A List of 7 Strange (Unbelievable) Records in Football (Soccer)
The game of football (soccer) is so old and diverse that there are many records which are unbelievable to the fans, unbreakable for the players, and unfathomable for any critics. Below is the list of such 7 records of Football (Soccer) which are crazy to understand or conceive, even in the wildest imaginations.
1. Most Spectators in a match
The highest attendance in a match is mind-boggling 1,99,854 fans (almost 2 lakh fans) present during the Final match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Uruguay in Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This record can be considered unbreakable as nor the stadiums around the world have this capacity neither these number of fans are allowed inside any stadium anymore. (Phew, can’t imagine these many people sitting at one place to watch a match)
2. Maximum Number of goals in a match
We all know the game of football can maximum stretch to 120 minutes in case it is a tie-breaker or decider or final match of any tournament; but, how will you adjust this fact in your mind that the maximum number of goals scored in a match is 149. On 31 October 2002, the Guinness book of world record got an unbelievable addition to its record book when a Madagascar club AS Adema was playing against the club SO l’Emyrne and scored 149 goals. The scoreline after the match read 149-0 in favour of AS Adema. While it was later revealed that SO l’Emyrne gave away such easy goals to protest against a refereeing decision; however, the scoreline implies they did not even move their leg in the protest. (Imagine, no rival moves while you pass the ball, I guess, it must have become boring for AS Adema players as well.)
3. Most Red Cards in a match
We all know that there are 11 players from each side playing in a football match, totalling 22 players; but, a referee gave away 36 red cards in a match. Unbelievable it is, but, yes, 36 red cards. It happened during a match in 2011 when two Argentinian clubs Claypole and Victoriano Arenas played against each other in a league match. The referee name was Damian Rubino gave all the 22 starting players red cards plus 14 red cards to substitutes and coaches. (Imagine the fans guessing who’s next)
4. Largest Distance for goal by a Header
The largest distance for a goal by a header is 58.13 meters (190 feet 8.58 inches) which was scored by Jone Samuelsen, a player from Norway (Head of Steel, haha). On 25 September 2011, he was playing from the Norwegian Club ODD Grenland against the club Tromso Idrettslag in a Tippeligaen League match (top division of Norway). ODD Grenland was already ahead in match by 2-1 when Tromso got a corner. The ball was deflected to Tromso’ half when one of Tromso’s defenders headed the ball to get it back in ODD’s half. That’s when Jone hit the ball by his head which went in the goal of Tromso by an astonishing and unbelievable 58.13 meters.
5. Maximum Back-to-Back Hat tricks
Every football fans knows that 3 goals in a match by a player means that’s a hat trick; however, the record of most consecutive hat tricks in football is held by a Japanese player Masashi Nakayama who achieved this feat in 1998. He scored hat tricks in four consecutive matches with a total of 16 goals (Do you think someone will break it, Ronaldo, Messi, Zlatan, Mbappe, or Neymar?). He is also the first Japanese player to score a goal for Japan in FIFA World Cup.
6. Maximum Goals by a Goalkeeper
The first thing which comes to everyone’s mind is that goalkeepers play to stop the goals; but, we have a goalie who broke this norm by a huge unbelievable margin which is almost unbreakable as well. Rogerio Ceni, the goalkeeper of Brazilian Club Sao Paulo scored 131 goals in his career. He was a specialist in setting up the field and had a great penalty conversion rate.
7. Maximum Kicks in a Penalty Shootout
We all know that penalty shootouts start with 5 kicks given to each side, which keeps on getting extended; however, this extended to a whole new level when in a fixture during the 2005 Namibian Cup between KK Palace and Civics, total 48 penalty kicks were taken and score ended in the favour of KK Palace who won by the margin of 17-16 (Great practice for the players, eh).
Do you thing any of these records will ever be broken?
I’m James Ritter, a sports enthusiast. I’ve played sports since school, and now I enjoy writing about them. My goal is to inspire aspiring athletes through stories of success and determination. I believe anyone can achieve greatness with the right guidance. I aim to make a positive impact on the sports community by sharing stories and insights, connecting my love for sports and writing. Join me on this journey of inspiration for all sports lovers.
