A. Gyan of Ghana: From Hero To Zero

Diego Maradona : The Hand Of God

In the 1986 World Cup match between England and Argentina, Diego Maradona tipped the ball over the goalie’s head into the net with his hand, and it was given a goal.  It was thereafter named the “Hand of God” goal after Maradona himself so named it.

Bob Green: The Hand of Clod 

When England tied with the USA (June 2010 World Cup group stage match) because of the goalie, Bob Green, allowing a very very very weak ball to pass him and score, the British papers labeled him “The Hand Of Clod”.  He was replaced for subsequent matches.

Keep your head up young man.  Don’t let this be the end of your international showing as a goalie.

Luis Suarez:  The Hero with the Volleyball Hands wins it for Uruguay

With the second of 2 overtime periods expiring, Ghana’s kick allowed 3 shots at goal.  Two were taken off the line, the last of which was a deliberate volleyball two-hand block by Luis Suarez standing on the goal line.  This was the best play of the match because, thought he got a red card and was sent off, time had expired.  If he didn’t swat it, Ghana wins 2-1.  However, it took his chances on the resulting penalty kick which hit the top of the bar and went out.

Asamoah Gyan:  The Goat or From Hero to Zero

Asamoah Gyan of Ghana missed the penalty with the game out of time to send the game against Uruguay into penalty kicks which they lost 4-2.    The hero of the US vs Ghana game a few days earlier, Gyan played well against Uruguay only to miss the penalty with time running out after the Uruguay player played volleyball to swat the ball off the line. 
The Ghanans bombarded the Uruguay defense with three shots in rapid succession, one punched away by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, another bouncing off a defender, and the last one hit away purposely by Luis Suarez standing on the goal line.

Keep your head up young man.  You have a very bright future.

In other News

Brazil loses 2-1 to The Netherlands (Holland).  Leading 1-0, most people expected the usual Brazil win.  But an “own goal” with the keeper error leveled things.  Next was a brilliant goal off a corner kick where the first Netherlands player headed it backwards to his man whose header found the back of the net.

Great games, whether they went my way or not.