20. Ronny Rosenthal (Liverpool vs. Aston Villa, 1992)
Ronny Rosenthal won league titles in England, Belgium and his native Israel, represented his country 61 times, and scored 110 goals in a career spanning 20 years. But his name will still forever be associated with the 1992 Premier League game in which he hit the crossbar in front of an open goal.
19. Diego Forlán (Manchester United vs. Juventus, 2003)
Even the greatest strikers in the world aren’t immune to the odd howler in front of goal. Luckily for Manchester United’s Diego Forlán, his all-time absolute sitter came in a rather meaningless friendly against Juventus. But it still left him as red-faced as his shirt.
18. Peter van Vossen (Rangers vs. Celtic, 2007)
Jörg Albertz would surely have been left cursing his generosity during Rangers’ Old Firm derby in 2007. Having drawn Celtic’s keeper away from goal, the German selflessly passed the ball to Peter van Vossen, only to watch his teammate scoop it sky high and blame an imaginary divot for doing so.
17. Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund vs. Freiburg, 2010)
Jakub Blaszczykowski had already done the hard work, making a surging run from the halfway line to connect with Robert Lewandowski’s defence-splitting pass. In fact, fans behind the goal were so certain that their beloved Dortmund had gone 3-1 up they even started cheering. Of course, their celebration was cut short when the winger embarrassingly blasted the ball over the bar.
16. José Carlos Fernández (Alianza Lima vs. Universidad César Vallejo, 2010)
José Carlos Fernández didn’t exactly live up to his reputation as the Peruvian Zlatan Ibrahimovi? during Alianza Lima’s 2-0 defeat to Universidad César Vallejo in 2010. Indeed, the real Zlatan could have probably retied his beloved ponytail in the time it took for the hesitant Fernández to react to a ball which needed nothing more than a toenail to guide it into the net.
15. Kei Kamara (Kansas City Wizards vs. LA Galaxy, 2010)
14. Tomás Andrade (River Plate vs. Belgrano, 2017)
You have to give some credit to the quick thinking of Belgrano’s stranded Lucas Acosta, who scurried back to palm the ball off the line when most other keepers would have assumed it was a lost cause. But mostly you have to blame River Plate’s Tomás Andrade for striking the ball from five yards with all the power of a wet sponge.
13. Fernando Torres (Chelsea vs. Manchester United, 2011)
Pretty much the entire two and a half years Fernando Torres spent at Chelsea was an ordeal. But the moment most likely to haunt his dreams occurred when he horribly choked in front of both an open goal in front and the taunting Old Trafford faithful.
12. Freddie Ljungberg (Arsenal vs. Bolton, 2005)
Arsenal had torn apart the Bolton defence with nearly a dozen exquisite passes in this 2005 Premier League game. All Freddie Ljungberg had to do to complete this impressive display of free-flowing soccer was hit the back of the net from a few yards out. Instead, the Swede blazed the ball over the bar and the Gunners lost out on a potential goal of the season.
11. Luis Rodriguez (Emelec vs. Universidad Católica, 2015)
Luckily for Luis Rodriguez, his glaring miss wasn’t particularly decisive—his Emelec side still ran out 1-0 winners over Universidad Católica in Ecuador’s Primera A. But the poor 18-year-old still ended up grabbing all the headlines over the actual goalscorer thanks to a horribly misjudged header from just two yards out.
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10. Arnaldo Vera (Libertad vs. Emelec, 2003)
Twelve years previously Emelec had been on the more fortuitous end of an epic soccer fail. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things— they still ended up losing their Copa Libertadores encounter against Paraguayan side Libertad by five goals to one. But their blu9. Ali Sami Yachir (MC Alger vs. CR Belouizdad, 2013)shes were spared even further thanks to the ineptitude of Arnaldo Vera, a left-back who was probably never allowed past the halfway line again.
9. Ali Sami Yachir (MC Alger vs. CR Belouizdad, 2013)
MC Alger striker Ali Sami Yachir should have been sent a thank you card by CR Belouizdad keeper Ahmed Walid Chouih after this comedy of errors in an Algerian Ligue 1 match. The latter looked to have gifted the former a goal after making a complete hash of a backpass. However, it was Yachir who wanted the ground to swallow him up just milliseconds later when he missed the target by quite some distance.
8. Rui Miguel (CSKA Sofia vs. Cliftonville, 2010)
Even though Rui Miguel probably saw this opportunity late (given that the ball dodged every other player in the six-yard box), but that still doesn’t excuse the CSKA Sofia striker for going literally weak at the knees during this 2010 Europa League match against Northern Irish minnows Cliftonville.
7. Kanu (West Brom vs. Middlesbrough, 2004)
“It seemed far easier to put it in the net than over” said West Brom boss Bryan Robson. “I don’t know how he missed that. I couldn’t believe it.” said Middlesbrough manager Steve McLaren. If Kanu was hoping for some post-match reassurance after his last-minute back-post blunder cost his side a point he’d have been waiting a long time.
6. Yakubu (Nigeria vs. South Korea, 2010)
The most high-profile miss on this list appears courtesy of Nigerian international Yakubu. The former Everton striker somehow put the ball past the wrong side of the post just four yards from goal in a vital World Cup group stage match against South Korea. He kinda made amends by scoring from the penalty spot just moments later. But the 2-2 draw wasn’t enough and the Nigerians boarded the next flight home.
5. Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord vs. NAC Breda, 1999)
Had Jon Dahl Tomasson been playing as an NAC Breda defender, then his gravity-defying goal-line clearance would have been up for an award. Unfortunately for the Dane, he was most definitely playing as a Feyenoord striker.
4. Ilija Sivonji? (Dinamo Zagreb vs. HNK Cibalia, 2009)
When it comes to trapping the ball then Croatian Ilija Sivonji? appears to be one of the masters. Regrettably for the Dinamo Zagreb striker, he once inadvertently displayed these skills just a yard from goal to stop his side from netting a surefire equalizer.
3. Chris Iwelumo (Scotland vs. Norway, 2008)
Poor hapless Chris Iwelumo. Of all the times to miss an open goal, the Scottish striker managed to do so during his international debut in a vital World Cup qualifier at home to Norway. Had Iwelumo found the net, then the boys in blue would ultimately have gone on to earn a play-off position, and he would no doubt have earned more than just three more Scotland caps
2. Fahad Khalfan (Qatar vs. Uzbekistan, 2010)
Qatar’s 18-year-old striker Fahad Khalfan also chose the worst possible moment to make his world-famous faux pas: an Asian Games quarter-final. After intercepting the ball from Uzbekistan’s hesitant keeper, the teenager had all the time in the world to dribble the ball into the net, but just two yards from goal decided to blast it instead. The ball hit the post and to make matters worse, Qatar lost the game 1-0.
1. Various players (Veria vs. Levadiakos, 2010)
This has to be seen to be believed. Five different Veria players each had a golden opportunity to hit the net within the space of eight seconds during their Greek Superleague match with Levadiakos. And yet three hit the woodwork, one headed wide and one skyrocketed the ball over the bar in an astonishing sequence that looked more like something from the Three Stooges than a game of professional soccer.
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