Gang Of Four: Great Own Goals

In the spirit of Mark Wilson’s superb self-destructive strike against Manchester United this weekend, I thought I’d root out four other own goals that had artistry, skill, and great finishing… except they were scored at the wrong end. These goals remind us that any goal is tough to score, even at your own end, and these defenders can console themselves with the knowledge that should they ever find themselves in a proper goal-scoring position, they are more than capable of taking advantage.

After the jump, four especially skillful examples of turning it into your own net.

[Ed. Note - I realize most of these are English, but hey, add any good ones I missed in the comments]


Jan Durica, FC Fehervar v. Debrecen VSC, Hungary Cup (Magya Cup) – 2008
Defenders aren’t one for much skill. Their on-field personalities are more blunt and direct, less concerned with trickery and finesse and more focused upon knocking the stuffing about strikers. As such, a delicate finish like this one are surprising to say the least. First to the rebound after his goalkeeper makes one good save to deny the opponent from the penalty spot, Durica follows up with a curling, perfectly-placed top corner effort that leaves his goalie no chance for further heroics. Unprompted and out of the blue, one wonders just what Durica thought might happen. Was he attempting to bend it round the goal for a corner? And why not simply turn and hoof it clear, unmarked as he was inside the box?

The goal doomed Fehervar to defeat; they’d won the first leg 2-1 and Debrecen were leading this second leg 2-1 with extra time beckoning. Saving the penalty had saved his club, though Durica’s finish ended their fight in rather pretty fashion.

Djimi Traore, Liverpool v. Burnley, FA Cup – January 8, 2005
Better Know A Traore, eh? Well, this is one Traore I’m still trying to forget. Taking a cue from Zinedine Zidane’s playbook, the Malian defender thought a low cross in the 6-yard-box presented the perfect time for him to try out the Zidane pirouette. And why not? Who says defenders can’t execute such dainty moves? (Though there’s a reason that every time the ball was at Alan Hansen’s feet, he’d immediately drop the hammer and whack it as far away from him as he could)

The end result was calamitous, to say the least, and began Liverpool’s recent impressive run of being knocked out of FA Cups by teams leagues and many spots below them in English soccer.  Traore’s terrible reign at Anfield more or less ended right there, as the defender was shipped out on loan that summer never to really return.

[And to think I could have put Riise's diving header in here...]

Lee Dixon, Arsenal v. Coventry City, EPL – September 7, 1991
Goalkeepers are, in theory, difficult to beat from distance. For one, there’s the sheer physics of it all. With a 6-foot-1 individual guarding a net that’s roughly 24′ wide and 8′ high, shooting from beyond 30 yards normally gives them all the time in the world to get in the position to make the stop. Furthermore, there’s the accuracy needed from the person shooting the ball. To hit it purposefully with that kind of accuracy makes the whole thing a low-percentage scoring chance, to say the least, but legendary Gunner right-back Lee Dixon knows no such improbability. His artful lob over his keeper, David Seaman, took those degrees of difficulty and flat-out mocked them.

Sure, there are other elements in play here – it’s right at the beginning of the game so neither Dixon nor Seaman are particularly alive to the action yet, the sun is blinding Seaman, and there’s the accidental appearance of Dixon’s attempted lob pass back to goal — but such a goal is still to be applauded. It’s needlessly pretty (much like the Arsenal of today); no Coventry players are even within spitting distance of the defender, yet he opts to sky the ball back to goal instead of a simple ground pass to settle things down. Almost hitting it as a no-look pass, Dixon surprised even himself with the way the ball shot up and over his helpless teammate, giving the opponents a laughable early lead and surely going down in history as the quickest own goal of all time.

Jamie Pollock, Manchester City v. QPR, Division Two – April 25, 1998
Hands down, if this goal is scored intentionally at the correct end, it becomes Goal of the Season and everyone goes home happy. There’s just no question that the journeyman midfielder/hardman pulled out every single trick he knew for this one, bamboozling both opponents and teammates alike with an uncharacteristic display of soccer that would elicit applause from the members of the Brazilian national team who starred in this tricky commercial.

Pollock belongs there alongside Denilson, Ronaldo and co., and after this extraordinary goal, I bet he wished he was at the airport bound for anywhere but his Manchester abode. Intercepting a shallow cross on the right hand side, Pollock shows incredible skill and concentration to flick it over the head of the cross’s intended target, track the ball into the area as it dips sharply down and then apply an emphatic header — meant for his keeper — up and over the bemused stopper and into the net. The goalie is frozen, helpless to watch the backpass sail over him, and Pollock’s over-eager tidy-up work at the back cost his team the victory.

BONUS: Yan Wung, China v. France – 2006
France were tuning up for the World Cup that summer and trailing 1-0 to a well-drilled Chinese side when defender Yan Wung opted to shank in the equalizer, a la Mark Wilson. The slow-mo shows he doesn’t hit it nearly as well as Wilson, but let’s not overlook the unstoppable path the ball takes en route to the top corner.