10 Biggest Blunders in Football History That Cost a Lot

In football, blunders can happen at any time and committed by anyone. The impact of the blunder can impact the whole team draw or even lose. Obviously this will make the players who make blunders will certainly remember the blunders they did and become a long trauma. Here are the 10 worst blunders that have ever happened in football:

1. John Terry vs Manchester United

One of the moments that John Terry may not forget may be the match when Chelsea faced Manchester United in the Champions League in 2008. The two Premier League giants managed to penetrate to the final round. The final match was played at the Luzhhniki Stadium in the city of Moscow.

After playing 90 minutes and the score ended 1-1, the match continued into extra time. There was no change in the score, the match continued to the penalty shootout. Cristiano Ronaldo who missed a penalty gave Chelsea a little hope. John Terry who became the last kicker missed a penalty which resulted in Chelsea failing to seal the Champions League title.

The penalty shoot-out was continued until it was Nicolas Anelka’s turn. Anelka’s kick was saved perfectly by Van der Sar and made Manchester United win.

2. Martin Hansson, France vs Ireland

Blunders have always been identified with football players, but did you know that it’s not just players who can make blunders? In addition to players, referees can also make blunders. Just like players, referees who make blunders can also determine the direction of the football game in an instant. This happened in the second leg of France against Ireland in the 2010 World Cup.

The first leg of France managed to beat Ireland with a score of 1-0. In the second leg, Ireland managed to score 1 goal which forced the match to continue in extra time. In the chaos in front of the Irish goal, Thierry Henry touched the ball and passed the ball to Gallas who had headed in. The referee, Martin Hansson, approved the goal and the match ended with the score 1-1. This made the Irish step failed to continue to the next round.

3. Roberto Baggio vs Brazil

Italy has many great football players, starting from Gianluigi Buffon, Dino Zoff, Alexander Del Piero, Francesco Totti, and many other great football players from Italy. Of these big names, it is impossible for the Italian public to forget the figure of Roberto Baggio. He is a football player who plays as a striker and attacking midfielder. He is known as a reliable playmaker and good at executing free kicks.

Football players in the class of Roberto Baggio have also made blunders. This blunder occurred in an important tournament, the World Cup in 1994. Making it to the final, Italy had to face Brazil and win if they wanted to lift this prestigious trophy. The match was tight until it had to continue in the penalty shootout. Being the decisive kicker, Baggio even failed to do so. As a result, Italy had to be willing to take the championship title by Brazil.

4. Rafael Van der Vaart vs VfB Stuttgart

Ajax Amsterdam Academy is known for always being diligent in producing great players. One of the great players born from the Ajax academy is Rafael Van der Vaart. Entering the Ajax academy and performing well, Van der Vaart made his debut at senior level when he was 17 years old. Now Van der Vaard has retired from playing football and switched professions as a manager.

While still active as a player, Van der Vaart had defended the Hamburger SV team. When Hamburg met with VfB Stuttgart, Van der Vaart made a fatal mistake. Van der Vaart tried to do a long pass and bounced towards the goalkeeper. Van der Vaart was not aware that his goalkeeper was attacking and the goal was empty. The ball was immediately chased by Stuttgart players and managed to enter it into the goal.

5. Massimo Taibi vs Southampton

The departure of Peter Schmeichel from Manchester United clearly had a big impact on the Red Devils. Wanting to find a suitable replacement, Manchester United bought Massimo Taibi from Venice in 1999. Taibi’s performance was not so good during his Manchester United uniform. He only played 4 times and was sold one year later to Reggina.

In the first two matches, Taibi actually appeared quite convincing. Until finally arrived when Manchester United met with Southampton. Taibi made a fatal blunder that made his team have to draw with the score 3-3. Taibi failed to catch the ball well and the ball slipped through his legs. The blunder was unforgivable and made his position as the main goalkeeper removed.

6. Andres Escobar’s Own Goal

A blunder is a terrible thing that can happen to a football player apart from injury. Besides being able to create deep trauma, making blunders can make the football player ridiculed and even killed by his own fans. Killed? Can that happen? Of course, I can. This terrible and tragic thing was experienced by Andres Escobar.

Andres Escobar is a football player from Colombia. Colombia has very militant fans. When Colombia met USA in the 1994 World Cup, Andres Escobar made a blunder that he will never forget. Intending to clear the ball from John Harkes’ crossing, the ball bounced off Escobar’s feet and into his own net. The final result of the match Colombia lost to USA with a score of 2-1 and failed to qualify from the group stage.

Supporters of the Colombian national team, which is known to be militant, are very upset and angry at Escobar’s blunder. When Escobar wanted to go to a bar with his friends, Escobar met a Colombian supporter and the supporter pulled out a gun and shot Escobar. Escobar was shot 6 times and died while being taken to the hospital.

7. Zinedine Zidane vs Italy

Football matches are not only an arena for mixing coach strategies and player skills, but also mental battles. Anyone who is mentally weak and is successfully influenced by the opponent, then the player can lose focus. Players who have lost focus can affect the team’s game. If this player who has lost control and focus is an important figure in the team, then losing him will be crucial.

This once happened in Italy’s match against France in the 2006 World Cup. Italy met France in the final and the match was exciting. At the time the score was 1-1, Zidande did something that many people didn’t expect. Zidane suddenly headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest. As a result of his actions, Zidane got a red card from the referee and France. The loss of Zidane certainly greatly affected the French game.

France and Italy continued the match until the penalty shootout. Unfortunately, France lost on penalties to Italy with a score of 5-3.

8. Loris Karius vs Real Madrid

The name of the final match will certainly be very tense and exciting. The players from both teams will definitely feel tense. The Champions League final match that took place in 2018 brought together 2 big teams, namely Liverpool and Real Madrid. The match ended 3-1 in favor of Real Madrid.

The defeat was felt for Liverpool, especially Loris Karius the goalkeeper. Karius appeared convincing by making a number of brilliant saves. But he made 2 fatal mistakes that resulted in goals for Real Madrid. The first blunder he made was when he was about to throw the ball at his teammate but was instead blocked by Benzema who was right in front of Karius.

The second error was made when he failed to catch Bale’s long-range shot well. The ball slipped from his catch and went into his own net. Already Mohamed Salah suffered an injury and was withdrawn after being fouled by Sergio Ramos, Karius made 2 blunders, and Liverpool lost, becoming a nightmare that will not be forgotten by Karius and the Reds fans.

9. Oliver Kahn vs Brazil

Compared to football players who play as active players, the goalkeeper position has a very long playing life. Goalkeepers can play until the age of 40 years. Just look at an example, namely Gianluigi Buffon who is still actively playing even though he is 44 years old. Before the Buffon era, there was one great and respected goalkeeper from Germany named Oliver Kahn.

Despite holding the title of one of the greatest goalkeepers in Germany, Oliver Kahn has also made blunders. Kahn’s blunder occurred when Germany met Brazil in the 2002 World Cup. Rivaldo, who took a long-range shot but slowly, tried to be caught by Kahn. Unfortunately Kahn couldn’t catch the ball well, the ball bounced right at Ronaldo. Ronaldo immediately reacted quickly and kicked the ball into Kahn’s goal. Germany had to admit defeat to Brazil, 2-0.

10. Steven Gerrard vs Chelsea

Liverpool actually have a great opportunity to break their title drought in 2014. Liverpool, who had not won the Premier League title for a long time, had a big chance in 2014. They managed to play well in many matches, until they finally slipped when they faced Chelsea.

Liverpool’s slipping moment was preceded by the slip of the captain, Steven Gerrard. Mamadou Sakho, who passed the ball to Gerrard, could not be controlled properly by the captain because he slipped. Demba Ba took advantage of the moment to grab the ball, dribbled it quickly, and scored his goal against Simon Mignolet. The final result, Liverpool lost 2-0.