The most beautifully unselfish gifts in football history.
As often as fans get their kicks (eh?!) from a thunderbast*rd of a goal that nearly rips the net off, the football purists out there usually get all hot ‘n bothered over a handsome and heartbreaking pass.
We’re paying homage to this latter group now by bringing you JOE’s list of favourite assists over the last 30 years from The Beautiful Game.
Let the passing masterclass begin as we bring you eleven instances of filthy football porn…
Eric Cantona to Denis Irwin: Manchester United vs. Tottenham
The deftest of touches from the slickest of playmakers.
Cantona turned Denis Irwin’s simple sideways pass into a defence-splitting, delicate act of beauty with a subtle dink courtesy of the outside of his right boot.
This was the assist that inspired this list, with the Cork man’s finish making it an almost perfect goal.
Here we go…
Clip via YouTube/Classic Manchester United
Kaká to Hernán Crespo: AC Milan vs. Liverpool
The through ball that had Liverpool fans across the world in a temporary state of devastation during the first half of that final in Istanbul.
In many ways, the quality of this pass has been lost to the occasion of that famous night, but it really was extraordinary.
The Brazilian’s initial turn making Gerrard look the ordinary player he most certainly was not, the slide assist that had Carragher hopelessly stretching with all his might, and the glorious, still underrated, finish by Crespo.
Magic.
Clip via YouTube/sport-video
Guti to Karim Benzema: Real Madrid vs. Deportivo
Filth, just filth.
We love how brilliantly unnecessary this is, as the Spaniard could have easily just taken a shot himself, but this is Guti we’re talking about. He doesn’t play by the rules.
A quick counter attack by Real Madrid sees the ball played through to Guti for a one-on-one, but rather than doing what pretty much every other footballer on the planet would do, the attacking midfielder decided to outrageously backheel the ball to Benzema, who then had an easy job.
If you’re going to do something like this it has to be good, and this was perfect. Benzema’s reaction afterwards is testament to that.
https://youtu.be/r1HPikJpWPg
Clip via YouTube/Aleksandre Siradze
Dennis Bergkamp to Freddie Ljungberg: Arsenal vs. Juventus
This one initially escaped us, only for a friend to remind us of its beauty, and we’re very thankful indeed.
Few other clips, besides those legendary Leicester, Newcastle and Argentina goals demonstrate the incredible technical ability of Dennis Bergkamp.
Freddie Ljungberg recieves possession in the middle of the pitch, before feeding the ball into the advanced Dutchman. Momentum seems to be slowed down when the Juve defenders catch up, only for Bergkamp to, amazingly, turn and flick the ball (all in one motion) to put the Swede through.
To keep up with the theme of this piece, Ljungberg’s finish was brilliant itself, but how Bergkamp ever found the space to even consider this improvisation, we’ll never know.
https://youtu.be/d_Ag3tXiP70
Clip via YouTube/Massimo Salerno
David Beckham to Ronaldo: Real Madrid vs. Real Zaragoza
It’s tough to pick Goldenballs’ best assist, as he made an incredible career out of them, but we think this one against Real Zaragoza stands out.
Collecting the ball from a standing position, the then England captain didn’t really have much on ahead. The safe option was to keep possession in midfield, but Becks came up with another plan.
It’s one thing to see that this cross is even on, it’s another feat entirely to be able to pull it off.
Incredible vision and technique demonstrated by the main man here.
Clip via YouTube/UltimateWarrior206
Gianfranco Zola to Gus Poyet: Chelsea vs. Sunderland
The rudest of rude awakenings for Sunderland upon their return to the top flight, as they were annihilated by a rampant Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge. This famous moment was the icing on the cake.
Zola took control of the ball from over his shoulder, stood still for a second, as everyone waited for him to act, before beautifully lofting the ball into the path of the onrushing Gus Poyet, whose scissors volley into the top corner did the borderline illegal pass the justice it so thoroughly deserved.
Wonderful.
Clip via YouTube/Nixie Mxie
It turns out that there was room for a thunderbast*rd on this list after all. Great stuff.
Xabi Alonso to Djibril Cissé: Liverpool vs. West Brom
You can’t have a best assist list and not include the Spanish maestro.
We’re taking you back to his Liverpool days now and this magnificent ball over the top for Djibril Cissé.
This may not look as difficult as other assists on this list, but it’s all about the flawless technique here – that ball could not have landed any more perfectly on the Frenchman’s foot.
Skip to about 50 seconds for this and then let Xabi take it away…
Clip via YouTube/cranium10
Andrés Iniesta to Neymar: Barcelona vs. PSG
The actual pass for the goal here is relatively straightforward compared to what happened over the previous five seconds or so. But, the point of this list is to celebrate extraordinary build-up play, and this Champions League knockout goal was far from the norm.
Iniesta collected the ball with his back to goal, deep inside his own half, and ten touches later he’s putting Neymar through on goal. His journey along the way saw him skip by four players.
This is a statistical masterclass from a footballer who often defies basic logic.
Clip via YouTube/Ki777do
Juan Mata to Chris Smalling: Manchester United vs. Wolfsburg
The most recent entry in this article and yet another Spanish international to grace this exclusive list. In truth, this particular match didn’t deserve the quality of Mata’s showboat and assist combination.
Locked at 1-1, Mata’s nonchalant flick completely evaded the Wolfsburg defence. Was he purposely looking for Smalling or just helping it on? We’re fairly confident which category he falls into here.
This is as incisive as it is clever; and it was very smart.
Clip via YouTube/EverythingSport HQ
Fernando Redondo to Raúl: Real Madrid vs. Manchester United
This article wouldn’t be the same without one of the best and most surprising bits of skill to set up a crucial goal in the Champions League.
Fernando Redondo, a defensive midfielder by trade, albeit a skillful one, shocked Henning Berg and the watching world as he produced an ahead-of-its-time bit of ingenuity to skip past the struggling Norwegian, managing to just keep it in play, and then providing a cutting pass to the waiting and grateful Raúl.
In massive games like this you need difference-makers and Redondo, when fit, was one of the bravest – in all senses of the word – performers out there.
Clip via YouTube/migelreal
Packie Bonner to (eventually) Niall Quinn: Republic of Ireland vs. The Netherlands
Packie has no time for your fancy flicks, defence-splitting, eye-of-the-needle, skillful dribbles and passes. This is the World Cup, for crying out loud. Just get it up there.
Here’s the ball Quinner. Now, finish it.
Clip via YouTube/Chimpanzeethat
So, there you have it. We chose our starting XI, but there are many more beautiful assists out there. Let us know what you’d add by getting in touch on our Facebook or Twitter.
