The particular criterion I've used to decide is this: What do I regard as my first ever 'goal'?
That's it...no science here, just plain old 'what feels right' and for me, what feels right as my first goal is the first one I scored in what I regard as some form of proper match. That proper match was in games in the final few months of primary school. Yes I'd played plenty of kickabouts down the field, but they were just that, kickabouts. Nothing formal, no real competition, no ref etc. I'd also only just taken any sort of interest in football due to Mexico 86, which I may have mentioned once or twice before, so this was the first time it actually meant something to me.
And so to the goal itself. It was a Monday afternoon in early June 1986 and the last lesson of the day was games. I chatted to my friend about our differening Liverpool replica kits as we walked from the classroom up to the playing field. After some lessons on passing etc, the last half hour would involve an actual game, played up the pitch, rather than across it. (The pitch was laid out differently 26 years ago, honest!)
My memory of the goal is somewhat sketchy (until I decided to write this, I'd almost completely forgotten about it), but from what I recall, the ball came in...wait, let me do this in proper footballer speak:
Anyway, the ball's come in from the left, I've looked up and seen it, controlled it and then I've stuck it in the back of the net (between the cones). I've then proceeded in a vertical manner, escaping the Earth's atmosphere, where I've propelled myself towards, then around our planetary satelite...Brian.
Having said that, even literally being over the moon (that's what I was getting at you see), would have been nothing compared with the wild celebration run I went on...I'm not sure if I then missed kick off due to my Tardelli-like mazy run, but I didn't care, for I had scored and WHAT.A.FEELING!!!
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| Our school had its own Blimp-cam. (all marked positions are approximate) |
The reason I'd almost forgotten about this watershed moment is I more clearly remember the first 2 goals I scored in secondary school, for they had greater significance, the first being an equaliser to make it 3-3 and the last being what turned out to be the winner - I'd made it 5-3, but they pulled one back at the death to make it 5-4. My pleasure at having scored the winner could not be diminished even by my team-mate, who'd scored our 4th, loudly proclaiming that 'it was only the winner cos they scored again'. Ah suck it up, Mr. Didn'tScoreTheWinner (not his real name).
So that was my first goal(s)...what was yours and what makes it 'the first'?
