Football’s Greatest Hat-Tricks No.1
This new series features the greatest hat-tricks scored in football history. There have been some great hat-tricks scored over the years and so I thought it’d be a nice tribute to start a series about them.
Greatest ever hat-tricks No.1 – Rivaldo (Barcelona) vs Valencia, La Liga, 21st June 2001
Many people argue that the ‘perfect hat-trick’ should be a goal scored with the left foot, right foot and a header. It shows that the player is two-footed and has an all-round talent.
This hat-trick by Rivaldo is, in my opinion, the perfect hat-trick. It had the storyline, all three goals were from outside the box including a bicycle kick that won the game in the final seconds of the match.
The 2000/01 season was a poor one by Barcelona’s standards. They had already seen the back of two managers in Louis Van Gaal and Lorenzo Serra Ferrer. Carles Rexach had stepped in to act as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
Going in to the final round of fixtures, Barcelona sat in fifth position, three points behind opponents Valencia.
The top four teams from La Liga would qualify for the next season’s Champions League, qualification was an absolute must for both clubs.
Valencia had lost their second consecutive Champions League Final the previous month, lost 5-4 on penalties to Bayern Munich.
They had a very strong side and would certainly not be a push-over. They had one of Spain’s best goalkeepers in Santiago Canizares and a fantastic central midfield pairing of David Albeda and Ruben Baraja.
They also had the Argentine trio Pablo Aimar, Roberto Ayala and Kily Gonzalez playing for them.
Going in to the final game of the season, the match had turned into a straight knockout for the last remaining Champions League spot.
Valencia were three points ahead of Barcelona and both sides were level on goal difference. Barcelona had to win the game.
Rivaldo scored the first goal of the game after only three minutes. The goal came from a direct free-kick just over 30 yards out.
The kick was taken from the centre of the pitch, went over the wall and into the bottom corner, caressing the inside of the post as it went in. It was a beautiful free-kick.
Valencia equalised on 25 minutes, as an unmarked Ruben Baraja powered in a bullet-header from a Pablo Aimar corner on the right.
Rivaldo then scored a fantastic shot from pretty much the same spot from where he scored his opener.
He received the ball from Sergi but his route to goal was blocked by closed down by several Valencia defenders. He looked to take an instant shot but had to shrug a Valencia player off his back first. As soon as he was free of the defender, he took a couple of touches before drilling a shot hard and low past Canizares into the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Ruben Baraja equalised for the visitors shortly after the break with a diving header from just inside the box.
With the scores level, Barcelona piled the pressure onto the visitors with the Nou Camp crowd urging them on. Time and again the home side tried to break to the stubborn Valencia defence but they just couldn’t break through.
The scores stayed level until the 87th minute where cometh the hour, cometh the Rivaldo!
Barcelona had sent several players upfield as they tried to find the winner. With the Valencia defensive line deep inside their own penalty area, Frank de Boer had time and space about 40 yards from goal.
The Dutch international dinked a ball forward to Rivaldo who stood with his back to goal, 20 yards out.
Rivaldo jumped up with his back to goal and controlled the ball with his chest. The ball was still up in the air as Rivaldo landed and steadied himself before attempting an audacious bicycle kick from the edge of the box.
The ball flew into the bottom left hand corner of the net. Santiago Canizares dived or the ball but had absolutely no chance of getting to the ball. It was a fantastic way to complete his hat-trick and Barcelona’s season.
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