21 of the worst misses in footballing history, Manchester United stars included…
There are two things that are more memorable in football than anything else: Fantastic goals and fantastic misses. Every player has good and bad days, but the following moments likely contributed to some of the worst days of these footballers lives.
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Here are 21 of the worst misses in footballing history:
21) Ryan Giggs
With a career as long as Giggs’ there are sure to be a few bad misses. This was by far the Welshman’s worst though.
This appalling miss against Arsenal allowed the Gunners to go on and win not only the match, but the competition.
20) Ilija Sivonjic
Not only did Sivonjic miss the simplest of tap ins, he actually prevented his teammate from scoring.
The ball was destined for the back of the net, but he trod on it, stopping it dead, and allowing it to be cleared.
19) Noah Hickey
You can have no sympathy for Hickey here, as the player clearly attempted to add to the humiliation of his opponents by performing a clever finish.
He failed spectacularly however, mishitting the ball and knocking it away from the goal.
18) Diego Forlan
The Uruguayan didn’t have the best time at Manchester United, especially when compared to his prolific form at a number of other clubs.
He will probably want to forget a lot of his time in the Premier League, but this moment more so than any other.
The ball dropped for him rather fortunately and Forlan decided to be a good sport, smashing the ball into the side netting.
17) Rui Miguel
If Rui Miguel had just allowed the ball to hit him it probably would have gone in.
He swung a foot at it though, and knocked it over the bar from inches.
16) Yakubu
On the biggest footballing stage of them all, Yakubu managed this miss during the 2010 World Cup.
The Nigerian could have practically directed it anywhere and scored, but he managed to pick a spot just wide of the post.
15) Fernando Torres
There are very few players on this list that did (or indeed ever will) cost £50m, but Torres has that title.
The Chelsea star rounded the keeper superbly, but then in his haste to finish smashed it wide of the gaping goal.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard this was not a shock, and was quite in keeping with his form at Stamford Bridge.
14) Philip Hoffman
Hoffman is one of the brightest young talents around at the moment, but his stock may have taken a bit of a hit after this miss.
Shinning the ball over the bar from close range after fantastic work from his teammate put it on a plate for him.
13) Jon Dahl Tomasson
Chipping the ball over the bar when it is literally on the line is quite an impressive feat – a feat that Jon Dahl Tomasson mastered.
12) Evangelos Mantzios
Greek Cup Final, trailing 2-1, a fantastic chance to level things in the dying moments of the game.
This is the chance that fell to Mantzios, but he very kindly decided to pass the ball straight back to the keeper instead of slotting it into the open net.
11) Chris Iwelumo
On his international debut Iwelumo managed to get onto the end of a sumptuous cross leaving himself a simple finish.
He managed to connect with his standing foot however, knocking the ball agonisingly wide.
His teammates were visibly unimpressed.
10) Nicoletta den Ridder
One from women’s football now, Nicoletta den Ridder with an unbelievable miss.
A loose free-kick seemed destined for the back of the net, but somehow den Ridder skied it from close range.
9) Kei Kamara
With the ball on the line it looked like an easy finish for Kamara. He overshot it however, completely missing the ball with his feet.
In an attempt to make up for it, he punched the ball into his net with his hand; proceeding to look shocked when the referee told him this was not allowed.
8) Nwankwo Kanu
The former Arsenal man knew instantly what a fantastic chance he had missed, somehow chipping the ball over the bar from a couple of yards out.
7) Peter van Vossen
Van Vossen somehow missed this sitter in a Rangers v Celtic derby, Rangers fans understandably not happy with him.
Teed up perfectly by his teammate, it seemed like a simple finish, but van Vossen made it look anything but.
6) Jose Carlos Fernandez
This one wasn’t so much of a miss, more of a failure to understand that you need to touch the ball for it to move.
Fernandez was inches from the goal line as the ball dropped in front of him, but he seemed afraid to touch it as he allowed it to bounce on the line before being cleared.
5) Diana Ross
Somewhat more forgivable than most as she is not a footballer by trade, but Diana Ross’ miss still goes down as one of the worst in history.
In a stunt organised for the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Ross was supposed to score a penalty that would split the goal in two.
She missed her spot kick completely, but everything was already in motion and the goal still crumbled in front of her.
4) Cristiano Ronaldo
This just goes to show that even the greatest players in the world have off days. After great work from Rooney and Giggs, Ronaldo had the simplest of tap ins to put away.
He spooned it over the bar however, and the expression that followed says it all.
3) Ronnie Rosenthal
Liverpool goalkeeper David James put Rosenthal through with a long ball that Aston Villa completely failed to deal with, but the Israeli striker somehow struck the crossbar from close range.
By far one of the worst misses of the Premier League era.
2) Fahad Khalfan
A terrible display of goalkeeping, only bettered by the horrendous finish that followed.
Qatar international Khalfan looked like he couldn’t miss, but he lashed the ball bizarrely against the post and saw it roll back into play.
1) Rocky Baptiste
After rounding the goalkeeper Baptiste looked like he couldn’t possibly miss. The Harrow Borough man dribbled right up to the goal before really putting his foot through it, only to see the ball smash against the post and go out of play.