Andy Clarke picks the best ten goals of the past 12 months.
Andy Clarke picks the best ten goals of the past 12 months
We can spare you the trouble of emailing in your suggestions or declaring your preference in a poll. Lionel Messi scored the best goal of 2007.
When the brilliant Argentinian collected the ball inside his own half before taking on and beating the entire Getafe team to score for Barcelona in their Copa del Rey tie at Camp Nou in April, he produced a moment of rare beauty.
Comparisons between Messi's strike and Diego Maradona's second goal for Argentina against England in 1986 were inevitable. Run side-by-side the two goals are almost identical, only the absence of Peter Reid trailing in Messi's wake marks them apart. Maradona's stunning effort was voted the Goal of the 20th Century, and you don't get much better than that, if you'll allow a little understatement.
Messi Magic
Selecting the best goal of the year may be simpicity itself, but picking through the rest to fill the top 10 is a little trickier and you'll all have your own opinions.
A trawl through the internet reveals all manner of excellence from around the globe - take a bow Juan Pablo Arenas of Chile's U20 team for finding the top corner from the halfway line - but rather than post a list of 10 goals only people with too much time on their hands have seen, we'll stay a little closer to home.
Several stunning goals haven't made the final cut, such as Obafemi Martins catching Paul Robinson by surprise with a dazzling left-footer, Pablo Counago's novelty backheel at Charlton and Chris Brunt's touchline lob at Elland Road. But well done all the same.
The best goals of 2007:
1.
Lionel Messi, BARCELONA 5-2 Getafe, April 18
As if to underline the hype that he was the 'new Maradona', 19-year-old Messi scored a replica of the old Maradona's most famous goal - by punching the ball into the net in a crucial league game against neighbours Espanyol. While we're at it, he also mimicked Maradona's second goal against England, slaloming through the Getafe defence to score in the Copa del Rey at Camp Nou. Just six weeks earlier, Messi scored a quite remarkable hat-trick to earn 10-man Barcelona a 3-3 draw in 'El Clasico' against Real. Some talent.
2.
Ruud van Nistelrooy REAL MADRID 2-1 Valencia, April 21
Not to be entirely outdone by Messi and Barca, Real came up with a special goal of their own just three days later against Valencia. Six exquisite first-time touches and flicks moved the ball from right to left, from where Miguel Torres delivered a flighted cross to the far side of the penalty area. Van Nistelrooy met it with the most perfectly-timed angled volley into the top corner to set Real on their way to a 2-1 win, which proved crucial as they pipped Barca to the title.
3.
Scott Sinclair Barnet 0-2 PLYMOUTH, January 27
Players will always remember the first goal of their career, but Scott Sinclair has more reason than most to recall his outstanding strike against Barnet in the fourth round of the FA Cup, carrying the ball 70 yards from deep inside his own half, before cutting into the penalty area and placing a precise shot beyond keeper Ross Flitney. A goal of which Sir Stanley would have been proud, declared the Plymouth website, adding that Sinclair "left three home defenders on their backsides and suffering from twisted blood." For a more mean-spirited view, see the Barnet website, which says Sinclair 'skipped past Devera
