Favorite single game you have seen.

[petersoccer]

What game Match stands out in your mind .

My personal Favorite game was 1982 Italy Brasil. It was riveting from start to finish.

[Cassano]

Italy v. Brazil 1982 was great to watch. The Italians were expected to be demolished by the Brazilians that day and they suprised everyone and Paolo Rossi scored 3 goals. Once they beat Brazil, they knew that they had already won the Cup because after beating Brazil they could beat anybody. This game also inspired the title to Paolo Rossi's Autobiography:
Ho Fatto Piangere La Brasile (I Made Brazil Cry).

[Ibranco]

first leg between manu and real madrid in 2003 at the Bernabeu, Madrid wins 3-1

[Excape Goat]

West germany-France 1982.... this was the first real, entertaining match I have seen.

[Elninho]

USA-Portugal 2002. It went from the surrealism of taking just half an hour from listening to the commentators talk about "weathering the storm in the first 15 minutes" to running up a 3-goal lead on Portugal, to the nail-biting moments after the Agoos own-goal, to the pure comedy of Cobi Jones holding the ball in the corner. And, of course, Jack Edwards doing the play-by-play. Double the fun.

It was a great day to be an American fan, really.

[jokstein]

first leg between manu and real madrid in 2003 at the Bernabeu, Madrid wins 3-1

In recent times YES! The RECITAL IN MADRID stands out above everything else.This is what John Carlin, The London Observer columnist had to say about that unbelievable game!



A dance for which football lovers must be truly thankful

John Carlin
Sunday April 13, 2003
The Observer

Excerpts:-

A Brazilian journalist once said that the one-twos between Pele and Tostao offered convincing proof of the existence of God. One is tempted to a similar conclusion after watching Zidane and Raúl stroke the ball around on the congested edge of the Manchester United penalty area last Tuesday night, graceful and unhurried as if they were playing alone in a park.

The supernatural peaks that Real Madrid scaled during that 3-1 Champions League victory at the Bernabeu have not been seen on a football pitch since Brazil 1970: the World Cup-winning team that had always served until now as the benchmark for the sublime.

Because what is so great about this Madrid side is what was great about Brazil 1970: the Corinthian freshness with which they go about their business. Cruyff's Ajax in the 1970s and the Milan of Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten were both, in their different ways, brilliant. But in a methodical, rigorous, solemnly professional sort of way. This lot give the impression that they play chiefly for fun.


They want to win, and they do win, but an indispensable part of the team's duties is to put on a show. They are efficient, organised, successful team players, but they do all the circus tricks.

It is the ethic of the bullfight. Killing the bull, getting a result, is not the point. It's the manner of the killing that counts. The artistry. The flourish. Those were the images that came to mind on Tuesday night. This Manchester United is no ordinary bull. There's pedigree there. There's fight. But, especially during that magical first half, the faint-hearted spectator must have longed for it to be all over, for the brave beast to be put out of its misery. Twisted and turned this way and that, all the United players could do was stand and stare, restraining what might have been the urge to nod their heads in appreciative wonder and break into a round of applause.


They play such beautiful music because each has such perfect command of his instrument. We are talking pure skill here. No team possess more players blessed with such an impeccable first touch. No one alive receives the ball with such exquisite cushioning, standing still or on the run, as Figo or Zidane.

Real dominated the second half in terms of artistic impression but if those had been the only 45 minutes played we would be remembering a magnificently contested game of football rather than the Madrid 'recital', as the Spanish football press say; rather than the merry dance Zidane and company led the team that barely a month ago had beaten Juventus 3-0 away. A dance for which all those of us who love football must be truly thankful.

This was FOOTBALL MADE IN HEAVEN!

[neovox]

Brazil 1 x 0 England

1970 World Cup

Pelé: "It was one of my most memorable World Cup matches. I still don't know how Gordon Banks got across his goal so fast for that miraculous save. In 1970, just like in 1958 and 1962, we used the England game as a springboard to go on and win the World Cup."

Carlos Alberto (The Captain): "It is one of the games I will never forget - in my opinion the best game in the whole World Cup. I wish Brazil against England had been the final - the two best teams, a certain balance between them... but unfortunately we were in the same group. We don't see games like that now."


The last time they met...

Sunday June 16, 2002
The Observer

It is very rare that the defending champions play the team they wrested the trophy from in a World Cup finals. It happened in Italia 90 when Argentina (1986 winners) played Italy (1982) and 20 years before it had happened in Mexico when England (1966) played Brazil (1958 and 1962).

Few games have been more highly anticipated than the 1970 match. It pitched the team with the finest defence against the team with the finest attack. The best team in Europe against the best team in the world. An England team who were considerably stronger than the one that had won the trophy against a team who are still considered the greatest to have ever won the trophy. A top-of-the-range confrontation and also a struggle between two differing philosophies of the game. Sir Alf Ramsey's England against Mario Zagalo's Brazil; Northern Europe v Latin America.

Hugh McIlvanney wrote in this newspaper: 'Yet at its highest levels the game can acquire something akin to the concentrated drama of the prize ring. Players go into some matches with the certain knowledge that the result will stay with them, however submerged, for the rest of their lives. Defeat will deposit a small, ineradicable sediment, just as victory will leave a few tiny bubbles of pleasure that can never quite disappear. Brazil v England was that kind of match.'

The game would be described later by Zagalo as 'a match for adults'. After watching the film of it Bobby Charlton would say: 'Even we were impressed. You could take that film and use it for coaching. That is what the game at the top is all about. There was everything in that, all the skills and techniques, all the tactical control, the lot. There was some special stuff played out there.' For the first 10 minutes England barely lost possession. Then came the moment....

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2002/story/0,11031,738570,00.html

http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/Images/halloffame.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38086000/jpg/_38086637_banks1970_alls300x200.jpg

BBC Sport: Gordon Banks makes arguably the greatest save of all time from a Pele header in the World Cup of 1970

http://www.gazetaesportiva.net/copa2002/historia/1970/imagens/brasil70boa.jpg
The invincible squad

[621380]

the best match i have ever seen the semifinal wc 1970 germany-italy + the circumscenes with the heat,thin air and and the fact germany was straifht out coming of a another extra time heatbattle...

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/02/en/pf/h/cg/ita_frg_1970.html


1970: Italy - Federal Republic of Germany
Overview | Watch Video Clips


17 June 1970: Italy - West Germany 4-3 a.e.t.


Those old enough to remember the 1970 semi-final will not have forgotten one of the most dramatic matches of all time - the epic clash of styles between the opportunism of "Gigi" Riva's Squadra and the will to win of "Kaiser" Beckenbauer's Mannschaft. The match had club rivalry too, with the Inter trio of Facchetti, Mazzola, and Riva facing old foes in the shape of Bayern's Maier, Beckenbauer and Müller. It was also a duel between two formations whose hallmark was a balance between defensive steel and inspired forward play.
Boninsegna opens the scoring

The two giants of Europe were doing battle to decide who would line up in the final against the winner of the all South American tie between Brazil and Uruguay, played at Guadalajara on the same day. The Italians had been crowned European champions two years earlier, while the Germans had finished runners-up at the last FIFA World Cup ™ in England. At the start of the game, stifled by the high stakes and the oppressive heat of Mexico's brand new Aztec stadium, both sides kept it tight, content to sit back and ease their way into the game. The 100,000 spectators were also unusually subdued, and even the ball seemed lifeless, prompting Sepp Maier to ask for it to be changed early on.

But it was the Italians who turned this false rhythm to their advantage, springing a surprise on the West German team led by the old lion Uwe Seeler. In the eighth minute, Roberto Boninsegna exchanged a defence-splitting one-two with Luigi Riva before dispatching an unstoppable half-volley from 16 metres out which left Sepp Maier rooted to the spot. Game on.

The Germans responded immediately, with the main threat coming from rising star Franz Beckenbauer, first with a pass into space which Gerd Müller just failed to reach, then a 40-yard burst of acceleration before he was stopped in his tracks by a questionable challenge from Squadra Azzurra captain Giacinto Facchetti


German pressure

Although the Mannschaft clearly dominated the first period, the Italians often looked comfortable at the back, mopping up the somewhat predictable assaults of Seeler and Co. At the tender age of 34, the tireless Seeler was taking part in his fourth consecutive FIFA World Cup™, and it was the Hamburg striker's ability to get his head to almost every free kick that constituted the main threat to the Italians in the opening half-hour.

But little by little, his strike partner, "Bomber" Müller started to make his presence felt at the heart of the Italian defence. First he just failed to control a curling cross from the ever-present Wolfgang Overath, allowing Mario Bertini to come out and claim. His 20-yard half-volley on the turn just two minutes later (31') then drew the Fiorentina keeper into a smart save. Bertini had been picked instead of Dino Zoff by coach Ferruccio Valcareggi, much to the displeasure of the Friulian's supporters, and he was soon called into action again, this time turning an even better-struck shot from Jürgen Grabowski round the post for a corner.

The second half followed the same crescendo-like rhythm. Seeler, put through cleverly by the "Kaiser", lost out in a one-on-one duel with Albertosi (50'), and Grabowski was thwarted by the Florentine guardian on the hour mark. The Germans then failed to capitalise on an under-hit backpass from Bertini. Müller robbed Albertosi, Grabowski gathered and laid it back into the path of Overath, but his shot cannoned back off the crossbar with the Italian keeper stranded (66').

Injury time equaliser

West Germany were throwing everything forward now, but just couldn't find a way through. In the 67th minute Beckenbauer charged forward only to be bundled over by Pierluigi Cera. Penalty...surely! But no, Arturo Yamakasi decided the foul had been committed outside the box. As the furious German side crowded around the ref, Beckenbauer stayed down, his right shoulder pulled out of joint, and since the Mannschaft had already made their two substitutions, the Kaiser had to stay on the field. Tension mounted with each passing second, Siegfried Held walloped a volley past Albertosi only to see Roberto Rosato acrobatically clear off the line. Seeler and then Müller fluffed chances in quick succession.

The clock ticked on. Just a few more minutes and the Squadra Azzura would be home and dry. But just as they had shown against England in the quarter-final, Beckenbauer and his team-mates just did not know when they were beaten: in injury time, after two further close calls in the Italian goalmouth, the hard-working Grabowski swung in a cross from the left which was met by defender Karl Heinz Schnellinger at the penalty spot. Albertosi was beaten all ends up and the Italians held their heads in disbelief.

A ding-dong battle

And so began probably the most memorable period of extra-time in footballing history. Beckenbauer set the tone by taking the field with his arm in a sling - which did nothing to stop him tearing towards goal whenever he got the ball. Helmut Schoen's men now had the bit between their teeth. Müller intercepted a Poletti back pass and poked the ball home just before Albertosi could grab it. The 100,000 fans packed into the Aztec stadium were in raptures.

German joy was short lived, however. Just 9 minutes into extra time, Gianni Rivera, the Golden boy from AC Milan, sent over a free-kick which was cleared by Held to an advancing Tarcisio Burgnich, who beat Maier easily from the 6 yard box. The European champions were back level. And just before the teams changed ends, Italy went one better when Angelo Domenghini crossed from the left for the inevitable Luigi Riva to run on and score. It was Gigi's 22nd goal in just 21 outings for his country.



There was no let up in the action in the second period of extra-time either. The pace of the game was furious with both sides looking capable of scoring each time they went forward. Germany soon hit back when another Seeler header was pounced on by the ever-opportunistic Müller, who once again steered it home. Rivera, standing at the far post held his head in disbelief. The great Gerd had just scored his tenth goal of the tournament, while Beckenbauer, grimacing with pain, could have been forgiven for not celebrating too overtly.

26 players go down in history

But the Italians were not to be outdone by this umpteenth German fight back . Almost immediately from the restart, Boninsegna reached the byeline on the left and knocked the ball back for Rivera. The 1969 European footballer of the year sent Maier the wrong way to score the fifth extra-time goal. The AC Milan marksman, who had only come on after 60 minutes, had shown that he could indeed partner Riva upfront, as the tifosi had been demanding since the tournament began.

The game had now reached fever pitch. After 2 gruelling hours of football under the Mexican sun, the two exhausted teams finished the game almost in slow motion. The Italians, past masters at killing time, stayed down after every tackle, fired the ball high into the stands and contested every decision the referee made. At the final whistle, the players fell into each others arms and then to the ground in exhaustion. By now it no longer seemed to matter who had won and who had lost. The crowd fell silent in admiration, privileged no doubt to have witnessed an unforgettable spectacle.

--------------

a poll of 50 worldcup legends have voted the germany-italy semifinal the best worldcup game ever...1998 L'equipe has called this game the best ever in football history.....

its worth to mention that this game was startet in 2000 meter high thin air of mexico city at 12 o'clock miday..the temperature was unbelievable 48 celcius...

the german team was straight out coming from a worldcup thriller match called heatbattle of leon before where the germans have beaten england after 120 minutes 3:2..this game was startet midays too and the temperature was unbelievable 50 celcius..

the game italy-germany has ended with standing ovation from a crowd of 100000...it was one of the undeserved losses ever for a team, this time for the germans....the referee was really bad...the germans minimum could have deserved 2 penaltys in the first 90 minutes..one of this fouls in the penalti zone against beckenbauer has hurt him so badly that he was forced to play 50 minutes with this injury, the last 30 extra timeminutes with a sling..


germans trainer helmut schön coming to the presconference after this game got applause from the whole armada of international journalists..

it was olso i think the best game ever from german midfielder wolfgang overath...argentinian player legend marzolini is quotet same time ,that for him Overath was the best midfielder he has ever seen..


pitt

[afgrijselijkheid]

you really should LINK that page and not copy the entire article

[621380]

you really should LINK that page and not copy the entire article

a dutch...no surprise...

i think its my choice to do it ..the link i have postet too..i olso have included some additional informations...i have watched this game 1970 live on tv the first time and i was 12 years old.... the germany-england match was a thriller and surprising the italy-germany match has toped it..the worldcup 1970 was a masterpiece with some of the best matches ever...

pitt

[Colin Bell the King]

Barcelona 5:3 Chelsea

[Mighty_Dragon]

Everfny MACTH When BECKHAM rtakes SHIRT OFFFF!!!!! :cool:

http://redsky.vip.sina.com/20022003/ecl/2003-04-23_madrid/realbeckh.jpg
I ALLWAYs get STiffy then :eek:

[Excape Goat]

Everfny MACTH When BECKHAM rtakes SHIRT OFFFF!!!!! :cool:

http://redsky.vip.sina.com/20022003/ecl/2003-04-23_madrid/realbeckh.jpg
I ALLWAYs get STiffy then :eek:

persiantiger.... get the fcuk out!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mighty_Dragon]

persiantiger.... get the fcuk out!!!!!!!!!!!
I'not pesiantigerr! PErsiantiger Is Sleepy_Drgaon, thats STUPIDD Mighty_Dragon FAKKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad:

I aM REAL CHINAPOSTER!!!

[Excape Goat]

I'not pesiantigerr! PErsiantiger Is Sleepy_Drgaon, thats STUPIDD Mighty_Dragon FAKKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :mad:

I aM REAL CHINAPOSTER!!!

I know... persiantiger PMed me long time ago about you!!!! So stop insulting my country.... you ********ing racist pig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Besides, the mod told me about your IP address. Do you think people here ignore you?

[Mighty_Dragon]

I know... persiantiger PMed me long time ago about you!!!! So stop insulting my country.... you ********ing racist pig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Besides, the mod told me about your IP address. Do you think people here ignore you?
Lol I dont even know from what cournty YOU AREE!!!!!!!!! :p

[DerMongerer]

Italy v. Brazil 1982 was great to watch. The Italians were expected to be demolished by the Brazilians that day and they suprised everyone and Paolo Rossi scored 3 goals. Once they beat Brazil, they knew that they had already won the Cup because after beating Brazil they could beat anybody. This game also inspired the title to Paolo Rossi's Autobiography:
Ho Fatto Piangere La Brasile (I Made Brazil Cry).

:( :( (Brazil fan)

[DerMongerer]

Actually I'll recall 2 years ago, Real Madrid/Manchester United 2nd leg. Ronaldo leaves the field after scoring a hat-trick in only 59 minutes.

The most surprising thing was the Old Trafford crowd applauding him as he left the field even though he'd helped discard their team.

This should've been the CL finals for that year, not that catenaccio bore-fest.

[DerMongerer]

West germany-France 1982.... this was the first real, entertaining match I have seen.

But what about Brazil/Italy, the match before in the same WC? :confused:

[persiantiger]

I'not pesiantigerr! PErsiantiger Is Sleepy_Drgaon, thats STUPIDD Mighty_Dragon FAKKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I aM REAL CHINAPOSTER!!!

2th you did bad to sleeping like dragoon, so i made to your repping no green anymore kekeke
3nd i hate to you and eef i getting some chances i might evon kill to you :eek: i is that madding this moments :mad: can you see? :mad: did you see this :mad: i is showing pictures you must see if you dont seeing then you lucky.... COWARD!
4rd i is sleepy no more I fire type dragoon and flamster like is very danger i tell to you.
5nd master persian tiger is roaring very loud so you is flee kekeke, u will never beeing as good as he, he is originality you is copy dog.
6rd you cantonese i mandrian, i = real china boy.
7rd sucks poppets need power master like persian tiger god. i may no longer live but i has spirting in many.
8nd team china go go 3000 world cuping if go is our china team and india alone left in world so we rule we is power we is the china woman and men team who win it.
9nd apologizing to china brotha and sista liking excape goats he is real warrior and emperor of the great china, strong like china wall.
10rd you is my ferend still no crying maybe but i sleepy am king china sucks ok?
noodle soup.