such a high speed before Dasaev could close in on it. And he got it. I choose this goal because it is the perfect kick: powerful, precise, and completely unexpected. From the video, its magnitude seems evident to everyone on the pitch. Van Basten looked ecstatic in his celebration, so did his teammate Vanenberg, and so did Dutch coach Rinuus Michels, who covered his face in disbelief. The goal effectively killed off the Soviet resistance, and the Dutch went on to claim their only international trophy.

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3. PELÉ
Santos vs. Atletico Juventus – Campeonato Paulista 1959 –  São Paulo, 2 August 1959

There are two kinds of football fans: those who say that Pelé is the best player of all time and those who say that Maradona is. Me, I don't care: they were different kinds of athletes who played different styles of football in two radically different periods of the game's history. Pelé does have the statistical upper hand with his 1,284 goals scored, though many of those came in an easy league and he never played in Europe. As for his best goal, O Rey himself has always picked this one as his personal favorite. Unfortunately that match was not filmed, but the goal has been recreated on the computer thanks to drawings and first-hand accounts. That's what the video above shows. Pelé dribbles two defenders plus the goalkeeper with three consecutive sombreros. A sombrero is an incredibly difficult touch in which you lob the ball high enough above the opponent's head that he can't head it, and yet quickly enough that you can grab it on the other side before he turns around and does so with his feet. It requires great skill and perfect timing, and of course Pelé had plenty of both. The result is a highly spectacular goal and easily the most technically difficult of the three that I have chosen. However, I don't give it the top spot for two reasons: (1) a tiny bit of doubt remains on the veracity of the accounts of the goal on which the CGI reconstruction is based; and (2) it was scored in an unimportant match against relatively unskilled defenders. But it is still a feast for the eyes!

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So these are my three. As I said, thankfully there are many more excellent goals in history. Cruijff's 40-meter missile against Italy in 1978; Totti's stunning volley against Udinese in 2000; Panenka's trick penalty at Euro 1976; Rivaldo's numerous bicycle kicks; Platini's and Del Piero's delightful a feuille morte free kicks; and the list goes on. But again, this list is based on personal preference and relative importance.
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