Goal.com Weekend Special: Football's Greatest Comebacks - Part I

The matches are in no particular order.

1. Manchester United v Bayern Munich (1999)

Beckham Conquering Europe

The Champions League final between English powerhouse Manchester United and German giants Bayern Munich at Camp Nou in 1999 has become almost a footballing cliché of comebacks. United were without Roy Keane and Paul Scholes for the match and went down 1-0 inside the first six minutes when Mario Basler swerved a sensational free-kick into Peter Schmeichel's net. Bayern went onto hit the frame of United's goal twice in the match but all their effort and domination were washed away in injury time when United's two second-half substitutes scored.

A David Beckham corner was only marginally cleared from danger and Ryan Giggs’ weak shot somehow found its way to Teddy Sheringham, who made it 1-1. Moments later the Red Devils wrapped up the most unlikely of victories when Beckham's corner was headed down by Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer poked the ball in. United won 2-1 to lift the European Cup for only the second time in their history. Classic stuff!

2. Portugal v North Korea (1966)

Eusebio Destroyed The Korean Dream

Inside 25 minutes North Korea went 3-0 up and the world dropped its jaw. It was the occasion of the 1966 World Cup finals in England, and Portugal and North Korea were confronting each other in the quarter-finals at Goodison Park in Liverpool. Pak Seung-Zin, Lee Dong-Woon and Yang Sung-Kook had scored thrice to make it 3-0 to the Koreans inside the first 25 minutes and it was seemingly all over for Portugal.

Only, it wasn't as Portuguese legend Eusebio spearheaded the European nation's scintillating comeback. He made it 3-1 in the 27th minute and further reduced the deficit a couple of minutes before half-time when he scored from the penalty spot. Eusebio equalized 11 minutes into the second half and just before the hour mark scored his fourth of the match, again from the spot. It was 4-3 to Portugal at the time and one of the greatest comebacks of all time was complete in the 80th minute when Jose Augusto scored. North Korea went home while Portugal went though to the semi-finals.

3. Real Madrid v Borussia Monchengladbach (1985)

Jorge Valdano - A Real Madrid Legend

German side Borussia Monchengladbach had run riot in the first leg of their UEFA Cup third round tie with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, winning the match 5-1 and apparently securing the tie. But Madrid are not known for accepting defeat without a fight and they staged what many believe to the greatest comeback in the Spanish giants' history.

A packed Bernabeu witnessed Madrid go into the half-time break 2-0 up in the second leg, 5-3 down on aggregate. The next two goals, though, did not come until the final ten minutes of the match when Jorge Valdano and Carlos Santillana scored to make it 5-5 on aggregate. Madrid went through to the quarter-finals and went on to to win the UEFA Cup that year.

4. Deportivo La Coruna v AC Milan (2004)

Valeron's Super Depor Demolished Milan

Italian giants and then defending European champions AC Milan had won the first-leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Spanish club Deportivo la Coruna 4-1 in the 2003-2004 season and it appeared that the second leg at the Riazor was going to be academic. But Super Depor had other ideas and wiped out the deficit from the first-leg inside the first 43 minutes, Walter Pandiani, Juan Carlos Valeron and Albert Luque all on targets.

Depor were level on aggregate with Milan and accomplished perhaps the most amazing comeback in the club's history 15 minutes before the final whistle when substitute Fran made it 4-0. Depor held on and marched onto the semi-finals of the world's most prestigious club competition for the first time in their history.

5. Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (2009)

Diego Was Indeed A 'Superman' Against Espanyol

Logic, tactics, strategies and all those drawing board stuff fail to hold any meaning when it comes to Atletico Madrid, perhaps the most unpredictable side in entire Europe. Against Espanyol in a Spanish Primera Division match on May 10, 2009 Atleti went one man down in the 31st minute when Luis Perea was sent off and then conceded two goals in two minutes to go into the half-time break 2-0 down.

Spanish football is renowned for its abundance of goals and the most stupendous of comebacks but there must have been few at the Vicente Calderon who thought that the Mattress-makers could take anything from this match.

But Atletico Madrid did take something from the match; in fact, they took everything. Diego Forlan kick started the comeback in the 53rd minute when he blasted in a left-footed swerving shot from 25 yards and Sergio Aguero made it 2-2 just seven minutes later when he sneaked in at the far post. Abel Resino's side did have their chances after that but as the final whistle beckoned it looked that a draw was going to be the final outcome.

Eventual Pichichi Diego Forlan, though, had other ideas and hit Atletico's winner in the last minute, completing perhaps the most romantic and cavalier of comebacks of 2008-2009, leading this columnist to declare them the second most entertaining side in Europe after FC Barcelona.

6. Partizan Belgrade v Queens Park Rangers (1984)

Queens Park Rangers thought that they had secured their berth in the third round of the UEFA Cup in 1984 when they destroyed Partizan Belgrade 6-2 in the second round, first-leg game at Loftus Road. Only once before then had a team come back from four goals down in Europe and it didn't appear at the time that there would be another jaw-dropping comeback. But there was to be so as Partizan scored the required four goals in the second leg, taking advantage of QPR's not so strong form away from home. Mance, Kalicanin, Jesic and Zivkovic were on target for the former Yugoslav side.

7. Switzerland v Austria (1954)

It was the age when goals came and came and 1954 World Cup hosts Switzerland scored as many as three in the first 20 minutes of their quarter-final match against Austria. But only six minutes later it was all square as Austria scored three goals in quick succession to make it 3-3. Austria went onto score two more in the remainder of the first-half but conceded one as the first 45 minutes had an almost unimaginable scoreline of 5-4 in favour of Austria. In the second half Austria started the goal-spree as Theodor Wagner completed his hat-trick in the match. Swiss striker Josef Hugi then scored his third goal of the game but Erich Probst secured Austria the victory as he scored his nation's seventh goal in the match. It eventually finished 7-5 to Austria.

8. Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United (2001)

Blanc Came, Saw And Conquered

Manchester United's history is replete with shocking comebacks in football and on September 29, 2001 Sir Alex Ferguson's men scripted another of those unlikely fairytales. They were 3-0 down at half-time to Tottenham Hotspur and everyone would have been pardoned to believe that it was three points gained for Spurs and three points lost for United.

But Sir Alex gave the United players a 'hairdryer treatment' at half-time and out came the Red Devils in devilish form. United cancelled out the three-goal deficit by the 72nd minute with Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc and Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring and as Spurs fell apart they scored two more by the time the referee brought an end to the match, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham adding the fourth and the fifth respectively.

9. PSG v Deportivo la Coruna (2001)

El Rifle Fired Thrice Against PSG

Most people remember Deportivo La Coruna's astounding comeback against AC Milan in 2004 but three years earlier the former Spanish champions had staged another superb comeback in Europe. It was a Group B match in the Champions League against French club PSG and Depor were 2-0 down at half-time. Ten minutes into the second half Javier Irureta's team went 3-0 down and looked truly beaten and lost.

But with Walter Pandiani in red hot form, Super Depor turned on a superb performance and scored four goals in the remainder of the match. The Uruguayan started Depor's comeback in the 57th minute and three minutes later his strike-mate Diego Tristan made it 3-2. Pandiani equalized in the 76th minute when he headed in a flick-on from Roy Makaay and six minutes later wrapped up the win with a third headed goal. Those were the days when Depor were truly Super Depor.....

10. Churchill Brothers v Dempo Sports Club (2008)

This wasn't exactly a 'comeback' as Dempo SC couldn't win the match but them restoring parity after going 3-0 down to fellow Goan side Churchill Brothers wasn’t anything short of amazing. Churchill had gone three goals ahead inside the first 30 minutes of the I-League match in November 2008, thanks to a brace from Felix Chimaokwu and a goal from Odafa Okolie. Dempo, though, didn't lose heart and pulled one back in the 37th minute through Mboyo Iyomi. The Congolese scored his second of the match just two minutes into the second match and completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute. The match ended 3-3.

Subhankar Mondal