Is there any greater kind of goal? Is there any more meaningful marker between the ability of those select few playing and the masses of us watching, amazed..? Daniel Storey picks a selection of the best
Friday 17 October 2014 13:27, UK
Marco van Basten (AC Milan v Gothenburg, 1992)
A man who possessed greater technique than perhaps any other player in the game, Marco van Basten's overhead effort against Gothenburg was one of four goals he scored that night.
A cross from future Derby County hall-of-famer Stefano Eranio was directed well behind the Dutchman, but he twisted his body to get a solid connection on the ball. The rest was something approaching genius.
Festus Baise (Citizen v Sun Hei SC, 2011)
You can argue amongst yourselves about whether a scorpion kick counts as an overhead kick, but this one's going in. Festus Baise is the unfortunate chap, who was presumably aiming to cut out a cross in unusual manner in Citizen's Hong Kong league game against Sun Hei. He certainly achieved that.
It is almost like an inside-out overhead, the ball connecting with rightinside-out overhead heel and into the goal. Glorious.
Leonidas (Bonsucesso v Carioca, 1932)
Just imagine being the first person to throw yourself into the air with your back towards the goal as a means of trying to score a goal. Dick Fosbury is rightly praised for his high jump innovation, but at least he had a mat to land on. Leonidas, we salute you.
The Brazilian first displayed his new trick in a league game in 1932, but attempted it only very infrequently during the 1930s and 1940s. His most famous demonstration was during the 1938 World Cup, in which Leonidas top scored with seven goals.
Going on to become a manager and radio reporter, Leonidas died in 2004 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. All on this list should doff their cap in respect.
Peter Crouch (Liverpool v Galatasaray, 2006)
There should be something inherently amusing about watching Peter Crouch do an overhead kick. It should look like giving a Daddy Long Legs electroshock treatment on an icy puddle, arms and legs flailing wildly.
What made Crouch's goal against Galatasaray so majestic is that it actually looked graceful. Hanging in the air for an extraordinary length of time, the striker met Steve Finnan's hopeful cross with a volley of absolute beauty. It actually added more power and the ball crossed the line before hitting the ground, two requisites for the perfect overhead kick.
Klaus Fischer (West Germany v Switzerland, 1977)
Leonidas might have invented the overhead kick, but West German Klaus Fischer may well be its most impressive exponent. The second top scorer in Bundesliga history, Fischer became known almost exclusively for his acrobatic goals.
The most important of his trademark finishes was in the 1982 World Cup semi-final against France, but the most eye-catching was during a friendly against Switzerland in 1977. The ball was crossed in from the right, and Fischer got his right leg unfathomably high to connect with the ball. It was voted Germany's Goal of the Century.
So good he was named Mr Fallrueckzieher (Mr Falling Kick) in Germany. A catchy nickname.
Rivaldo (Barcelona v Valencia, 2001)
Not the greatest overhead kick of all time, but certainly the crowning glory in the most perfectly-timed and wonderful hat-trick in football history. Sorry, Geoff Hurst.
After scoring a wonderful free-kick and 25-yard drive, Brazilian Rivaldo scored a winner for Barcelona in the Nou Camp to take them into the UEFA Champions League at the expense of their opponents. Timing.
If that wasn't enough, the goal was of sensational quality, chesting the ball up to himself after a Frank de Boer pass, before executing the perfect overhead past Santiago Canizares. Fans cried, players screamed, and Rivaldo ran around like a maniac, as the realisation of just what he had achieved sunk in.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden v England, 2012)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal against England in November 2012 (his fourth of the match) summed up his quite outrageous talent. The ball was headed clear by Joe Hart, and the striker met it with an overhead scissor kick that owed much to Ibrahimovic's martial arts training. The only possible response was to sit with open-mouthed wonder.
Trevor Sinclair (QPR v Barnsley, 1997)
The acrobatics, the scream from the commentator, the celebration with the crowd on the near side of the pitch with the camera looking down from high above. Everything about Trevor Sinclair's overhead kick in the FA Cup against Blackpool was undiluted football nostalgia.
Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid v America de Cali, 2012)
Yes, it is only a pre-season friendly. Yes, there is an element of luck to the whole thing. And, yes, the goalkeeper perhaps could have offered a dive. But do not let any of those things stop this being one of the greatest overhead kicks ever seen.
Just look at the technique. As the corner is drifted in, Falcao sets himself before flinging his body into the air. He is almost horizontal at the moment of impact, and yet generates huge power on the ball. The placement acts as the glossiest of varnishes to a frankly ridiculous goal.
Old Trafford awaits with baited breath.
