Best/Worst Performance From A Player You Have Seen

Paully D

Following on from the ''worst LOI player you have seen'' thread, what are the best/worst performances you can remember from a player regardless of division or level? You don't necessarily have to have been there to witness the performance "live".

For me:

Best

Thierry Henry for Arsenal vs Sunderland in 2006. Arsenal won 3-0 in the game that Diaby suffered that injury from Smith's shocker of a challenge. Henry was just unbelievable and was clapped off by the whole stadium when he was substituted with around 10 minutes remaining. Similar happened with Deco when Chelsea beat us 3-1 in 2009.

Roy Keane vs Juventus in their treble winning year has to be up there. Even more impressive when one considers that he already knew he would be out of the final should they progress. In fact you could include a number of Keane showings, including the game against Holland in 2001. That tackle on Overmars at the start of the game, talk about setting the tone :pac:

Zidane (World Cup 1998 final), Ronaldo (Champions League vs Manchester United 2003), and Ronaldinho (La Liga vs Real Madrid 2005) are all up there too.

Worst:

As a Sunderland fan there's probably far too many to mention, but:

Paul McShane vs Everton in 2007. We conceded 7 goals and he was directly responsible for 5. Utter, utter rubbish and I will never be able to erase it from my memory. Even worse is the fact that he was so good on his debut I was declaring that we got a bargain paying £2m for him :pac: That Everton performances was also the inspiration for the below Oscar nominated video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGMuoxihmu4

Kelvin Davis in a 4-1 defeat to Portsmouth in 2005. In truth it would be hard to find a good game Kelvin Davis had for us (ironically his best was in a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford when relegation had already been confirmed) but he was atrocious in this one. Lobbed from 45 yards by Matty Taylor, like Bambi on Ice when receiving back-passes and conceded another two soft goals. It got so bad that a fan ran onto the pitch to confront him :eek:

The Liverpool fans might recall this one, Rade Price away to Liverpool in a 3-0 defeat for Sunderland around 2007? He was a striker but Keane decided to play him on the wing after Richardson went down injured and Gerrard playing on the right absolutely annihilated him. He was never seen again.

Phil Bardsley in the 5-1 defeat to Newcastle is also up there. He was at fault for 4 goals if I remember correctly.

There's many more both good and bad but I'll leave it there for now.

DARK-KNIGHT

Remember my mate playing for peamount united years ago and he had a howler in the game missed goal from two yards and got sent off...

USELESS

osarusan

Desailly for AC Milan against Barcelona in the 4-0 European cup final from....1994? Completely dominated a Barcelona midfield of Guardiola, Bakero, and Amor.

rob316

Lol when I thought of worst performance I immediately though about McShane. Christ that game he had some mare.

kfallon

The season Ronaldo was at Barcelona.....every week he was amazing!

Fizman

I've posted about this before, but from a 90 minute point of view.......and importance of the game, and the sheer brilliance of each goal.......for me the stand-out individual performance is summed up in 3 words:

Rivaldo, hat-trick, Valencia.

I remember watching that match live on Sky, and got a serious case of goose bumps when he scored that last minute bicycle kick from 20 yards. What adds to the whole thing was that Valencia were a serious defensive outfit at the time as well, amongst the best in Europe.

hefferboi

Probably not the best I've ever seen but the one that springs to mind is Kaka v Liverpool in the 1st half of the champions league final 2005. He oozed class for 45 mins.

LuckyLloyd

Best:

- Roy Keane against Portugal in June 2001. Never seen anything as complete and comprehensive from an individual since;
- In terms of team performances, loathe as I am to admit it I think you'd have to take the Barca CL final wins in 09 and 11 as the pinnacle of controlling games at the very top level;

Worst:

- bit random, but I remember young Rafael was subbed on for Utd during their QF second leg against Munich (the game with that Robben volley from a corner kick) and was sent off after less than a half of play on the field. You see that type of stuff from young players every so often mind;
- when Ipswich got beat 9 - 0 at Old Trafford in the nineties. Abject stuff;


Strange that all my examples involve Utd in one form or another!

grohlisagod

Zidane against Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarter final has to be up there. Majestic.

Winston Payne

I'll return if I can think of a performance that's fitting as a companion for this, the worst:

United faced Wolves in November 2010. United had actually started the season in very moderate form, throwing away two-goal leads to at Fulham and Everton in the early autumn. The general level of play was stodgy and slow. Bebe comes on as a substitute and puts in the display above, in keeping with the level the season had been at up to that juncture. United struggled to get over the line that day. At home. To Wolves.

That Rafael pick is mental by the way Lloyd. He'd Ribery in his pocket while he was on the pitch. It was a silly mistake on a booking, not a shocker allround.

Will I Amnt

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Best:

- Roy Keane against Portugal in June 2001. Never seen anything as complete and comprehensive from an individual since;
- In terms of team performances, loathe as I am to admit it I think you'd have to take the Barca CL final wins in 09 and 11 as the pinnacle of controlling games at the very top level;

Worst:

- bit random, but I remember young Rafael was subbed on for Utd during their QF second leg against Munich (the game with that Robben volley from a corner kick) and was sent off after less than a half of play on the field. You see that type of stuff from young players every so often mind;
- when Ipswich got beat 9 - 0 at Old Trafford in the nineties. Abject stuff;


Strange that all my examples involve Utd in one form or another!

Rafael started that game ...and played well up until the sending off.

Will I Amnt

McGrath v Italy would have to be up there. Brazilian Ronaldo for Madrid v United in the 4-3 at Old Trafford.

Can't think of any individual worst performances at the minute.

jesus_thats_gre

Winston Payne wrote: »

I'll return if I can think of a performance that's fitting as a companion for this, the worst:

Tis a long time since I laughed so much at a football related clip..

The_Kew_Tour

Pirlo destroying England's Midfield of Lampard and Gerrard in Euro 12 was thing of beauty.

Keane v Portugal in 2001.

Messi and both Ronaldos could have lots to themselves

Worst

Any player in Ireland shirt that got beat 5-2 to Cyprus and or last ditch goal to beat San Marino.

Glenn Whelan and Wards performance at Euros will be as bad as any player

Nerdlingr

grohlisagod wrote: »

Zidane against Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarter final has to be up there. Majestic.

Was going to post this as well. Unbeliveable performance. Mesmerising. Had to call my brother in from another room to get him to sit down and watch it, it was that good. I remember thinking to myself 'you're witnessing something special here' as the game was progressing.
Think the brazilian manger said something along the lines of "there was only one brazilian playing football out there today and that was zidane!"

cant really remember a worst but yer man palermo..for argentina ...missing three penalties in one game. doesnt get much worse than that.

kfallon

Marco Van Basten v Gothenburg in one of the first season's of the Champions League. Scored all 4 goals, one was a left footer while practically on the ground and another was an overhead kick!

DazMarz

Might not be the best he's ever done, but one that sticks in my mind will be Petr Cech in the 2012 Champions League Final. He kept Bayern Munich at bay for 83 minutes until Muller's header. Up until then, he had pulled off some amazing saves.

He also faced a total of 6 penalties that night (one during Extra Time and 5 in the shootout). He went the right way for every single one of them, and kept 3 out. Saved Robben's, Olic's and Schweinsteiger's. Got a whisper of a touch to Lahm's and Neuer's penalties, but they had enough power/placement to beat him. Mario Gomez's penalty was pure perfection and unstoppable, but Cech still read it right and went the right way for it.

Of course, Didier Drogba grabbed all the headlines from that final, scoring the crucial equaliser in the 88th minute and then the final and decisive penalty in the shootout. But the biggest, and most unsung, hero of that night was Petr Cech.

He has been consistently brilliant for Chelsea, even during the so-called slump following his head injury. There is still no goalkeeper in the world I'd rather see at Chelsea other than Cech. He's saved Chelsea's bacon more times than I care to mention, but the Champions League Final in 2012 will always stick in my mind for the heroics he performed between the sticks.

Paully D

Jon Walters last year vs Chelsea would have to be up there too as one of the worst. Two own goals, a penalty miss!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thdbi6CWrRs

rob316

Gerrard in Instanbul and I hate to admit it but Keane against Juventus in the CL Semi Final of 99.

IvySlayer

hefferboi wrote: »

Probably not the best I've ever seen but the one that springs to mind is Kaka v Liverpool in the 1st half of the champions league final 2005. He oozed class for 45 mins.

Kaka vs Man Utd over 2 legs in 2007 too :mad:

Beefy78

Keane vs Juventus or Beckham vs Greece for me. Christ, England was crap that day.

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Pirlo destroying England's Midfield of Lampard and Gerrard in Euro 12 was thing of beauty.

Parker and Gerrard. Lampard was injured. Pirlo played very eye-catchingly but will rarely have had an easier 90 minutes as England gave him acres of space. And for all his nice passing along the half-way line it is worth remembering that Italy didn't actually score a goal in 120 minutes that day.

The_Kew_Tour

Beefy78 wrote: »

Keane vs Juventus or Beckham vs Greece for me. Christ, England was crap that day.



Parker and Gerrard. Lampard was injured. Pirlo played very eye-catchingly but will rarely have had an easier 90 minutes as England gave him acres of space. And for all his nice passing along the half-way line it is worth remembering that Italy didn't actually score a goal in 120 minutes that day.

Does not matter seem him in full flow was still something very rare seen before.

It's not all about Goals. He set up some great chances not his fault.

Beefy78

True but you'd expect some end product from the best performance from a player you've ever seen and he provided none. Italy didn't miss a hat-full either.

Lovely penalty to be fair.

rob316

Albeit the opposition wasn't great and I'll probably be accused of bias but Suarez against Norwich this season was a stunning individual performance. All 4 goals of a very high quality.

double GG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c55cW6UGP0

He was just fantastic that evening.

Turtyturd

Messi when he single handidly destroyed Arsenal in the CL a few years back.

Zidane v Brazil in 2006.

McGrath v Italy 94.

Worst....Andy Carroll's time at Liverpool is a highlight reel of bad performances but the game against Newcastle where he chose to take a dive rather than put the ball in the net is the most unprofessional act I have seen on the pitch.

Skylinehead

Wilshere against Barcelona in the 2-1 in 2011. Outshone Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Arsenals best player Fabregas that night, simply majestic performance.

The_Kew_Tour

rob316 wrote: »

Albeit the opposition wasn't great and I'll probably be accused of bias but Suarez against Norwich this season was a stunning individual performance. All 4 goals of a very high quality.

He would have scored 4 against Barca that day.

One of best performances I have seen. His performance against Norwich when he scored near half way line was also fine display.

As United fan I don't like saying it but he is easily in Top 5 players I have seen in PL.

Chancer3001

Best were Owen Hargreaves and Paul scholes.

Two different games, both against Blackburn rovers at OT.

United were 1 down after an hour, then scholes turned in the best performance I've ever seen. 4-1 united in the end. Joke of a player.

Hargreaves beat us single handed ly too, 2-0 united, Benni McCarthy was our best player at the time but he couldn't get near the ball, Hargreaves just kept in getting it off us time after time after time.

Honorable mention goes go ambrosini for ac Milan. He just controlled the entire game, must have had twice as many touches as any other player. Better than kaka who was in his prime , and better than Inzaghi who dribbled 70 yards to score!!

LuckyLloyd

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Rafael started that game ...and played well up until the sending off.

You're right. I always thought he was subbed on for some reason.

token56

I would probably go with McGrath vs Italy for me, probably the best individual defensive display I've ever seen. Made all the more impressive given the fact he was pretty much playing that match and the tournament with only one functional shoulder.

hefferboi

IvySlayer wrote: »

Kaka vs Man Utd over 2 legs in 2007 too :mad:

He was some talent when he was at his peak. If he hadn't had a bad time with injuries I reckon he'd go down as one of the greatest ever. A real shame.

Morzadec

Winston Payne wrote: »

I'll return if I can think of a performance that's fitting as a companion for this, the worst:

United faced Wolves in November 2010. United had actually started the season in very moderate form, throwing away two-goal leads to at Fulham and Everton in the early autumn. The general level of play was stodgy and slow. Bebe comes on as a substitute and puts in the display above, in keeping with the level the season had been at up to that juncture. United struggled to get over the line that day. At home. To Wolves.

That Rafael pick is mental by the way Lloyd. He'd Ribery in his pocket while he was on the pitch. It was a silly mistake on a booking, not a shocker allround.

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Tis a long time since I laughed so much at a football related clip..

+1, that video surely belongs on the Humor Thread!

What was the actual story with Bebe? Because he doesn't actually look anything like a professional footballer in that video, and I know that phrase gets thrown around a lot figuratively about the likes of Cleverly or Cissohko, but really, I mean it, he literally does not look to have any ability. He reminds me of Ali Dia chap for Southampton.

rob316 wrote: »

Albeit the opposition wasn't great and I'll probably be accused of bias but Suarez against Norwich this season was a stunning individual performance. All 4 goals of a very high quality.

Worth a mention for sure. 2 goal of the season contenders in there.

It was a match we may well have struggled to win without him.

Standard of the opposition and importance of the match may count against him, and that's fair enough, but it was an unbelievable performance.

Turtyturd wrote: »

Messi when he single handidly destroyed Arsenal in the CL a few years back.

That Messi performance left me speechless. I think that would be the winner for me, in terms of an unstoppable performance in a big match that I watched.

I remember just thinking that Messi was far and away the best player I had ever seen play after that.

As for team performance, for me it would have to be Barcelona's 5-0 destruction of Real Madrid 3 years or so ago.

A performance actually worthy of whatever lyrical waxing Andersonisgod could throw at it, for me it was close to footballing perfection and you could only sit back and applaud and cheer for more goals. Unbelievably sharp, precise quick and intense. It was almost out of this world.

(I am not a Barca fanboy by the way, this is just my opinion - that Barca team and Messi at his peak are probably the most impressive things I've seen on a football pitch).

Moneymaker

For Newcastle:

Best:

Shearer vs Sheff Wed, scored 5 goals.
Bellamy vs Feyenoord, scored twice to bring us to the CL last 16
Woodgate vs Aston Villa away, was at that game. We had a man sent off after 4 mins and Woodgate single handidly kept Villa at bay
Guiterez vs Man Utd on his debut. He ran them ragged, he never played that well again.
Coloccni away to Stoke in a 3-1 win. Majestic.
Cisse away to Chelsea in a 2-0 win, scored 2 of the best goals you'd ever see.

Worst:

Too many to list but Pistone vs Arsenal in 98 FA Cup stands out for me.

kfallon

Worst - Paddy Kenny v Cyprus or Paul Butler's debut in a friendly v Czech Republic.....didn't even come out for the second half!!

bucketybuck

Greatest performance ever?

1996, St James Park. Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1

A top of the table clash where Newcastle battered United up and down the park but just couldn't get past Peter Schmeichel. He was an absolute colossus that day and if you didn't get to see him in his prime I can assure you that the keepers of today just don't compare. He was not just a goalkeeper, he was an actual presence on the field, such a dominating figure that most strikers didn't actually believe they could score when they went one-on-one.

Cantona got the winner on the break in the second half but it was Schmeichel that won that game for United. I think it was also one of the games with the famous "spread eagled" saves that he made so iconic.

theoneeyedman

There are probably several like this, but anyone remember Sourness signing "George Weah's cousin" at Southampton. A scam IIRC came on as a sub and lasted something like 20 mind before getting the hook. Never to be seen again.

fits into the best category obviously

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyI-OfT7zYM

Ali Dia, the greatest player Southampton ever had.

eagle eye

McGrath vs Italy was immense and it's near the top of my list but for me nothing beats Ronaldinho's performance in El Classico at the Barnabeau when they won 3-0 in 2007.

When a Barca player gets a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans you know you have seen something wonderful. I'll never forget that.

Agueroooo

was in Giants Stadium for McGraths performance against Italy during USA'94.

swear it was like there was two of him out there. amazing to watch and all you could hear after the game was McGrath this, McGrath that...unforgettable!

worst performance and more for the frustration factor, and the most recent in memory, is Ireland 'v' Spain in the Gdansk Poland.

If I am honest I missed all the 'Fields of Athenry' post match singing as I was already halfway to the tram absolutely bulling, and just wanting to get back to the camper/site and have a drink and forget about the performance I just witnessed...especially Robbie Keane (but that is another days argument):mad:

brevity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0QiX2KgiV8

The Brazilian Ronaldo against Manchester Utd. Applauded off by the Utd fans.

Diabhal Beag

Richard Dunne v Russia. None will top that.

The_Kew_Tour

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

Richard Dunne v Russia. None will top that.

Forgot totally about that.

Maybe its because of next 12 months, but that was one hell of a performance.

Was actually better then McGrath against Italy imo and thats saying something.

major bill

Going by Live viewing this one for me stands out

Kevin Hunt v Bate Borisov - The man was unbelievable, a warrior that night, the football that team played that night was possibly one of the best witnessed in Dalymount and Kevin Hunt was the inspiration.

Ronaldinho v real madrid

Majestic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyRCKZww-vI

Corholio

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Forgot totally about that.

Maybe its because of next 12 months, but that was one hell of a performance.

Was actually better then McGrath against Italy imo and thats saying something.

It certainly wasnt better than McGraths, but it was still a towering performance. Think Dunnes had dramatic instances, the one off the line, number drawn on the jersey etc which is why its been elevated, a bit too highly imo. McGraths was an utterly, outstanding, complete performance against some of the best players in the world.

SantryRed

Wes Hoolahan against Deportivo in Landsdowne in 2004. He didn't look out of place and gave Jorge Andrade a torrid time that night. Truly was one of the most impressive performances I've ever seen live.

Schwiiing

Ronaldo hat trick at Old Trafford in 2003.
Solksjaer comes off the bench an puts home 4 in an 8-1 mauling of Notts Forest in 1999.
Adriano's entire Confederations Cup in '05.

Blatter

One that stands out in recent memory was Pirlo v Germany in the Euro 2012 semi.

To dominate the way he did, on such a big stage and against high quality opponents, was incredible.

Balotelli scored the two goals and was brilliant but still couldn't stop Pirlo from receiving man of the match.

Corvo

Think too many people are putting in players that genuinely couldn't cut it at a certain level, though I understand that would still fall in with the thread title.

For me a general attitude to the game has to come into it and as such my pick is Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal against Manchester United in the Champions League semi finals in 2009.

Even though I support United, I couldn't help but feel for the Arsenal fans looking on upon this striker who did nothing and don't want to do anything for as long as he was on the pitch. A disgrace of a performance.

Blatter

Arshavin v United in the 8-2 was one of the worst I've seen.