Euro 2012: Samir Nasri Finds Deliverance for France Against Bosnia

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: October 14, 2011

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It's funny what a free kick can do for a player's reputation.

In 2001, England were mired in a decisive World Cup qualifier against Greece. The score stood 2-1 in favor of the visiting Greeks with less than a minute remaining in the match.

A draw was all the Three Lions needed to secure passage to the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. Yet with the full-time whistle mere moments away, the likelihood of a miracle seemed to dwindle with each passing second.

Then England were awarded a free kick from 25 yards out, dead square in front of goal. You could have heard a pin drop in Old Trafford.

What happened next will forever live on as one of the most iconic moments in English footballing history.

Beckham had turned national villain three years prior to that fateful November day when, during the 1998 World Cup finals, his petulant kick-out at Diego Simeone earned him a straight red card.

Simeone had bowled into the then-Manchester United star, but it was Beckham's ill-fated decision that ruled the day.

England would go on to lose the match and be knocked out of the tournament, and Michael Owen's superb goal was largely forgotten in the wake of Beckham's antics. He was reviled for having let his side down. In a situation in which they had needed him most, he lost his head for a precious few moments and cost his team the win.

Suffice it to say that the free kick against Greece smacked of potential catharsis. It seemed no one else but Beckham had any right to take that kick.

When he struck the ball, it seemed as if time stopped and then started again in slow motion. The technique was immaculate—the ball launched into the air, and looked predestined for the upper left-hand corner.

Greek keeper Antonis Nikopolidis could do little more than stare at what was, to be fair, one of the more sweetly-struck free kicks in all of history, as it swung into the net....
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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