The world of football will come to a standstill today from 4pm (Brasília time) to watch the duel between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid for the first leg of one of the Champions League semi-finals. One of the antecedents that the Germans remember with joy had a Brazilian as the protagonist.
At the Allianz Arena, the same venue where they will face each other today, the Bavarians sealed their place in the 2016-2017 season to the quarterfinals of this same tournament by eliminating the team from the Spanish capital. It was on March 7, 2007 when an unusual event occurred that allowed a record that is still in force to be established.
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Real Madrid came into the match with a favorable 3-2 result obtained in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu. The draw determined that they would kick off the rematch and that’s where their nightmare began.
After serving from the middle, Roberto Carlos made a huge mistake by not being able to precisely control a pass, which allowed Hasan Salihamidžić to steal the ball and enable Roy Makaay, who with a touch beat Iker Casillas and opened the scoring for the local. It was 1-0 10 seconds into the game, which remains the fastest goal in the history of the tournament.
Another Brazilian was also the protagonist that night: defender Lúcio extended the lead for the Germans with a header. The match ended 2-1 after Ruud van Nistelrooy’s penalty was saved and it was Bayern Munich who advanced to the round thanks to the then-current rule regarding the highest value of away goals scored.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
The first three episodes are available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for the upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
