September 16 – Netbusters
A BIT of a nerd-fest today folks, as we look at some of the hardest shots this side of the Picos.
Although there is no official list of the hardest shots in football, the Guardian compiled an unofficial top ten last year which had some of the expected names on it. Beckham was on there twice with efforts clocked at 80.5mph and 97.9mph. Roberto Carlos, Alan Shearer and Matt Le Tissier were also there with their own netbusting shots.
Today in 1996 though one player eclipsed them all. Arsenal were playing at home to Sheffield Wednesday, who were already one nil up, when one man with a foot like a traction engine stepped up to the plate. David Hirst hit a thunderbolt shot towards David Seaman’s goal which was clocked at a whopping 114 miles per hour. It crashed against the bar with Seaman all kinds of beaten, and rebounded back into play before being blasted high and wide by one of Hirst’s teammates, as you can see below:
Hirst held the crown for 11 years until a new gunslinger rode into town and found he was the fastest shot in the west. Sporting Lisbon’s Brazilian left-back Ronny “Homem-Bomba” (human bomb) Heberson hit a canon of a shot in November 2006 against Naval that was reportedly from 16.5 metres in 0.28 seconds, which works out at 131.82mph.
Have a look at the bomber’s shot below, and pop back tomorrow for more football history. Also on this day, Arsenal were strutting their stuff in front of the cameras for the first time.
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