10 football moments to remember in 2016

1) Leicester City lifting the Premier League trophy

Los Blancos turned over a new leaf with Zidane as their manager after the sacking of Rafael Benitez. They warded off arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in the final at the San Siro in Milan in a repeat of the 2014 Champions League final. Sergio Ramos’ first half goal was canceled out by Yannick Carrasco’s second-half strike. The teams battled valiantly but none of them could find that winning goal even after 120 minutes of football. In the penalty shootout, Juanfran hit the post and Cristiano Ronaldo famously scored the winning penalty to settle the tie 5-4 on penalties. Real Madrid now has a record 11 champions league titles to its name, followed by Milan who have 7.

The transfer record was broken this year as the Red Devils got their former midfielder back from Italian champions Juventus for a whopping fee of 89m pounds. The rumour mill had been buzzing for the entire duration of the transfer window and after a long wait the Manchester United team and fans got their man. The announcement was made in some style with British rapper Stormzy releasing a music video starring the charismatic French midfielder. The #POGBACK campaign was indeed a big success. The world might not see a transfer of this magnitude anytime soon.

4) Portugal winning the Euros

Portugal won the Euros with a rather interesting run in the hard-fought tournament. They won only one game in regulation time (semi-finals) in the entire tournament and drew all their group games. They beat hosts France 1-0 in the final through a goal by Eder in extra time. Ronaldo got his hands on his first international trophy despite limping off in the initial stages of the final against France. The tournament also saw Portugal unveiling a gem in the form of Golden Boy Renato Sanchez. Not many expected Portugal to emerge triumphant. They were fortunate enough to avoid the likes of Germany, Italy and Spain in their path to the final but when it mattered most, they beat the most well-knit team (hosts France) to be crowned Champions.

5) Argentina choking again

6) The rise of Jamie Vardy

Football hasn’t seen many better late bloomers. Aged 29, the Leicester City striker racked up 22 goals to win the title for his unfancied side with some help from the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Kante. He was discarded by Sheffield Wednesday 6 years ago for being ‘too small’, and as fate would have it, he made it big under Ranieri’s guidance. He was also an instant hit with football fans worldwide, and he now has a special record in his name - scoring in 11 consecutive premier league games.

A nation with a population of just 3,30,000 rocked the football world with an inspiring run in Euros. They survived a group containing Portugal, Hungary and Austria by finishing second to Hungary, only on goal difference. They then sprung the surprise of the tournament by defeating England 2-1 in the Round of 16. Their heroic run was cut short by tournament runners-up and hosts France. However, they did manage to score two against the French side. The Icelanders displayed indomitable spirit and the fans added even more colour to the tournament with their famous ‘Viking Clap’.  

After drawing 1-1 away, Klopp faced his former team at the Anfield with the task of knocking them out. His team did so, in some style. They seemed down and out when they were reeling at 3-1 after 57 minutes. However, they turned the game around and scored thrice through Coutinho, Sakho and Lovren to seal a famous win for the Reds. It reminded many of their epic Istanbul comeback against AC Milan. Unfortunately, Liverpool could not cap off their brilliant run in the tournament with silverware as they lost to Sevilla 3-1 in the final.

9) Chapecoense plane crash

10) Brazil winning the Olympic Gold

Neymar-inspired Brazil won the Gold in the Rio Olympics ending the nation’s wait for their first Olympic Gold in football. The hosts also buried some ghosts of their infamous 7-1 vanquishing at the hands of Germany two years ago as they overcame them in the finals on penalties. Neymar stepped up to take the final penalty in the shootout, and he showed composure to find the net and send the fans at Maracana into a delirium. The host nation stuttered in the group stages managing just one win out of a possible three but found their feet in the knock out stages to eventually emerge victorious.