I've been making a certain threat to Dave for a long time...that one of these days I was going to say "Fuck it." and start writing about English Premier League soccer on this blog.
Well, today is the day I make good on that threat, and the photo below is part of the reason why....
For the uninitiated, the man in red in the photo above is Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, a man who is arguably the most famous soccer player in England. (For a great photo essay of this shot, go here.)
Here is a little history for some context: he scored his first premier league goal before his 17th birthday, he was the youngest person ever called up to the English national team, he has played for Man U since age 18 (he's 25 now), and since David Beckham's retirement has become the face of English soccer.
He scored this bicycle kick goal in the 78th minute of Man U's game today against crosstown rivals Manchester City. The goal put United up 2-1 with only 12 minutes to play, sealing the game. Not only was it huge because of the rivalry, but also because Man U is in first and Man City is third in the Premier League standings. The standings would have gotten much tighter if City won this match.
I was watching this match live and jumped off my chair when Rooney made that kick. And for the record, I'm a Chelsea fan and I was pulling for City to win this match. (Man U is in first place, they are the Yankees to City's Mets, City was the visiting team, not supposed to win, David not Goliath, blah blah blah.)
It's rare you ever see a bicycle kick work. It's even rarer to see it work so well the goal keeper doesn't even make a move toward the ball. And it's rarer still to see a goal that exciting decide a match with so much importance. It was simply stunning.
Rooney said it was the greatest goal he's scored. Man U's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said it's the greatest strike he's seen in 25 years at that stadium. I have to agree.
Wayne Rooney made a bit of history today and I'm glad I was watching as it happened.
No comments:
Post a Comment