Only five years ago he was playing in the seventh tier of the English football pyramid. Over the weekend he entered the Premier League record books
ADVERTISEMENTOnly five years ago he was playing in the seventh tier of the English football pyramid. Over the weekend he entered the Premier League record books by scoring for an 11th consecutive match.
The rise to the top of the English game for Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy is almost fit for a Hollywood script. No seriously…British writer Adrian Butchart, who co-wrote the first and second parts of football trilogy Goal!, is reportedly set to discuss a deal in LA about making a film on the player.
Vardy is not the only one to celebrate a fantastic run of goals.
Barcelona trio Messi, Suarez, Neymar, have so far this year have scored more goals between them than the entire Real Madrid team, and many other top clubs around Europe.
Topflight goalscoring machine
From non-league striker to Premier League record-breaker. Jamie Vardy’s incredible rise through England’s football echelons is nothing short of miraculous.
As recently as 2012, the 28-year-old was still playing non-League football for Fleetwood Town.
Over the weekend he scored in an 11th consecutive Premier League match in his side’s one all draw with Manchester United, taking him passed Ruud van Nistelrooy’s previous mark of 10 set in 2003.
It was a fitting location for Vardy’s record-breaking achievement as his first ever Premier League goal came against the Red Devils in a 5-3 victory 14 months ago.
Thanks to everyone for all the congratulation messages! Over the moon to have achieved this, but there is still lots of work to be done!!
— Jamie Vardy (@vardy7) November 29, 2015
Barca’s lethal trident
Staying on the subject of goal scoring machines – it’s hard to think of a more lethal trio of strikers than Barcelona’s Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
The attacking tirdent (dubbed MSN) have wreaked havoc on their opponents domestically and in European this term.
Between them they have scored 125 times in 2015, which is 13 goals more than the entire Real Madrid team.
All three were again on target in the Catalan’s 4-0 weekend win over Real Sociedad.
In total Barca have scored 160 goals this year with Messi’s 2015 tally at 44, Neymar at 41 and Suarez on 40, across all competitions.
MSN have scored 125 goals in year 2015 club:
Messi – 44
Neymar – 41
Suarez – 40KINGS OF EUROPE…
— Leo Messi (@messi10stats) November 29, 2015
Up and Down
Up
In netting his 85th Ligue 1 goal, on Saturday at the Parc des Princes against Troyes, Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic equalled the club’s all-time goal-scoring record in the French first division, level with Mustapha Dahleb.
ADVERTISEMENTBayer Leverkusen’s Javier Hernandez became the first Mexican footballer to score in seven consecutive matches in a European league surpassing Real Madrid legend Hugo Sanchez’s previous mark of six straight games with a goal.
The former Manchester United striker is the highest scoring Mexican in Bundesliga history.
Down
On the down and by no fault of his own is Portugal midfielder Tiago who now looks set to miss the rest of the season and possibly next year’s European Championships in France after breaking his leg during Atletico Madrid’s win over Espanyol on Saturday.
Joining Tiago on the down – and this is their own fault – is the Russian Football Federation which has banned its clubs from signing Turkish players in the winter transfer window.
ADVERTISEMENTRelations between the countries remain strained since a Russian warplane was shot down by Turkish forces killing one pilot.
Road to Euro
The final of the 1976 European Championships was decided from the penalty spot.
It was an historic shoot-out, that will be remembered for Panenka’s delightful and innovative strike.
But Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Uli Hoeness might remember it for another reason.
ADVERTISEMENT1976 UEFA European Championship was the first major tournament decided by a shoot-out in the final match fitting for a competition that had been tense throughout: every match went to extra time.
When extra time ended the Czechoslovakia players did not initially know the final was to be decided on penalties, as agreed by the national associations the previous day.
West Germany’s Uli Hoeness missed the decisive penalty that helped hand Czechoslovakia the title. It was his final competitive international match due to injury.
We Might Be Wrong
Here’s a look at our predictions for the following selected matches. Do not forget to have a go yourselves on Facebook and Twitter using #TheCornerScores.
ADVERTISEMENTBorussia Monchengladbach 1-3 Bayern Munich
Wolfsburg 2-4 Borussia Dortmund
Valencia 1-3 Barcelona
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Athletic Bilbao