The 25 Most Badass Soccer Goals of 2010
#25. Chris Cohen, Nottingam Forest
MATCH: Blackpool v Nottingham Forest
DATE: May 8
COMPLEX SAYS: In last season’s Championship Playoffs (which determine the final EPL promotion slot each year), Blackpool overcame Nottingham Forest, but it was Forest that left neutrals with the greatest memory: this Chris Cohen strike.
#24. Landon Donovan, USA
MATCH: USA v Algeria
DATE: June 23
COMPLEX SAYS: Not the greatest goal on this list in terms of quality by any means—in fact, it could be the worst—but for what it meant to the USMNT, it thoroughly deserves this spot. Dramatic!
#23. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Shakhtar Donetsk
MATCH: Shakhtar v Kryvbas
DATE: September 22
COMPLEX SAYS: Who? What? When? Where? Four of the five "W"s any budding journo learns on the first day on the job. Here, we’re hard-pressed to answer any of them. The fifth is "Why?" We can handle that. Because it’s a peach of a goal from Ukraine’s classiest team of the last 10 years.
#22. Sergio Canales, Spain U19
MATCH: Spain U19 v England U19
DATE: July 27
COMPLEX SAYS: They teach ‘em young in Spain. Here are the Under-19s showing how it's done in UEFA’s U19 Euro Championship. Seems they do the same in England, too: This bunch of English players do a fine job of mimicking the seniors’ ability to look like outclassed, dumbstruck fools.
#21. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
MATCH: Real Zaragoza v Real Madrid
DATE: December 12
COMPLEX SAYS: Ronnie’s hit some killer free kicks in his time, but Jose Mourinho said this was possibly his best. Who are we to argue? And keeper: Aren’t you supposed to move? We should just add him to this list.
#20. Stefano Okaka, Roma
MATCH: Roma v Siena
DATE: January 31
COMPLEX SAYS: The Nigerian-Italian's career has never really taken off at Roma—indeed, he was on loan to Fulham for a spell last season—but this lovely piece of improvisation shows why he’s still on the books of the Eternal City giants.
#19. Ricardo Quaresma, Besiktas
MATCH: Besiktas v HJK Helsinki
DATE: August 17
COMPLEX SAYS: The Portuguese winger is one of those great unfulfilled talents, having let opportunities at Barcelona, Inter, and Chelsea pass him by. Now playing for Besiktas in Turkey, this goal is yet another reminder of what he should be doing for a European giant.
#18. Lukas Jutkiewicz, Motherwell
MATCH: Motherwell v Hibernian
DATE: May 5
COMPLEX SAYS: This cracking Jutkiewicz goal for Motherwell came two minutes into time-added-on to level the game against fellow Scots Hibernian. So what? Surely a dramatic end like this happens somewhere most weeks? Oh, incidentally, this made it 6-6. What is this, beach football?
#17. Zlatko Junuzovic, Austria Vienna
MATCH: Austria Vienna v Mattersburg
DATE: April 25
COMPLEX SAYS: “This means nothing to me, Oh Vienna," sang '80s Brit band Ultravox. They better not have been talking about FK Austria Wien and Zlatko Junuzovic, because this goal means a hell of a lot to Complex—and after you’ve seen it, it will to you as well.
#16. Michael Stahl, Koblenz
MATCH: Koblenz v Hertha Berlin
DATE: October 26
COMPLEX SAYS: Did he mean it? Did he? If, as Complex suspects, he didn’t, then he’s lucky to be so revered. If he did, then he should probably be higher up the list, and apologies, Herr Stahl. You decide whether this long-range effort in the German Cup was an audacious lob or just a mindless hack forward.
#15. Humberto Mendoza, Athletico Nacional
MATCH: Real Cartagena v Athletico Nacional
DATE: October 16
COMPLEX SAYS: And finally, to South America. First stop: Colombia. You like your free kicks, right? Good, thought so. Mendoza!!!!
#14. Andres Iniesta, Spain
MATCH: Spain v Holland
DATE: July 11
COMPLEX SAYS: The goal that won the World Cup. End of story.
#13. Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United
MATCH: Manchester United v Liverpool
DATE: September 19
COMPLEX SAYS: Not surprisingly, there were a few less of the “Dimitar Berbatov is lazy and doesn’t run around mindlessly like a headless chicken with no real regard for tactics like Wayne Rooney does” complaints from Manchester United fans after this sublime show of skill. Not only did it complete a hat trick and seal a 3-2 win, but it was against United’s archrivals, Liverpool. Class.
#12. Inca, Sol de America
MATCH: Sol de America v Olimpia
DATE: May 16
COMPLEX SAYS: Five-million YouTube views tells you this is going to be something special. Inca, a 36-year-old veteran, smashed this beauty home to give his relegation-threatened side a win over title-chasing Olimpia in a Paraguayan league game. Apparently, his teammates backed him to take it on—maybe that tells you why they’re struggling.
#11. Neymar, Santos
MATCH: Santos v San Andre
DATE: February 4
COMPLEX SAYS: For all the Canales, Wilshires, Bales, and Balotellis, Brazilian attacker Neymar might just be the pick of the world’s rising soccer talents. The player to watch this year? This is why. It was just one of many in the last 12 months.
#10. Fabio Quagliarella, Italy
MATCH: Italy v Slovakia
DATE: June 24
COMPLEX SAYS: The only impact the Italian team made on the World Cup was as the worst-ever defending champions. But, as an individual, and mostly a substitute, Fabio Quagliarella made his own lasting impression. There’s something beautiful about a chip like this; the sheer helplessness of the goalkeeper watching the ball arch unreachably over his body is smugly satisfiying. Precise.
#9. Christian Maggio, Napoli
MATCH: Livorno v Napoli
DATE: January 24
COMPLEX SAYS: The best thing about a crisply struck volley is the resounding thump that accompanies it. Maggio’s effort for Napoli is a moment of wonder. Technician.
#8. Chris Maguire, Scotland U21
MATCH: Scotland U21 v Iceland U21
DATE: October 11
COMPLEX SAYS: The advantage of playing for Scotland is that if something like this goes wrong, it can just look like another misplaced pass. But seriously, he actually goes for this. Can you even kick the ball that far?
#7. Lionel Messi, Barcelona
MATCH: Real Zaragoza v Barcelona
DATE: March 21
COMPLEX SAYS: Ah, here he is. Lionel Messi. The little blighter had to get on the list somewhere, didn’t he? This goal against Zaragoza (seemingly the list’s whipping boys) showcased everything the world’s best player does well: remarkable strength, supreme dribbling ability, incredible balance, and an assassin’s eye for goal. Leo could have had a list of his own in 2010.
#6. Maicon, Inter Milan
MATCH: Inter v Juventus
DATE: April 16
COMPLEX SAYS: Maicon is a defender. But this is the sort of thing Brazilian defenders can do. It goes something like: knee, foot, knee, goal! Against Juventus, too, for good measure.
#5. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Holland
MATCH: Holland v Uruguay
DATE: July 6
COMPLEX SAYS: The best goal of the World Cup? Could be. Dutch captain Gio van Bronckhorst might be knocking on a bit at age 35, and maybe he didn’t want to run all the way to the Uruguayan goal, but this is one helluva improv job. Nice energy saver!
#4. Matty Burrows, Glentoran
MATCH: Glentoran v Portadown
DATE: October 5
COMPLEX SAYS: A goal from the Northern Irish league, from a Glentoran player, from somebody called "Matty." That hardly sounds like something that should be alongside a World Cup goal or a score from Lionel Messi. What? Number 4 on the list! Complex what is your problem? Don’t worry people, we accept your post-viewing apologies.
#3. David Silva, Spain
MATCH: Spain v Poland
DATE: June 8
COMPLEX SAYS: If Spain weren’t your pre-tournament favorites for the World Cup, then you obviously hadn’t seen this goal from a friendly against Poland less than a week before it all kicked off in South Africa. Team goal—this is what they call a "team goal." Perfect.
#2. Linus Hallenius, Hammarby
MATCH: Syrianska v Hammarby
DATE: June 20
COMPLEX SAYS: So, Marco van Basten, you remember your goal at Euro 88 against U.S.S.R.? Yep, you know the one most people think of as the best volley of all time? Well, you only volleyed it, didn’t you...Linus Hallenius did this.
#1. Hamit Altintop, Turkey
MATCH: Kazakhstan v Turkey
DATE: September 3
COMPLEX SAYS: Our No. 1 strike of the year. This is what hitting the top corner really means. Hamit Altintop, Complex doffs its cap to you.