A dramatic volley in stoppage time against Chelsea to keep our title dreams alive in the 2001-2002 season earns Vladimir Smicer his second entry in the countdown at #90.
Goals of the “late drama” variety often become magnified in the mind as goals of angelic quality, whether they are tap-ins or volleys. This volley from Smicer bounced all around this list as I put it together, as the magical nature of the goal’s meaning and worth (at the time… turns out we finished 2nd) clouded its quality… but let’s be honest, this was a lovely strike, and to not have it on here would be criminal. Emile Heskey’s driving run down the left flank in the last minutes of the match deserved SOMETHING, and fortunately his cross was picture-perfect and flew right at the penalty spot. Arriving at the spot was Vladimir Smicer, a player who was becoming not so much a goalSCORER but a scorer of great goals. It would have been incredibly easy for Smicer to mess this one up, miss it all together, or hit it straight at the keeper. But he didn’t. He kept his composure, put laces to the ball and kept his head down. Man players look up to see their glory… and luckily he did not do this and his technique was impeccable. The volley flew in right down the gut of the goal with the keeper stranded, and it became an instant Houllier Era classic.
One consistent knock on Smicer during his time at Liverpool was that moments like this were coupled with an inability to get INTO these situations on a frequent enough basis. As someone touted as the “best trainer at Liverpool,” Smicer’s in-game quality was sadly not seen quite enough. But with all of that said, he wrote himself into the LFC history book with this goal, his Champions League final goal against AC Milan, and with an impressive knack for scoring in big moments in other matches, as well. This volley may not have been far out from goal, nor was it placed into a corner, but it was a tough one due to the situation and that he had to hit the ball across his body. He did well with it, and it will be remembered fondly for a long, long time.
Why #90?
As I said earlier, this was a difficult goal to rank. It wasn’t far from goal, and he didn’t pick a corner, but the technique was fantastic and the fact that it came so late in the match makes that even more meaningful, as fatigue often hampers proper form with volleys and long-distance strikes. Smicer’s volley was exquisitely taken- and Heksey’s play beforehand was magnificent- and deserves its spot, though an objective view on it would suggest that the drama may have its role in this ranking!
The goal is at minute marker 1:12.
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