In this new series, I’m going to take a look at a few of my favourite goals, and try to break down what is happening, why it’s happening and how it’s happening. There are many, many small decisions and moments that make up any goal, and you generally need a lot of things to fall into place to score a goal. The thing that makes the great goals truly great is that they are a series of optimal decisions, executed to perfection. This may sound cold and calculated, like completing an equation in maths class. And the truth is that they are. They are cold, calculated decisions that give 100% chance of success. That’s what makes the players who execute these goals geniuses.
That being said, I see no better place to start than with an Arsenal legend, who’s very nickname suggests ruthlessness and a killer instinct that belies the genius that he undoubtedly is. Ladies and (most probably exclusively) gentlemen, I give you Dennis Bergkamp vs Bayer Leverksuen.
Before we get started, I’m going to apologise in advance for the quality of the video that I’m going to use, it looks like it was filmed on a potato. Thank God for High Definition television cameras. I will be referring to THIS VIDEO HERE. Watch it through first, because it is absolutely, pant-tighteningly sexy.
Done? Now here’s how it was done.
Bergkamp’s involvement starts before Wiltord on the right wing has even picked up Dixon’s pass. At 2:42, you can see Bergkamp look towards goal. He knows he’s in space, he knows where the space to exploit is, and he gets a quick look at the goalkeeper as well.
As Wiltord comes infield, the opportunity arises for Bergkamp to make a run into the space behind the left sided centre back, and it wouldn’t be a bad decision. It gets Arsenal in on goal, it’s not an overly difficult pass for Wiltord to make as there’s room for error, Bergkamp would be on his right foot and he’d be in a position to get a shot away first time. However, Bergkamp, while no slouch, was never the fastest. There is a very real chance that the right sided centre back could step across and sweep up.
So Bergkamp stays still and gets the ball into his feet. Now here’s a shocker for you; he miscontrols it! Dennis Bergkamp, the man with the touch of a feather, the man who did this against Argentina in a World Cup, gets the ball stuck under his feet and ends up facing away from goal.
And the genius really begins. Edu (coming into shot on the left of the screen) is backing up play, and is the easy pass to go back and build again. With two defenders either side of him, this is what just about every player would do. Hell, it’s what you’re told you SHOULD do. But then you’re not Dennis Bergkamp.
The defender to his right tries to nick it off his toe, and the defender to his left goes across to cover Edu, presumably to cut off a first time shot. But Bergkamp is already ahead of both of them, and drags the ball back to the space. The one thing you do not want Dennis Bergkamp to have as a defender is space, and he has now opened up yards for himself. As the saying goes, give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.
That’s Bergkamp’s marker, in a different postcode at this stage
Now, you’re always told the best players play with their heads up. Still images don’t really show it, but Bergkamp’s head is up again, and this time he’s just confirming what he saw before…the keeper’s about to get mugged off. You see, while there’s an aesthetic brilliance to a perfectly executed lob, there’s cold, hard geometry behind it. And who better to explain it than the man himself.
“When I played in Holland, I always tried to lob the goalkeeper. People used to say, ‘Oh, you’re always only trying to make a nice goal’. But I said, ‘listen, if the goalie is a little bit off his line, how much space do you have on his left or right? It’s not a lot. And how much space do you have above him? There is more. It’s a question of mathematics.”
The space is above the goalie! Sure, you could take a chance and rattle it towards the near top corner, but that’s not as likely to come off. You could maybe argue that there’s a pass on to Henry, but that is almost impossible. So Bergkamp does what gives him the best chance of success. The optimal decision. He lifts it.
The goalkeeper is dead. Bergkamp has absolutely killed him. The ball (helpfully pointed out for you, potato quality video) is already well on it’s way, and the goalkeeper has just got his feet planted, expecting a drilled shot. He’s made even more space for Bergkamp to exploit! In the words of the great Dave Chappelle, an example of when keeping it real goes wrong.
The rest is academic. It glides beautifully on a perfect arc, tempting the goalkeeper with the possibility of sailing over the bar before dropping delicately into the net. A majestic goal from a genius. A masterpiece built on the canvas of geometry. Quite simply, optimal decision after optimal decision. 4 of them to be exact. He stands still, he ignores Edu, he turns his man, and then he chips it. Sounds simple enough like that, but it is the perfect execution of every perfect decision that makes this goal outstanding.
And it all happens inside ten seconds.
That’s why it’s genius.
honestpro 