Unusual Cases And Figures

Many football facts are incredible; they defy our understanding and challenge common sense. Many people could never accept or believe some of these stats. What are we talking about? Check out 10 unbelievable football stats.

Vini Has More Champions League Goals Than Ronaldo

At just 22 years of age, Real Madrid winger Vini has already scored more Champions League goals than the legend of Brazilian football Ronaldo. Vini has 15 goals in 46 games. The Ronaldo phenomenon, who played for Real Madrid and Inter throughout his entire career, scored 14 goals in 40 Champions League games.

Drogba Scored Fewer EPL Goals Than Bent

Darren Bent, a player who has been part of the squad of clubs like Ipswich, Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham, scored more Premier League goals than Didier Drogba, who is widely regarded as the brightest star of English football, although he has scored fewer – 104 goals compared to Bent’s 106. Despite the relatively small difference in the number of games they played – Bent 277, Drogba 254.

Stankovic Represented Three National Teams at World Cups

Dejan Stankovic – yimg.com

Inter and Lazio player Dejan Stankovic played for three different national teams at World Cups. In 1998, he was at the World Cup representing a unified Yugoslavia. In 2006, he represented Serbia and Montenegro. Then, when his homeland continued to break up, at his third World Cup in 2010, Stankovic played for Serbia.

Goalkeeper Played for Fifteen Minutes After the Referee Had Whistled the End of the Game

During a game between Chelsea and Charlton at Stamford Bridge in 1937, the game was ended early due to heavy rain. However, the Charlton goalkeeper Sam Bartram did not hear the referee blow the whistle, and also could not see the players leave the field, due to a thick fog on the field. He therefore remained in the goal for fifteen additional minutes, believing that his team was still playing on the opposing half of the field.

Man City Have Fewer European Trophies Than Nottingham Forest

Nowadays, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest exist in different worlds. While the former dominates the English Premier League and European football, the latter struggles for survival in the elite division. And, even though the Citizens won the Champions League, they have fewer European trophies than the Forest. Man City has won the CL once and the Cup Winners’ Cup once (1970), while Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice (1979, 1980) and the UEFA Super Cup once (1979).

Only One Team Was Able to Beat Barcelona in Four Games

Dundee United may be called the most inconvenient opponent for Barcelona in history. The two sides met four times in European competitions, and Dundee United won each of those games (2-1, 2-0, 1-0, 2-1). No other side that faced Barcelona multiple times achieved a 100 percent record in terms of taking all the points off the Blaugrana.

Perugia Did Not Lose a Single Match During the Season, Yet Did Not Win the Title

Perugia 1978/79 Italian season – gentlemanultra.com

In the 1978/79 Italian season, a remarkable occurrence happened. Perugia did not lose a single match during the season, and they won 11 matches and drew 19 in 30 games. However, they did not win the title, as the top spot in the league table belonged to AC Milan, who lost 3 games, but accumulated 3 more points than Perugia.

Real Won the Copa del Rey When Their Reserve Side Defeated Them in the Final

There was also a rare example of a different kind in Spanish football. In the 1979/80 Copa del Rey final, Real played … their reserve side Castilla, which knocked out an elite representative after another in the process of reaching the trophy. However, there was little resistance in the final: Real won 6-1.

Match Ended With a 149:0 Score

The Madagascar Championship match between Adema and Stade Olympique l’Emyrne is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest scoring margin in football history. It took place in October 2002, and the home side won 149:0. This huge defeat resulted from the guest team’s protest, who were fighting for gold, against arbitrariness shown by referees in the previous round. In that match, Adema had become the champion thanks to referees. In the head-to-head match, the coach of Stade Olympique l’Emyrne ordered his players to score as many own goals as possible, and they fulfilled this order completely. Some players were later banned for a long time.

Longest Penalty Shootout Was Composed of 48 Penalties

Namibian Cup – cloudfront.net

In the 2004/05 Namibian Cup, the longest penalty shootout in football history was held. A tiebreaker between KK Palace and Civics lasted so long, because neither of the two teams could win the game, and therefore, they had to decide the winner through penalties until the 48th shot on target. Finally, KK Palace won the series 17-16.