Manchester_City_Blue
Well-Known Member
Good read
[url:rl0bqd3g]http://footballorbust.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/the-best-thing-in-football-1/[/url] said:Some things just look amazing on the pitch. A curler into the top corner. An overhead kick. Maybe both at the same time. Over the weekend, Messi made me jump out of my chair by beating two men with one movementbefore slipping the ball past the keeper.But there’s one thing that I cannot get enough of.
On Saturday, already 1-0 down to Man City and in the final minute, Royston Drenthe of Everton plays a loose ball across the halfway line to David Silva, stood just 5 yards away. Silva immediately runs forward and finds himself as the only Man City player in the Everton half, with Jagielka, Rodwell and Distin surrounding him. Silva holds the ball up while waiting for support, spinning himself away from Jagielka and then Rodwell’s poor attempts at tackles. Now facing the opposite touchline, Silva sees what he’s been waiting for. Milner is making a forward run between Baines and Rodwell. It’s not just what he was waiting for- I could watch the dullest of games and come away happy if I’ve seen a good one. It’s the through ball.
Any player could score a wonder goal; even a goal that a first glance seems fantastic can disappoint on closer inspection when you know it’s a hit and hope. I remember Michael Owen talking about this memorable Essien strike vs Arsenal. He said that with most impressive goals that you see, a top level pro would be able to recreate them in training, but this was such a unique goal that very few could. Similarly, most players could probably hit a target from 20 yards without pressure, but not every player has the ability to assess the pitch in the heat of the moment and patiently wait for the right time to release the right pass. Years of hitting triangle on FIFA and Pro Evo has probably conditioned most of us to thinking that they’re fairly easy, but the few players who can consistently hit one well should remind us that they aren’t. It is this thoughtfulness and care that attracts me to the through ball, the fact that you’ve really got to know what you’re doing to even consider it, let alone pull it off. The footballer who can play a very good one is usually graceful with technique that looks even better in slow motion – Zico, Cantona, Bergkamp, Xavi, and the man who is currently my favourite player to watch in the Premier League; David Silva.
Now, Milner is really moving, and the ball is too. Silva flicks it with the outside of his boot between Distin and Rodwell, weighting it so that it will hit that patch of grass he’s identified in his mind at the same as Milner arrives there and before Howard can. But I’ve stopped watching. I don’t care if he scores or not because I’ve already seen the best thing that a game of football has to offer.