He scored from how far, again? Maynor Figueroa's 70 Yard Golazo

The soccer pitch is 120 Yards long and 70 yards wide, putting the half way line at 60yards. The goal is 24 feet wide and 8 feet high, giving the outfield players a small window in which to score. A goal scored from anywhere outside 25 yards has to be under consideration for "golazo" status. If you hit one from 40 yards you are a one of the best in the world. So what happens if you play for a team in the lower half of the English Premier League and hit one from 60+ yards? Well, for Maynor Figueroa of Wigan Athletic, you start to appear on the Christmas Wishlist of managers of larger teams and join the elite company of David Beckham and Xabi Alonso. Here's Figueroa's incredible shot:



The great part about his goal is that he nails it. It doesn't bounce in and they haven't pulled the goalie for help on a corner kick. He smashes the ball and sends a line drive into the back of the net from 60+ yards out. A true golazo. Tony Pulis, the manager of Stoke City, the opposing team said after the game that he couldn't wait to go home and watch the replay on TV.

Here are a few other notables:

David Beckham in his Manchester United days hitting one from right on the half way line:



Xabi Alonso hits an incredible shot from 70 yards out against Newcastle. Another golazo:



And one more featuring Paul Robinson, a goalkeeper, when he played at Tottenham Hotspur. A free kick and a some poor judgement by a young Ben Foster, the opposing keeper, gave Robinson the rare goal from 90 yards by a goalie.

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Musings on the Origin of Golazos

Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder. And the phrase is no truer than as applied to the beautiful game. For example, search for "greatest football goals" (on yahoo.uk, by the way--you won't get anything about soccer until page 143 in the U.S. Yahoo! page) and you'll find list upon list of the best goals ever, and every one will be different. So what distinguishes your everyday goal from a true "golazo"? And what makes a given "golazo" one of the greatest goals of all time?

Is it the technical skill exhibited by the player, as in these goals by Bergkamp (this one, by the way, is accompanied by maybe my favorite piece of goal-scoring commentary ever, even though I hardly understand a word of it), Ibrahimovic, or George Best?

Is it the player's athletics or acrobatics that make a stunning goal, as in these by Van der Vaart, Ibra again, or this by Rivaldo (which, by the way, put Barca into the Champions League that year).

Does it depend on the stage on which the game is played, the momentousness of the occasion, as in these byMaradona (1986 World Cup) or Van Basten (1988 Euro Final)?

Is it the quality of the play leading up to the goal, as in this tremendous build-up and score by Argentina in Germany 2006, or this by Brazil in the 1970 World Cup?

Or is it just the stunning manner in which the goal is scored--the "Wow Factor", as in these from Roberto Carlos, Bergkamp again, Mancini, or the incomparable Ronaldinho?

This last from Ronaldinho, for example, is peerless from a purely technical standpoint, and is unequivocally a stunner, but it meant very little in terms of the outcome of the game--nor was the game itself incredibly significant in the grand scheme of things. So maybe it doesn't belong in the same category as, say, Maradona's 1986 World Cup end-to-end vs. England.

On the other hand, while Maradona's goal was undeniably momentous, and played out on the biggest stage there is in soccer, I can't refrain from opining--and I know this is borderline blasphemy--that in terms of technical skill and the "Wow Factor," it's great and all, but I have to say it's just not in the same league as some of the others set out above. At a minimum, it has it's equals, like this from Ryan Giggs (getting ManU into the 1999 FA Cup Final in extra time), or this from George Weah.

Obviously, if you can score a goal that has bits of all the criteria set forth above, you have a real contender for the greatest of all time, which is why the goal from . . . well, actually, which do you think is best? And have I missed a criterion that defines a true "golazo" for you?

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Soccer's Greatest Sound

When the ball hits the back of the net, the sound is like no other. With soccer, you can see a play developing but the outcome is uncertain until it's in. Something about the uncertainty of the play and deveopment of a goal that makes the sound of the fans so much more ecstatic.

There are really two different sounds for a goal. When I started following the Champion's League a few years ago I realized that the crowd in Europe sounds different from the crowd in England upon seeing their team score a goal.

On the continent they scream "Gol!"




In England, it's a massive "Yeah!"



That's my favorite sound.

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