Filed under: Barcelona, Cardiff City, Chris Byrne, Fenerbahce, Kettering Town, Lazio, Leicester City, Macclesfield Town, Manchester United, Michael Chopra, Mizuno, Ninian Park, Nou Camp, Rivaldo, Ronnie Rosenthal, Roy of the Rovers, Sampdoria, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Southampton, Spurs, The Greatest Hat-trick of All Time, Tottenham Hotspur, Valencia, Wayne Rooney, Wayne Rooney debut, great hat-tricks, racist scumbag
Michael Chopra’s hat-trick for Cardiff against Leicester last week was pretty special. My friend Ciaran, a life-long Bluebirds fan, reckons it was the best hat-trick ever scored at Ninian Park. While that might not be the most illustrious praise ever bestowed upon a hat-trick, it is testament to the quality of all three strikes. The second one in particular is absolutely delicious.
And it got me thinking. About hat-tricks, mostly. What is the greatest hat-trick ever scored? There are some obvious contenders. Wayne Rooney’s debut hat-trick for Man United against Fenerbahce in 2004 (the first and second goals in this clip are unfortunately in the wrong order) will live long in the memory. Less well-remembered but no less impressive were Ronnie Rosenthal’s three goals for Spurs in a Cup game at Southampton in 1995.
Further down the leagues, Chris Byrne’s classic left-foot/right-foot/header combo for Macclesfield Town against Kettering Town on the final day of the 1996-1997 season sent his club into the Football League, but a trawl for footage on YouTube proved unsurprisingly fruitless.
Yugoslav dead ball expert Sinisa Mihajlovic scored a hat-trick of free-kicks for Lazio against Sampdoria in 1998 (the first goal is after 50 seconds). Just a shame he’s a racist scumbag.
The Daddy of them all, however, has to be this hat-trick by bandy-legged, Mizuno-wearing, Brazilian maestro Rivaldo. On the final day of the 2000-2001 season, Barcelona hosted Valencia, needing a win to qualify for the Champions League at the expense of their opponents. Twice Rivaldo put Barcelona ahead with stunning strikes, and twice Valencia equalised. As the game entered its final minute, the home fans in the Nou Camp feared the worst. And then Rivaldo received a chipped pass from Frank de Boer on the edge of the area. With his back to goal, he chested the ball into the air and then unleashed an exquisite overhead bicycle kick which flew into the net. I don’t think even Roy of the Rovers ever managed a hat-trick quite so dramatic.
But I could be wrong. Has an even more sensational hat-trick passed me by? Do let me know if you think I’ve missed one…
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Best ever hat trick at Ninian Park: Nathan Blake vs Stockport County, November 1993
Comment by PaulMartin February 4 2007 @ 8:06 pmHow about Robbie Fowler’s hat-trick against Arsenal in the 94-95 season. It still stands as the fastest hat-trick scored in the Premiership at four minutes and 33 seconds and Robbie was only 19. Damn impressive.
Comment by Arthur February 6 2007 @ 12:11 pmFowler’s against arsenel, not amazing goals but hostorically significant
Comment by bobby February 6 2007 @ 7:22 pm[...] 5-0 Velez Sarsfield, Fernando Belluschi, great hat-tricks, Rivaldo, great goals A few months ago I wrote about the greatest hat-trick of all-time, and came to the conclusion that few could better the stunning trio of goals that Rivaldo scored [...]
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