Top Ten Costliest Mistakes Made By A Player In Football History

There are quite a lot of mistakes made on the football field by players which had cost the match and glory for their teams…I am trying to put the list of the most famous or the well remembered ones…

1. Roberto Baggio’s Missed Penalty (1994 World Cup Final)

The man who is known for his free kicks and penalties chose the biggest night of world football to miss one. He who single handedly led Italy to the final (with 5 goals in 3 knock out games) missed Italy’s final kick and sent it over the bar for the Brazilians to wing their record 4th WC title.

2. Zinedine Zidane’s Headbutt (2006 World Cup Final)

Any team looks for an inspirational leader on the field. Zidane’s presence was just what they wanted to win the world cup and a result of the 1998 WC looked very much likely with the ZiZou on the field. One moment of madness and Zidane head butted Materazzi and the referee didn't think twice before sending off the French No.10. With one man down and that too the ever inspirational Zidane out, France completely lost the plot and went on to lose the final. Italy won the WC for the 4th time.

3. Rene Higuita’s moment of madness vs Cameroon (1990 World Cup R-2)

Till then, the Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita, who was also nicknamed as the crazy one had a fantastic tournament. His ability to take the ball forward, out of his goal area sometimes and his acrobatic keeping style had already fetched him quite a good number of fans. Against Germany in the league phase, it was his brilliant goalkeeping that managed Colombia to pull out a fantastic draw and fetch a place in round 2. In the second round they were against Cameron with their striker Roger Milla scoring some fantastic goals till then. During the course of the game, in a moment of madness, he tried to dribble past Roger Milla almost near the halfway line and was unsuccessful at that. The ever calm Milla took control of the situation and slotted home the goal and Colombia which had a very good chance of progressing to the quarters had to make the exit. Score was 2–1 in favour of Cameroon.

4. David Beckham’s Red Card vs Argentina (1998 World Cup Round 2)

This was one of the clashes of the 1998 WC. Both the teams had some fantastic players. Beckham who was by then the pin up boy of English football if not world football was having a good match till he lost his emotions and kicked the Argentine skipper Diego Simeone. A straight red and England went on to lose the match in the penalty shoot out.

5. Higuain’s Miss vs Germany (2014 World Cup Final)

With only the goalkeeper to beat and a fantastic opportunity to get the lead in the final, Higuain couldn't hold his nerves and shot the ball wide to the utmost disappointment of all the Argentine football lovers, including yours truly. Germany later went on to win their 4th WC, thanks to Goetze’s extra time goal.

6. Ronaldo’s Appearance vs France (1998 World Cup Final)

Ronaldo was down with a mysterious illness the previous night and when the whole world was not sure if he will play or not, he stepped on to the field. But his illness reflected in the way he played in the final. He was just a pale shadow of Ronaldo, the world witnessed throughout the month long tournament. France with the support of the home crowd and the inspirational ZiZou’s double header went on to win their 1st WC, 3–0. May be, just may be if a fully fit player in place of Ronaldo could have made a difference to the result. Is the player to be blames or the team’s think tank has to be blamed would be a question which will be asked as long as football exists.

7. Bobby Charlton’s Substitution vs Germany (1970 WC QuarterFinal)

With England leading their arch rivals Germany 2–0 with only 20 minutes left in the game, it was anyone’s guess that England was cruising through. It was then Beckenbauer pulled a goal back. score was 2–1 in favour of England and to everyone’s surprise, the English Manager Alf Ramsay substituted Bobby Charlton who was clearly giving the German defence a tough time. With Charlton out of the field, Beckenbauer had a free role to play as he doesn't have to mark Charlton which he was doing till then. Germany went on to win the match 3–2 and till today this remains as one of the worst tactical blunders made by a manager in WC history.

8. Gerrard’s Slip vs Chelsea (April 2014 Premier League)

One of the most loved characters in English football history, Steven Gerrard had a great chance of winning the premier league with Liverpool in 2014. Liverpool had not won the title in the past 24 years and they realistically had a great chance with only 3 more rounds to go. And then, in the match against Chelsea, this happens… Steven Gerrard slips and hands over the advantage to Chelsea’s Demba Ba who scores the goal and the title was eventually won by Manchester City. Till now, for sure, the slip will keep haunting Steve…

And the costliest mistake ever…

9. Andres Escobar’s Own Goal against USA (1994 World Cup Round 1)

Colombia was the favourites along with Romania to proceed to the second round. However they faced stiff resistance from the home team, USA. In the first half, in the attempt to clear the cross, Escobar ended up scoring the own goal. Colombia lost the match 1–2 which effectively put an end to their WC campaign. But tragedy followed in the form of Escobar’s death when he was shot by a Colombian fan who considered he is the one to be blamed for the country’s exit

Thanks for reading.

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