In soccer right now we are seeing an all-out battle for the trophies in two of the biggest leagues in the world; they are the two biggest leagues: UEFA Champions League and the Premier League.

Soccer has given us so many great moments, that it becomes difficult to choose a handful. Even selecting our favorite stand-out Premier League players proves difficult. To make things easier for you, we’ve handpicked some of the best moments from soccer and what we think about them! 

Brazil’s 2002 World Cup Win

For many years, the Brazilian Men’s Soccer Team reigned supreme during the FIFA Soccer World Cup. To this day, Brazil remains the country with the most soccer world cup wins (five trophies in total), making them the most successful world cup team.

This game saw Brazil face off against an energized and top form German side. But Brazil proved to be a force to be reckoned with and secured a brilliant 2 – 0 victory to lift the trophy.

What makes this moment even more spectacular is that Brazil’s most successful player, Pele, took the time to praise Ronaldo – who was a formidable player in the 2000s and Brazil’s best player at the time. Ronaldo is considered the original Ronaldo, sorry CR7 AKA Christiano Ronaldo fan. Truly an amazing game with world-class sportsmanship, as well as highlighting the strength of the Brazilian squad. 

Colombian Goalkeeper Rene Higuita’s Scorpion Save

Higuita was widely known for his theatrics on the field, and this moment on 6 September 1995 proved no different. Colombia was playing a friendly match against England when Higuita famously stopped Jamie Redknapp’s goal in what some refer to as, acrobatic fashion.

Now, this was no ordinary save. Instead, Higuita jumped forward and lifted his legs to kick a shot from Redknapp away with his heels. This is known as the scorpion kick. Higuita revealed the following in an interview: “[The scorpion kick] will never be imitated.

Today’s goalkeeper does not take risks like I used to; he is a simpler player. It was taken from a kids’ game; then it came into training. I started to perfect it and, after five years, I decided to try it.” This trick truly put the Colombian and his country on the map.

When Lionel Messi Scored His First Goal for Barcelona

Lionel Messi is right up there with the world’s best soccer players. It’s a toss-up between himself and Cristiano Ronaldo but that is a conversation for another day. Messi is soccer royalty and one of Argentina’s best players, second only to the legend himself, Diego Maradona.

It was 1 May 2005, and the then 18-year-old Messi scored his first official goal when Barcelona played Albacete during week 34 of LA Liga. This was also the winning goal of the game since Barça beat Albacete 2 – 0.

What also makes this moment great is that at the time, Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho passed the torch to his new teammate in superb fashion by passing him the ball allowing him to score the goal. 

Leicester City Win the Premier League in the 2015/2016 Season

To say Leicester City was the under during this season was an understatement. This team came out of nowhere to take down team, after team, after team to reign supreme and come out as the champions. This is one of the greatest sporting stories of all time.

Coming in from 14th position in the previous season, Leicester City claimed the title and lost only 3 games that season. What’s more, since most of the players were in top form, they would then get the opportunity to play for other clubs. It’s wonderful to have your talent noticed, isn’t it?   

Croatia Beat England in the Semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup

Another Cinderella story is when Croatia beat England 2 – 1 during the semi-final match of the 2018 soccer world cup. Ironically, this was England’s most successful world cup bid since they won their first world cup trophy back in 1966.

What had the world in awe was the fact that Croatia is a relative underdog team and soon fans all over the world cheered for the European side to triumph. While this game is recorded in the history books, we hope to see Croatia shine later this year in the world cup in Qatar. 

By: Rajeev Chohan

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Ben Radford – Getty Images