We had a nice little Twitter fight break out this morning. A man near the top of the soccer’s media food chain suggested Branko Boskovic’s diving header last night might be the best header goal in MLS this year.
Well, it may have been the most important header goal, especially if you back and Black and Red. (His was the game-winner in a 1-0 result over Chivas USA, a result that will go far in pushing United toward the playoffs.)
Here ‘tis:
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For me, it’s not even the second-best header goal in MLS this year.
In talking about the top goal off the ol’ noggin, a case can absolutely be made for Sebastian Miranda’s something special from a step beyond the penalty area back in May. Yes, a header from outside the penalty area.
I’ve seen them before (even saw one years back for the U.S. national team, from Thomas Dooley against Germany). But they usually involve something fluky, like a weird hop, or like Dwayne De Rosario’s header from distance against the Red Bulls, where a goalkeeper is painfully out of position. (That was No. 100 for “De Ro!” Well done, sir.)
Not Miranda’s. That was a freakin’ driven shot. Here ‘tis:
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It’s almost a tossup for me, but I’ll go with Darren Mattocks’ header for Vancouver against Toronto early in the summer. When I saw Miranda’s goal, I remember thinking, “That’s a great goal!”
When I saw Mattocks rise up in the air, coming as close to actually levitating as any human I’ve seen since Michael Jordan’s in his pre-underwear salesman days, I remember yelling audibly “Whoa!”
So, by a small margin, that one has my vote.
Here ‘tis:
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