Top 100: Greatest matches 40-31

Eurosport - Mon, 26 Oct 09:00:00 2009

Our countdown of the greatest football matches ever played continues with Barcelona surviving a scare against Fortuna Dusseldorf.

barcelona - 1979 (pa) - 0

31. 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup final - Barcelona 4-3 Fortuna Dusseldorf

These days, second division Fortuna may be best known for being sponsored for a time by German rock band Die Toten Hosen, but 30 years ago they came agonisingly close to European glory. The scoreline of the Basel final was 1-1 after less than 10 minutes, as Jose Vicente Sanchez's opener for Barca was cancelled out by Thomas Allofs. Not long after saving a penalty, Fortuna keeper Joerg Daniel spilled the ball into the path of Barca skipper Juan Manuel Asensi who restored the Catalan's lead, only for Wolfgang Seel to level again with a fabulous finish to which the description of clinical toe-poke just doesn't do justice. As so often after a high-scoring first half, the match became a tight, goalless affair after the break, but extra time brought plenty of drama. Austrian striker Hans Krankl's shot was deflected in at the end of the first period to give Barcelona the lead for a third time before Carles Rexach - a future Barca manager - produced a cool finish to give his side a two-goal cushion. Seel bagged his second with six minutes remaining to give Fortuna hope but Barca held on to lift the trophy, 10 years after losing the final in the same stadium.

32. 1954 World Cup final - West Germany 3-2 Hungary

The unenviable title of 'best team never to win the World Cup' is surely a straight fight between the 1954 Hungary and 1974 Holland sides - both lost the final to West Germany. The Magnificent Magyars came into this match on the back of a 32-match unbeaten run that included their 6-3 demolition of England at Wembley. Stars like Ferenc Puskas, Nandor Hidegkuti and Sandor Kocsis seemed to be playing football from a different planet, and their buccaneering style saw them romp to the final. Hungary had already beaten the Germans 8-3 earlier in the tournament, but this time they were out of luck. Goals from Puskas and Zoltan Czibor were cancelled out by Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn, before Rahn scored the winner six minutes from time. Two minutes remained when Puskas had an equaliser disallowed for a phantom offside, and the seemingly invincible Maygars had been defeated.

33. 2001 La Liga - Barcelona 3-2 Valencia

This final day showdown at the Nou Camp was a shot at redemption for both sides. Valencia had lost their second successive Champions League final the previous month, while only a win would book Barcelona's place in the next season's competition, at fourth-placed Valencia's expense. Rivaldo opened the scoring with a third-minute free-kick that curled and dipped wickedly over the wall and crashed in off the post. Ruben Baraja headed in an equaliser midway through the half, but Rivaldo struck again just before the break when he followed a canny feint with a fierce low shot from 25 yards to regain the lead. Baraja scored with another header right after the restart, and for a long time it looked as though that would be enough to consign Barca to the ignominy of the UEFA Cup. However, in the dying moments of the match Frank de Boer chipped a ball to the edge of the area. Rivaldo, with his back to goal, controlled it with his chest to tee himself up for a sensational bicycle kick that gave Santiago Canizares no chance, sealing fourth spot for Barca as well as the Brazilian's own place in Catalan folklore.

34. 1967 European Cup final - Celtic 2-1 Internazionale

The Lisbon Lions were the first British club to win the European Cup, and they remain the greatest side in Celtic's illustrious history. It was a tremendous victory for Jock Stein's team of local talent - all 11 players came from within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park. Before the game, Stein warned his opposite number Helenio Herrera: "We are going to attack as we have never attacked before." That is precisely what they had to do after Aleesandro Mazzola converted a seventh-minute penalty. Inter's Argentine coach Herrera was the man who perfected Catenaccio, the defensive style beloved of Italian sides. Once Herrera's sides went in front, they rarely surrendered their lead. With Inter lining up players behind the ball, Celtic poured forward launching wave after wave of attacks. Having conceded the early penalty, Jim Craig laid the ball off to Tommy Gemmell just after the hour mark, and the left-back rifled the ball home. Roared on by an estimated 12,000 travelling fans, the Bhoys went in for the kill. Seven minutes from time, Bobby Murdoch hit a long shot that took a touch off Steve Chalmers and left goalkeeper Giuliano Sarti stranded.

35. Euro 2000 group stage - Yugoslavia 3-4 Spain

Quite simply, the stand-out match of the most exciting international tournament in recent years. The final games of Group C began with every side capable of progressing, but it took two goals in second-half injury time to send Jose Camacho's Spain through. Savo Milosevic headed Yugoslavia in front on the half-hour mark, with Alfonso levelling before the break.  There were two goals in a minute soon after the break when substitute Dejan Govedarica's strike from outside the area was cancelled out by Pedro Munitis's fabulous curling effort. Despite Slavisa Jokanovic seeing a red card - Yugoslavia's third of the tournament - they regained the lead via Slobodan Komljenovic's close-range finish with 15 minutes remaining. They held on to that lead for the rest of normal time, before Gaizka Menideta's spot-kick equalised and Alfonso lashed home with virtually the last kick of the match to send Spain through as group winners. In the end, both sides went through, but were eliminated in the second round. Spain lost 2-1 to eventual winners France, while the Yugoslavs had their backsides handed to them in a 6-1 drubbing from the Dutch.

36. Division One 1958 - Arsenal 4-5 Manchester United

This was the Busby Babes' last match in England before the Munich air disaster, and what better way to remember them than with this sparkling encounter? Five of the eight Manchester United players that died in the crash featured at Highbury - Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Duncan Edwards and Tommy Taylor - with the latter pair contributing three goals between them. Edwards opened the scoring with a long-range piledriver that eluded goalkeeper Jack Kelsey, before strikes from Bobby Charlton and Taylor made it 3-0 to the visitors. Arsenal came roaring back, and drew level through David Herd and a Jimmy Bloomfield double. Dennis Viollet restored United's lead before Taylor's second made the game safe, although there was still time for Derek Tapscott to grab the Gunners' fourth. Five days later, on their way back from a European Cup tie away to Red Star Belgrade, the United team was decimated by tragedy. Matt Busby barely survived, but 10 years later carried his rebuilt side to European Cup glory.

37. World Cup 1990 second round - West Germany 2-1 Holland

If you think England have a problem with Germany, get a load of the Dutch. Their hatred of their neighbours to the east has reached a staggering intensity, and the rivalry played out in dramatic fashion in what may go down as the best game of Italia '90. The iconic image of Frank Rijkaard gobbing into Rudi Voeller's bubble perm encapsulates the seething aggro between the two nations - both players saw red. That little skirmish aside, it was quite a game - one worthy of a bigger stage than the second round. As ever, the Germans had the last laugh. Juergen Klinsmann gave them the lead with a clever flick six minutes into the second half, before Andreas Brehme made the game safe - both goals assisted by Guido Buchwald. Ronald Koeman's late penalty proved scant consolation for the distraught Dutch. Franz Beckenbauer's side went on to win the tournament; Holland's wait for their first World Cup triumph continues.

38. Champions League quarter-final 2004 - Deportivo 4-0 Milan

Milan appeared to be cruising into the semi-finals after an impressive 4-1 first leg win at the San Siro, but the defending champions were rocked by a stunning Deportivo performance. The inconsistent Spaniards, who lost 8-3 to Monaco earlier in the competition, went in front through Walter Pandiani on five minutes after sluggish defending by Paolo Maldini. Juan Carlos Valeron headed a second when Dida completely missed a cross and Albert Luque put them in front on away goals before half-time following an Alessandro Nesta error. Milan had no answer, and Fran completed the rout with 15 minutes to go after yet another mistake - this one by Gennaro Gattuso. Never before had the likes of Maldini, Nesta and Cafu been made to look so hopeless, but the following season they suffered a similar swoon in Istanbul against Liverpool.

39. Division Two 1957 - Charlton Athletic 7-6 Huddersfield Town

To say thirteen-goal thrillers are a rarity is somewhat of an understatement, but anyone who was present at The Valley just before Christmas in 1957 was lucky enough to witness one. Having been reduced to 10 men early in the game, hosts Charlton found themselves 5-1 down with 27 minutes left on the clock and were starring down the barrel of a heavy defeat. But a simply incredible turnaround saw the Addicks find the back of the net six times before the final whistle, while Huddersfield could only reply with one of their own. It ended 7-6 and Huddersfield remain the only team in Football League history to score six goals and end up the losing side.

40. Champions League semi-final 1999 - Juventus 2-3 Manchester United

This game is often seen as Roy Keane's finest moment, but it also showcased the best of the Dwight Yorke-Andy Cole strike partnership that yielded 53 goals in the 1998/99 treble-winning season. A late Ryan Giggs goal had scraped a below-par United a 1-1 draw in the first leg, and things almost immediately looked bleak when Filippo Inzaghi's typically predatory double put Juventus 2-0 up within 11 minutes. United - and Keane in particular - refused to lie down, and the Irishman headed the visitors back into the game on 24 minutes. However, Keane was then booked for a foul on Zinedine Zidane and picked up a suspension that would rule him out of the final. United pressed on and were ahead on away goals when Yorke glanced a header past Angelo Peruzzi from a Cole cross. Paul Scholes also was himself ruled out of the final following his second-half booking, but Cole made it safe for United six minutes from full-time, tapping in from close range after Dwight Yorke had been upended by Peruzzi.

Eurosport

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  1. Surely the first ever team from britain, the 1st ever­ non latin team, the only team ever to have been lived­ within 30 miles of paradise, to win the european cup­ deserves a better rating than 34! that was in the days­ when if you got beat over 2 legs, you were out on your­ jacksie. The team that invented dutch total football­ before the dutch. show me a team that plays like that­ nowadays, in a game that is now for athletes, who just­ happen to play a bit of football. 90% of the teams­ nowadays, if they were playing out my backdoor, my­ curtains would be closed.

    From spoofer_despoofed, on Fri 27 Nov 5:45PM

  2. "THE BEST EVER" is always debatable and your­ list probably has most of the best matches to UK eyes.­ I presume there weren't too many oldies on the­ selection panel else the top three most notable games­ would be
    1954 WorldCup Final W Germany v Hungary. The­ 'Magical Magyars were unbeaten, every Hungarian­ player was known in the years before satellite­ technology. Puskas is reported to have gone into WG­ dressing room to congratulate the WG team and found­ them all being sick and obviously on drugs. He, I think­ was banned from WG for years until as manager of­ Panathanaikas they reached the Champs Cup final to be­ played in WG in the 1970's when the ban was­ lifted. Hideguti ? the Hingarian centre forward­ introduced to the world the deep lying centre forward­ used by Don Revie with Man City in later years.
    Real­ Madrid v Eintracht Champs final with Puskas having fled­ Hungary ijn the uprising playing for Real Madrid. Huge­ crowd at Hampden 124000 up to this list considered the­ best game ever.
    Celtic with a team all from within­ 30miles of Glasgow changed football from what was­ becoming a deadly boring sport in Europe showing that­ with all out attacking football it could become­ watchable again.
    That's my top three but then­ I'm 70 and saw all the 3 games and it was in the­ days when football was affordable......mind you TVs­ weren't in 1954.

    From bosun, on Fri 27 Nov 1:44PM

  3. this countdown is non-sense, almost all the matches­­ involve an english(british) team, which it very bias­­ and therefore meaningless!!!!!!!!
    VERY TRUE INDEED!!!

    From aliaskasman11, on Thu 5 Nov 6:19AM

  4. comment 26 . its because english teams ARE the best­ you pillock.

    From M S, on Mon 2 Nov 1:27PM

  5. Villa 5 liverpool 1 Poor old keegan he was sick as a­ pig after that thrashing.

    From markanthonyhale, on Wed 28 Oct 10:18PM

  6. I remember watching the Germany/Holland match. Spitting­ is disgusting and I am surprised Voeller didn't­ kick Rijkaard's @#$%.

    From jjmalone, on Tue 27 Oct 4:02PM

  7. fuad it is UK Eurosport! So there is a bias towards it.­ Idiot.

    From james b, on Mon 26 Oct 1:25PM

  8. this countdown is non-sense, almost all the matches­ involve an english(british) team, which it very bias­ and therefore meaningless!!!!!!!!

    From fuad, on Sat 24 Oct 2:18PM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

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    From Gillian, on Sat 24 Oct 9:38AM

  10. hail hail the celts are here never mind the first­ british side to win the big one but the first ever non­ latin side to lift the trophy message to you total­ football fans check out a dvd of that game and you will­ see some of the best attacking football ever

    From the azzurri, on Fri 23 Oct 9:48PM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    if you want to wipe your a** on your rivals google­ footballtoiletpaper, you can get Celtic, Rangers, Man­ U, Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs, Sunderland, Newcastle,­ Birmingham and Villa toilet paper

    From footballtoiletpaper, on Fri 23 Oct 11:30AM

  12. Redgeoff.Post 22. Thanks for your remarks.Yes,10­ probably was too young to go to away matches.The only­ one my Mum let me go to was at Spurs as it was about­ the same distance from home as Highbury.The point­ is,you could do that in absolute safety in those­ days.
    Regarding this game,apart from Duncan­ Edward's screamer and the Arsenal fight back led by­ Dave Bowen and Vic Groves,my abiding memory is of the­ tricky wing play of Albert Scanlon,funny how that­ should stick with all the great players there were in­ that game.
    About 20 years ago,I attended a­ sportsman's dinner.The guest speakers were Bill­ Nicholson,Bertie Mee and Jackie Blanchflower who­ survived Munich but never played again due to the­ injuries he sustained. Jackie,among the jokes and­ anecdotes, told us about the character of that United­ team.All decent guys with modesty and good humour.He­ particularly referred to Duncan,saying how shy and­ self-effacing he was and who never really appreciated­ what a great player he was.
    Better­ days,football-wise,you may agree.

    From John, on Thu 22 Oct 7:39AM

  13. John Post 20: I as 10 when the Busby Baes played that­ game and too young to go to away games. I saw there­ last match at Old Trafford and the first match after­ Munich. Manchester was in mourning for months and if­ affected United and city fans alike. Jus as you say it­ also affected fans from clubs all over Britain and the­ players and managers. I remember the first game after­ Munich well. A young winger called Seamus Brennan was­ flying up and down the wing where I was standing in the­ first half, later to be part of one of United's­ best ever full back partnerships. Old Ernie Taylor who­ signed from Blackpool that morning was playing inside­ forward and I can't remember much else. not even­ the score because it was too emotional. I saw grown men­ crying ina football ground for the first time, just as­ I had witnessed my Dad, Grandad and 2 Uncles cry in­ the streets on the day of the crash. It taught me that­ showing emotion was OK and also just how much the­ wholeCity of Manchester and England felt about that­ wonderful football team. That night at Old Trafford­ there were scousers,Blackpool fans, Bolton fans and­ Oldham Athletic fans near us in the old United road­ paddock, all wearing their own club colours and all­ cheering United on. I was lucky to be able to watch The­ Babes for four years includsing two fantastic European­ nights at Maine Road with 70,000 plus crowds. Thanks­ for memory John, I wish I ould have been there. Cheers­ mate!

    From redgeoff, on Wed 21 Oct 10:36PM

  14. danny as you so rightly said the arsenal-manutd ­ final,but the 78 final was arsenal-ipswich,you will­ find the final you was on about was 79

    From simon.browett, on Wed 21 Oct 5:16PM

  15. GAME 36. As a boy,I paid my Half Crown (12.5p.) and­ stood behind the goal at the Clock End of Highbury.My­ favourite player at that time was Jack Kelsey but he­ had 5 put past him that day,including a long-range­ screamer from Duncan Edwards,what a loss he and the­ others were to English football and I feel priviledged­ to have seen the Busby Babes in their last appearance­ on English soil.
    It was amazing that they reached the­ Cup Final at the end of that season with a team­ comprising reserves,bargain buys and Munich­ survivors.Jimmy Murphy was in charge of the team­ although Matt Busby was at Wembley.That was a miracle­ also,considering he had been administered the Last­ Rites several times,only months before.
    All the lads at­ school whether they were Spurs,Arsenal,Chelsea,West­ Ham,Fulham etc., supporters,were absolutely devastated­ by the Munich tragedy....and that is what being a true­ football supporter was all about. RIP,Busby Babes.

    From John, on Wed 21 Oct 4:01PM

  16. 78 FA CUP FINAL ARSENAL 3 MANU 2

    From danny y, on Wed 21 Oct 3:33PM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    There is only one game that should ever be remembered­ by an english team and talked about,lets just say 1966,­ forget about all the league clubs and their finest­ hours,a little country like hours took on the worlds­ greatest and we beat them all.Thats the only game we­ should be screaming about,the final against Germany.­ that one star means something and a lot of those big­ countries aint even got one, BUT we do.They think its­ all over,But it is now,never forget it.2010 here we­ come, lets hope we get our 2nd star

    From GORDON, on Wed 21 Oct 12:26PM

  18. #Barcelona 2 0 Manchester United

    Typical of all the­ internet cowards around these days..spouting there­ poison ..knowing they will not be brought to justice­ for there comments..

    but this is a sign of the­ times!!!

    You can all imagine what this guy might be­ like if you were unfortunate to meet him and is­ mates!!the streets seem full of his type today

    From Stevo1, on Wed 21 Oct 12:11PM

  19. you sad pathetic piece of @#$%. do us all a favour and­ go and top yourself you oxygen thief

    From ianl, on Wed 21 Oct 11:10AM

  20. IMO 5 top matches are
    5 united vs bayern­ 2-1............in CL final of 1999
    4 real madrid vs­ valencia 3-0..........in CL final of 2000
    3 liverpool­ vs chelsea 4-4..........in CL 1/4 final of last­ season
    2 milan vs barca 4-0.........in CL final of­ 1994
    1 liverpool vs milan 3-3 ........in CL final of­ 2005

    From getachew44, on Mon 19 Oct 10:40AM
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