A thing of beauty - 49.7m of curve, verve and vision

 


It was Match 8, Day 4 of Euro 2020 (or 2021, no one knows what to call it), when Patrik Schick produced a moment of pure football genius.

The Czech had mainly sit back and let Scotland do the running at a Hampden Park with supporters for the first time in ages. Schick had already given the Czech a lead with a wonderful header - Outjumping 2 defenders before steering the ball into the net - but the Scots were huffing and puffing and (at times) looking threatening.

On 51:28 McGregor, from about 20 meters in the Czech half attempted a long shot (and it really was a long shot). The shot was blocked and rebounded towards the Scotland half. Patrik Schick is left footed, and luckily for him the ball rebounded to his left (because you need some luck). He ran onto it, and a look up told him that Marshall, the Scottish Goalkeeper, was playing sweeper and was way off his line. At 51:30 he struck it.

It was as if time stopped.... 

The ball arced from 49.7 meters (The furthest from which a goal has been scored at the Euros since 1980), as if in slow motion it arched over Marshall's head - Marshall was sprinting back at full tilt - and the ball as if teasing him curved and dipped right over his head and right into the center of the goal. Marshall ended up in a heap at the back of his net, and as Schick ran towards the stands to celebrate he probably realized what he had done.

Footballers, and football fans live for moments like this. The 3 seconds from when Schick struck the ball, to when it left Marshall bundled, and desolate at the back of his net, were pure genius.

Hampden Park, Scotland may have lost, but the beauty of this goal will go down in the ghosts of this iconic stadium.





 

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