Football, the beautiful game, has attracted legions of fans worldwide due to its ability to provide joy, delight, despair, and shock.
Throughout the years, there has been no shortage of moments that will stand the test of time.
With the upcoming World Cup, there are many more to be created.
Here are some of our most memorable moments.
Table of Contents
Diego Maradona Scores ‘Hand of God’ Goal
We should start our list of greatest football moments by beginning with one of the modern greats, Diego Maradona.
At the time of the 1986 World Cup, tensions between Argentina and England were high because the two nations had been at war just four years ago when fighting over the Falkland Islands.
With the Islands remaining in British hands, this irked some Argentine public and Maradonna.
Looking to inflict some revenge on the English, Maradona was on a one-man mission to knock England out of the World Cup.
As the match hit the second half, both teams were canceling each other until the 51st minute.
With a mix-up in the English defense, the ball looped off an English defender and into the arms of the awaiting Peter Shilton.
However, when Shilton went up for the ball, he was met with the leaping figure of Diego Maradona, who rose above Shilton and punched the ball into the net with his hand.
Sports streaming trends show that football has been the most watched sport across Europe.
Despite replays showing a clear handball, the goal was allowed to stand, and Argentina would go on to win 2-1, with Maradona scoring a second goal which ironically was one of the best we have ever seen.
Zidane Iconic Red Card
Zinedine Zidane will always be remembered as one of the greatest players who ever graced the pitch.
Zidane enjoyed a glittering career both domestically and abroad. He became one of the greats when he scored two goals in the 1998 World Cup final when France beat Brazil 3-0.
Zidane amassed over 100 caps for France, and by the time the 2006 World Cup had rolled around, Zidane had made it clear that it would be his last international tournament.
France had a great tournament, and Zidane had the chance to sign off his international career in style as France would face Italy for World Cup glory.
Wanting to sign off with a second World Cup, Zidane scored his third goal in a World Cup final with a coolly taken penalty, only for Italy to equalize just ten minutes.
The scoring would stop, and the game would ebb into extra time. With the game in the balance, the cameras then showed something that shocked the world.
After exchanging words with Italian defender Marco Materazzi, Zidane turned back and head-but the Italian in the chest, earning himself a red card. It would be Zidane’s last action in a France shirt, and France would lose on penalties.
The upcoming World Cup is bound to create even more memorable moments, and with fantastic games every day, the demand for streaming is set to be high.
Countries such as Argentina, England, Brazil, Germany, and France often create huge sports events, and their matches attract tens of millions of viewers worldwide.
Aguero Wins Man City Title In Dramatic Fashion
Since Manchester City got purchased by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, City quickly ascended the Premier League table. The City hierarchy was very careful in how they approached rebuilding their team, and in 2011 they were ready to make their title charge.
Heading into the final game level on points with rivals Manchester United, City knew they just had to match Utd’s result to win their first Premier League title.
With Manchester United beating Sunderland 1-0, all the pressure was on City to beat QPR to lock up their first title. We witnessed one of the greatest Premier League matches of all time.
At half time all was going to plan with City leading 1-0. However, the script would quickly flip after Djibril Cisse equalized just minutes into the second half.
However, any nerves were settled when Joey Barton got sent off, leaving QPR with just ten players. Despite being a man-light, QPR put the cat amongst the pigeons and took the lead with just twenty minutes of the game left.
Unable to make the breakthrough, it looked like City’s wait for that elusive title would drag on. Hope was restored in the second minute of injury time when Edin Dzeko nodded home an equalizer.
With just a minute to play, the ball reached Sergio Aguero, who slammed the ball home to give City a 3-2 lead. With pandemonium in the stands, the final whistle blew with City capturing their title.
Manchester United Treble Win
The 1998-1999 season for Manchester United was historic as United was chasing something that no British team had ever achieved, the treble.
Having already won the league and FA Cup, all attention turned to Barcelona, where United’s bid for a treble would be determined in a matchup against German giants Bayern Munich.
United were the heavy favorites for the encounter but played poorly and deservedly found themselves behind with just six minutes on the clock.
From this point, it was all Bayern who missed numerous chances and ended up hitting the woodwork twice.
Unable to score the decisive second goal, Sir Alex Ferguson threw on the attacking duo of Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the hope of finding an equalizer.
With three minutes of injury time to play, United had a corner. After the initial ball was cleared, the ball ended up back in the Bayern box, where the ball fell to Sheringham, who would scuff a shot into the bottom corner to level the game at 1-1.
United sensed a winner and had earned themselves another corner just a minute later.
Once again, David Beckham swung the ball in where Teddy flicked the ball onto the far post and Solskjaer scored.
Unbelievably, United had turned the game around, and just a minute later, the full-time whistle went, securing the treble that United had so badly craved.
