At #96 on the list is a daisycutting beauty from Vladimir Smicer in the greatest ever Champions League Final against AC Milan in 2004-2005.
Down 0-3 at halftime due to goals from Paulo Maldini and Hernan Crespo (2), Liverpool were genuinely and realistically only hoping not to get slaughtered in the second half. A win was relatively improbable, to say the least, and Vladimir Smicer was probably the last person anyone expected to become the hero of the match. But that is exactly what happened. Not only did we win on penalties, but Smicer was a focal point in both scoring his goal and by netting the winning penalty (because Shevchenko missed his immediatelyafterwards). The goal came two minutes after Gerrard’s header had given us the start we needed for a fightback, which itself was 52 minutes into the match. Smicer’s goal, though, was an absolute beauty of a hit. During his time at LFC, Smicer scored a few nicely struck goals… several of which rank above this one. But no goal Smicer ever scored would be as memorable, important, or laced as well as this one. At the top-right of the “D,” and about 25 yards out from goal, Smicer trapped a pass from Didi Hamann (both of whom were substitutes for injured players, by the way) and let rip with his right boot into the lower far corner. The shot was not only hit with venom, but was struck with incredible accuracy into the corner.
A few things happened along the way that make this goal quite pleasing. First, the occasion. That much is obvious. Second, though, was the effort from Milan Baros to not get in the way. Baros did his best do suck in his stomach and it JUST missed him. The third pleasing thing was that Dida just missed the ball… and I mean JUST missed it. It was a goal of “almosts” for AC Milan, but what wasn’t an almost was the result of the goal. It definitely flew in, and Smicer’s celebration was one to cherish. Mine at home was, as well, as I vividly remembering shouting at the top of my lungs, “F***ING GET IN!” and feeling every hair on my body stand up in excitement. Never in my life had I felt such attachment to a game as I did in that moment. BRILLIANT. But, as this is not a list of important goals, I couldn’t exactly count that towards this count down. Still… I’ll never forget it.
Why #96?
If we are talking about brilliant strikes, this goal still must be considered… but the importance of it perhaps can cloud the judgment of the quality. I initially had this goal ranked in the 70s, but I quickly realized I was biased in this approach, and that the goal itself, though of top quality, was perhaps not quite worthy of that high ranking. This goal, however, IS worthy of being on this list, as it was struck sweetly from distance (25+ yards) and into a far corner (not the near… the near is easier) with both venom and with accuracy. When people think Smicer, they’ll think this goal. Trust me.
when will be the next section?
Today