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Top Ten Memorable Performances By Substitutes
posted Jul-01 | 159 hits
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Goal.com's Amoy Ghoshal lists the top ten super subs so far from the 2010 World Cup.....
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Cacau (Germany) - Australia
The
Brazilian born striker came on for Miroslav Klose midway through the
second period when the Germans were leading 3-0. So with the game in
the bag and Australia playing with ten men, Cacau had every opportunity
to mark his World Cup debut with a goal. The Stuttgart striker managed
to do just that by finding the back of the net with his very touch
after getting on the end of a Mesut Oezil pass. That has been the only
highlight for Cacau in his debut World Cup campaign as he had quiet
outings against Serbia and Ghana and then missed the round of 16 clash
against England due to injury. He is set to miss out on the
quarter-final showdown with Argentina also.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands) - Cameroon
The
26 year old came on for Holland’s first goal scorer in the game, Robin
Van Persie, and provided the Dutch some height and power upfront.
Huntelaar is clearly the second choice striker behind van Perise so
this dead rubber against Cameroon was his chance to shine. The Milan
striker didn’t see much of the ball but his predatory instincts helped
the Netherlands to win the game as he was the first to the rebound from
Robben’s effort and found the back of the net with ease.
Rodrigo Millar (Chile) - Spain
The
28 year old midfielder was brought on by Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa
just after the halftime break when the South Americans were trailing
2-0 and were down to ten men. Millar had an almost instanct impact as
he scored two minutes after the restart. Millar found himself
unchallenged on the edge of the box, checked onto his right foot and
curled in a shot which took a wicked deflection off Pique to wrong-foot
Casillas. The goal not only brought Chile back into the game but also
improved their goals tally and goal difference which could have been
vital had Switzerland scored in the other Group H game against
Honduras. Millar might have faded away in the rest of the game but his
goal did help improve Chile’s performance in the second half.
Cuahtemoc Blanco (Mexico) - France
Blanco
might be 37 but he still hasn’t lost the ability to pick a pass. The
veteran of three World Cups certainly showcased that quality after
coming on against France. Not only was his distribution intelligent,
his penalty was tucked right in the corner, beating the highly rated
Hugo Lloris despite the goalkeeper going the right way. That goal gave
Mexico a 2-0 win over Les Blues and made Blanco the third oldest
goalscorer in World Cup history.
Sergio Aguero (Argentina) - South Korea
The
Atletico Madrid striker came on in the 75th minute against South Korea
when Argentina were leading 2-1. Aguero setup Higuain’s third goal of
the match with a chip and looked very lively in the little time that he
was on the pitch. Maradona’s son-in-law also nearly got on the
scoresheet as a long range effort from a tight angle narrowly missed
the target.
Arjen Robben (Netherlands) - Cameroon
The
Bayern Munich winger finally managed to make his first appearance in
the 2010 World Cup in a 20 minute cameo against Cameroon. Robben came
on when the score was locked at 1-1 and immediately looked dangerous
with his pace and trickery. The former Chelsea man was instrumental in
setting up the winner as his shot struck the upright and then the
rebound was converted by Huntelaar. Robben played another fine through
ball for Huntelaar but the Milan striker was unfortunate not to get on
the end of it.
Martin Palermo (Argentina) - Greece
Martin
Palermo, who has the distinction of missing three penalties in a match
for Argentina against Colombia, scored his first ever World Cup goal at
the age of 36 after coming on as a sub in the 2-0 over Greece. Palermo,
who also scored the dramatic injury time winner against Peru last year
to guarantee Argentina’s qualification for South Africa 2010, became
the oldest Argentinean player to bag a World Cup goal, an honour
previously held by Maradona.
Kamil Kopunek (Slovakia) - Italy
The
26 year old defensive midfielder, who plies his trade with Slovakian
club FC Spartak Trnava, came on in the 87th minute against Italy when
the Slovaks were leading 2-1. Kopunek was brought on to protect
Slovakia’s lead as they needed a win to go through to the round of 16.
Within minutes of his first ever World Cup finals appearance, Kopunek
got on the end of a simple throw in and chipped the ball over the
advancing Italian goalkeeper, Marchetti, to score with his very first
touch. That goal proved to be the winner as Quagliarella’s stunning
injury time strike only made it 3-2. The result sent Slovakia to the
last 16 and eliminated defending world champions Italy from the group
stage.
Steve Von Bergen (Switzerland) - Spain
Von
Bergen came on with 35 minutes on the clock to replace the injured
Phillipe Senderos. Spain were dominating possession during that stage
of the game as the Swiss were chasing shadows so it was important for
Bergen to straight away form a good partnership alongside Stephane
Grichting. And the 27 year old did that with precision and had a
blinder of a game against David Villa and co, which helped Swtizerland
keep a fifth consecutive clean sheet in World Cup matches and register
a shock 1-0 win over the reigning European champions.
Eljero Elia (Netherlands) - Denmark
The
23 year old exciting young winger came on halfway through the second
half against Denmark when the Dutch were only leading 1-0 thanks to an
own goal from Liverpool’s Daniel Agger. Elia put in a man of the match
performance in the 25 minutes he got as he made some brilliant
individual moves and the Hamburg player’s pace caused a lot of problems
for the Danish defence as he kept getting behind the back four. Elia
played a large role in his side's second goal as his rebounded effort
from the woodwork was slotted home by Dirk Kuyt.
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