Football circles: Records that may never be broken
Every now and then, the impossible is achieved in football. Whether it is an astonishing achievement such as Lionel Messi’s Ballon d’Or wins or Arsenal’s unbeaten run in the Premiership back 2003/04 season.
Football has a unique ability to shock, amaze, and amuse in equal measure, but these records might never ever be broken.
TGR Sports highlights some of these astonishing and shocking records in the history of football.
1. Sir Alex Ferguson – 48 titles
In the game of football, a coach is considered the one with the master plan, without kicking a ball on the field of play, his decision on the touchline can determine the outcome of the result and one who has done that perfectly in his illustrious career is Sir Alex Ferguson, making his work with Manchester United a benchmark for all the managers in the world.
The Scotsman spent 27 years at Manchester United, winning 37 titles, including 13 Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies.
The 79-year-old also led Aberdeen to ten titles in five years in the Scottish division, prior to etching a legacy with the Red Devils. His record of 48 titles may never be broken but we can not say never as some promise figures are in the race provided they go on to have long illustrious careers.
2. Most red cards in a match
When we think of red cards, a few players like Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, and Sergio Ramos comes to mind but these played no role in this historical record.
This strange record was recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina when a passionate battle between Victoriano Arenas and Claypole was staged in 2011.
A shocking 36 red cards were handed out after an all-out brawl took place. All 22 players on the pitch and 14 substitutes were given their marching orders – no match has ever come close to the number of red cards shown in this tumultuous affair.
3. Quickest English Premier League hattrick
Senegalese star Sadio Mane achieved this outstanding achievement by scoring a hat trick against Aston Villa on May 16, 2015, playing for Southampton.
His three-goal record was accomplished in 2 minutes and 56 seconds. He is the only African player with the fastest hat trick in football history.
However, his effort could not overtake the current holder of the title in football history, James Hayter who recorded it in 2 minutes and 22 seconds for Bournemouth against Wrexham after coming on as a late substitute in the 84th minute.
4. Most goals scored by a goalkeeper
The goalkeeper’s primary job is to save goals and with his position on the field not granting that access to scoring against the opposing teams, it is not that easy for goal tenders to score especially in open play but the Brazilian goalkeeper, Rogerio Ceni managed to achieve the unbelievable.
He recorded a total of 128 career goals in his career.
Ceni netted a series of penalties and free-kicks and in a couple of seasons, he was competing with the actual strikers in his team for titles. It is very unlikely that this record will be broken.
5. Most World Cup wins
Winning the FIFA World Cup is the absolute pinnacle in the career of any football player, and it will take a player with a legendary status to achieve this fate.
This record is held by none other than a legend, Pele.
At age 16, the young Brazilian burst onto the world football scene, excelling both for the Brazilian national side, the Samba Boys, and his club, Santos.
The late Pele is largely remembered for his exploits at the World Cup, which he won three times in 1958, 1962, and 1970. He remains the only player to do so.
6. Defensive record
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side back in 2004 was a force to be reckoned with and on their way to winning their first historic Premier League title, they conceded only 15 goals as they amassed 25 clean sheets in that campaign.
No Premier League side has been able to achieve that feat so far.
With a defensive pair of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho at the heart of the defence and with Petr Cech in goal, Chelsea almost achieved the unbeatable in that season but a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in game week nine spoiled the party.
The 2004/05 achievement announced the Blues as a force to reckon with.
7. Most goals scored in 7 consecutive seasons
Ronaldo is in a league of his own when it comes to consistency. He proved it by scoring 60 or more goals in FOUR consecutive calendar years! Between 2011 and 2014, the frontman netted an incredible 253 goals in 250 appearances for Real Madrid and Portugal. That’s some serious goal-scoring magic right there!
In 2017, Ronaldo became the first ever player to score more than 50 goals in 7 consecutive calendar years ( 2011: 60 goals, 2012: 63 goals, 2013: 69 goals, 2014: 61 goals, 2015: 57 goals, 2016: 55 goals, 2017: 53 goals).
Ronaldo is considered one of the Greatest of all time not only in Portuguese football but globally.
8. Heroes of the Ballon d’Or
The Ballon d’Or is regarded as football’s most prestigious and valuable individual award and it is every professional player’s dream to win.
It is, therefore, a remarkable achievement for Lionel Messi to win it seven times and as the record holder for most consecutive wins with four in a row (2009-2012).
Again, more young players are potential winners but to win it more than seven times to beat the record of the Argentine is a discussion yet to be raised.
9. Most individual honors/trophies with 2 different clubs
One name comes to mind when discussing record-breaking in football and that is no other than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Aside from his record-breaking goals, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is the only player in history to win the Golden Boot, Ballon d’Or, Champions League, and Club World Cup with two different clubs.
He achieved that by playing for Manchester United between 2003–2009 and Spanish giants Real Madrid between 2009–2018.
10. Most goals under 10 minutes
This superhuman achievement if one has not seen the footage will doubt if indeed it happened
Robert Lewandowski shocked the world of football when he scored five goals in nine minutes for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg in 2015.
His first three goals came in the span of four minutes, making it the fastest hat-trick in Bundesliga history.
But after making it 3-1 with a hard-fought effort, Lewandowski showed he wasn’t done by lashing home his fourth goal in the 57th minute and climaxing the show with a stunning scissor kick from Mario Gotze’s cross on the hour mark sending the crowd wild.
It’s quite strange why much is not said about this utterly astonishing achievement which seems difficult to break.
Who do you think can match up this heroism and which task among the list?