This week ESPN FC is counting down, in chronological order, 10 of the best goals to have been scored at the World Cup. We'll be bringing you two of the finest per day, but add your own and join the debate in our comments section or via the hashtag #FCWorldCupgoals. Users in the U.S. can watch each goal in the video above; those outside, please click here.
Like Carlos Alberto’s famous strike for Brazil against Italy in 1970, Esteban Cambiasso’s goal at the 2006 finals demonstrated that even in a sport dominated by iconic individuals, the concept of the "team" still has the power to captivate -- particularly when executed in a manner close to footballing perfection. It wasn’t a match-winner or a goal of particular value, but Argentina’s second in a 6-0 group-stage rout of Serbia and Montenegro was nonetheless truly something to behold.
Possessing a fearsome attack, which included the likes of Pablo Aimar, Juan Roma Riquelme, Javier Saviola, Hernan Crespo and a promising 18-year-old whippersnapper from Barcelona by the name of Lionel Messi, Argentina found themselves in their customary position among the pre-tournament favourites. A narrow squeeze past Ivory Coast in their opening encounter did not produce the sort of freewheeling football that many predicted, but there was certainly more to come from Jose Pekerman’s side.
It took Maxi Rodriguez just six minutes to break Serbia and Montenegro’s resistance at Schalke’s Veltins Arena; the start of an embarrassing afternoon. Then, just after the half-hour mark, Argentina strung together 24 consecutive passes; only goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri and full-back Nicolas Burdisso missed out on caressing the ball in a move that left tiki-taka aficionadas positively drooling. The conclusion was spectacular as Crespo brilliantly backheeled towards the penalty spot for Cambiasso -- on as an early substitute in place of the injured Lucho Gonzalez -- to cut across the ball with his left foot.
The goal was described enthusiastically by the Guardian’s Barry Glendenning, who wrote: “Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Ping. Cambiasso. Crespo. Cambiasso ... goal! The goal of the tournament so far and quite possibly the greatest goal that's ever been scored. They'll be setting that one to music for years to come.”
Gazzetta dello Sport described the Inter Milan midfielder’s effort as “an exposition of football,” and Cambiasso’s teammate Crespo was equally gushing, saying: "It was one of the best goals of this World Cup. Moreover, I have not seen a goal like that for years. It was almost like indoor football. We made a lot of passes and on top of that, the ball finished in the net.”
The goal garnered praise the world over and was so revered that it even provided the inspiration for an academic paper by David R. Brillinger at the Statistics Department of the University of California, Berkeley -- who sought to “describe analytically the spatial-temporal movement of such a particular sequence of passes.”
Cambiasso, who went on to miss the decisive spot-kick as Argentina were eliminated by hosts Germany in the quarterfinals, has always reflected somewhat modestly on his goal. While he has recognised that it was “patience, rhythm, circulation, surprise and football artistry at its best,” he has been unwilling to entertain comparisons with Diego Maradona’s famed solo effort against England in 1986. The Inter Milan man later said: “I do not think that another goal could surpass Diego [Maradona]'s goal against England. The goal of Diego was 10 times better than my goal.”