Football’s Luckiest Players and Moments

Many footballers have experienced lucky moments in their careers. So, of all the lucky moments in football, which are the best?

Does luck have anything to do with the success (or failure) of football teams? Is it the luck of individual players that affects the team’s success, or is it their skill that makes the difference? Whatever your opinion, it’s hard to ignore the role that luck plays in football when you consider the events listed below!

According to research conducted by the National Lottery, Manchester United is considered to be Britain's luckiest football club. A 2007 survey resulted in 37% of football fans considering Manchester United as the luckiest team, while 20% chose Chelsea as luckiest and 15% chose West Ham. These same football fans considered Sheffield United to be the unluckiest, with 29% putting them into this position!

Darren Anderton, the retired English footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur as a midfielder, scored a total of 7 goals in his 30 games played with the English National team. His luckiest moment comes from an assist from his teammate in 1995, where Anderton kicked the ball into the goal – a seemingly successful goal – until the ball knock around from goal post to goal post three times, leaving fans breathless with suspense, before finally ending up a success!

When Sweden took on Iceland in 2007, Iceland suffered a defeat. But, it’s not the fact that Sweden won that made this team lucky, but the way in which their 5th goal was achieved. When the Iceland players thought referee Alain Hamer had awarded a penalty for a handball in the second half, they were wrong. The result was that play continued and Marcus Allback scored Sweden's fifth goal without Icelandic keeper Arni Gautur Arason lifting a finger (or a foot) to stop them! What luck!

Ronaldinho (Ronaldo de Assis Moreira) is one of the most famous footballers in the world. Hailing from Brazil, this highly skilled athlete plays for Italian Serie A side Milan and the Brazil national team. It’s his goal in 2002 that he scored against England that we consider to be lucky. His shot went over the English keeper’s head and dropped onto the top goal post. Instead of bouncing out of the goal, it hit the keeper’s body and luckily bounced backwards – resulting in a score for Brazil!

Football isn’t normally a life-threatening game, but in our next lucky moment in football, which takes us in a different direction than the first three, football is cast in a dangerous light. Jamie Kay, a footballer for Woodley Sports Football Club (a member of the Northern Premier League Division One), escaped certain death in their match against Alsager Town in 2006 in Stockport. Kay narrowly avoided being hit by a three-foot metal arrow on the pitch. Kay said he felt "physically sick" when he saw the crossbow bolt, which the referee said missed Kay by an inch.

These lucky moments add to the excitement that football provides spectators, and make it one of the most fun sports to watch, and play!