Just like any sport, football has generated many records in history. Teams and players have produced astonishing performances in various games. The feats have been remarkable, impressive and some of them are very hard to replicate. The following are some of the records in the history of football that haven’t been broken.
- Most goals by a player in a calendar year
Argentina and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored a total of 91 goals for both club and country in 2012.
He scored the goals as follows:
|
Competition |
Goals |
|
Laliga |
59 |
|
UEFA Champions League |
13 |
|
Copa Del Rey |
05 |
|
Spanish Super Cup |
02 |
|
South American World Cup Qualifiers |
05 |
|
International friendlies |
07 |
|
Total |
91 |
The 91 goals by the Argentinean star remain unmatched and it helped him land a spot in the record books. His closest competitor is Gerd Muller who scored a total of 85 goals for Bayern Munich and Argentina in 1972.
Messi is one of the best players of his generation. He became the first player to win the Ballon d’ Or for the sixth time overtaking Ronaldo who has won the award five times.
- Most expensive player transfer
Brazilian striker Neymar Jr moved from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain at a transfer fee of €222M (£198M). He remains top of this list. Kylian Mbappe’s move from AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain comes in second with a transfer fee of €145Million.
- Most clean sheets by a Premier League goalkeeper
The Premier League’s popularity is because of its thrilling nature, with exciting action leading to many goals being scored each and every match day. Over the past football seasons, we’ve witnessed more and more goals being scored in the Premier League as even the most solid defenses find it difficult to keep clean sheets.
Petr Cech, who played for Chelsea and Arsenal, kept a record of 202 Premier League clean sheets in his Premier League career.
- Highest goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League history
The UEFA Champions League is the grandest competition when it comes to European football. This is because of the high level of competition.
Portugal and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time leading goal scorer in the competition with 128 goals. Argentina and FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi comes second with 114 goals.
- Most appearances by a Premier League player
The Premier League environment makes it difficult for players to survive in it for many years. However, there are players who adapted to it perfectly well and managed to play in it for long. Most players struggle to make 100 Premier League appearances.
Former England international midfielder Gareth Barry made 653 Premier League appearances for West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Manchester United and Wales legend Ryan Giggs comes in second with 632 appearances. Chelsea legend Frank Lampard comes in third with 609 appearances.
- Longest recorded goal in football
There is excitement when extraordinary goals are scored each and every football season.
Goalkeeper Asmir Begovic holds the record for the longest goal of all-time.
In 2013/2014 Premier League season, Begovic scored for Stoke City against Southampton after 13 seconds, a goal that is measured at 97.5 yards (89.2 Metres). He fired a shot from his own penalty area and the ball made its way to the Southampton’s goal.
- Most goals scored by a goalkeeper in a football career
It is quite unusual for goalkeepers to score many goals in their football careers. However, Brazilian goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni, who played for Sau Paulo Futebol Clube between February 1997 and August 2015 managed to score 129 career goals.
Ceni took penalties and also played free-kicks.
- Longest header ever scored in football
Football fans have seen impressive headers being scored over the years. The longest headed goal in a competitive soccer game was measured at 58. 13 metres and this was achieved by Jone Samuelsen (Norway). He scored against Tromso Idrettslag while playing for ODD Grenland on 25th September 2011.
- 5 goals in 9 minutes
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski scored an unprecedented five goals in 9 minutes as FC Bayern Munich beat VfL Wolfsburg 5-1 in the German Bundesliga in September 2015.
Lewandowski came on as a substitute in the second half when his team was trailing one goal behind. He took his team from losing to winning the game in a great way. He scored in the 51st, 52nd, 55th, 57th and 60th minutes.
- Fastest red card in soccer history
Lee Todd holds the record for the fastest red card in football history. He was sent off 2 seconds into the game.
Todd was playing for Cross Farm Park Celtic when he was dismissed for foul language after he exclaimed ‘’f**k me that was loud’’ after the starting whistle had been blown in 2000.
- Fastest goal in World Cup history
There have been many quick goals scored in World Cup history over the past years, but the fastest goal ever is held by Turkey legend Hakan Sukur.
Hakan Sukur scored after 10.89 seconds in the 2002 third-place play-off against South Korea. The goal remains unmatched.
- Most number of UEFA Champions League titles in a row
The UEFA Champions League is the grandest of all when it comes to European football. The Champions League is very competitive thus making it difficult for teams to win it consecutively.
Real Madrid won the Champions League 3 times in a row from 2016 to 2018 and haven’t managed to oust the record set by their team in the 1950s. The La Liga champions won the Champions League five times from 1956-1960.
- Most Red cards in a players career
Football can get heated because of the physicality involved forcing referees to send off players involved. No player wants to get sent off and leave their team without a player. However, some players have been extremely violent in their careers and have often been sent off by referees.
Gerardo Bedoya, who is a retired Columbian footballer holds the record for most red cards received by any player in the history of the game. He was sent off 46 times.
Bedoya was labelled a mad man for often lashing out and getting dismissed by referees.
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