50 things we loved in 2021: Alisson, Messi, Bailly, Havertz, Keane…

It’s been another weird year off the football pitch, but a cracker on it. We’ve had high drama at club level and two major international tournaments to keep us entertained, and we’ve even been let back into stadiums.
The pan-continental Euros, if not an wholly sensible estimate, were a brilliant secrete after the misery many have endured of late. And in South America, Lionel Messi last, finally lifted a major trophy with Argentina .
We ’ ve been treated to some spectacular goals, some heart-warming moments and a fair act of the absolute bizarre besides.

Reading: 50 things we loved in 2021: Alisson, Messi, Bailly, Havertz, Keane…

here, we round up 50 things we absolutely loved in 2021 .

This Scotland fan

Oh, teammate .

Canny even kick a table in anger by rights pic.twitter.com/dv9GChIc72
— Jim Smith ( @ standupfarmer ) June 22, 2021

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

The alone thing this clip is missing is popcorn .

Love @ jf9hasselbaink reaction to Roy Keane & Jamie Carragher arguing with each other. pic.twitter.com/etI163pEAn
— Frank Khalid ( @ FrankKhalidUK ) November 29, 2021

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate wrote a letter and we all cried a fiddling act .

The last few lines of Gareth Southgate ’ s pre-tournament letter to England fans in truth hit home this dawn. pic.twitter.com/fGAVMleJUi
— HLTCO ( @ HLTCO ) July 8, 2021

Patrick Schick

‘ A delivery for Mr Schick. ’
‘ Yeah ? ’
‘ Yes, sir. One Puskas Award. Sign here please. ’

??? After about 800k votes, Patrik Schick ‘s long-range smasher volt Scotland is UEFA EURO 2020 Goal of the tournament ! ⚽️? # EUROGOTT @ GazpromFootball # EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/qBENMPj25b
— UEFA Nations League ( @ EURO2024 ) July 14, 2021

Plymouth Argyle

In fact, hang on, can we reroute that manner of speaking, please ?

Deyverson

honestly, we ’ ll be watching this on duplicate well into following year .

Deyverson é aquele cara que não acredita em tapinha sodium costas. pic.twitter.com/bENnB0kd86
— Márvio cause Anjos ( @ marvio ) November 27, 2021

Fulham players

This was good cover girl .

incredible : Fulham players climb into crowd to celebrate goal with 13-Year Old winnow Rhys Porter who has cerebral palsy and suffered ferocious on-line maltreatment after posting footage of himself playing football. beautiful consequence of empathy and human forgivingness ? pic.twitter.com/mf0Dq33fII
— roger bennett ( @ rogbennett ) September 25, 2021

Dulux

Getting trolled by your own sponsor is about a embarrassing as it gets…

Spurs getting flamed by Dulux literally minutes after announcing a new sponsorship deal with them is a temper. pic.twitter.com/mA3wHbXLBc
— Will Magee ( @ W_F_Magee ) April 15, 2021

Pacos de Ferreira

…or at least we thought it was until we saw this .

?? ??? ????? ! Que é como quem diz : o Castor answer sempre. ?
? 19 de agosto | ? 19h30
⚽ FC Paços de Ferreira x Tottenham
ℹ️ Info sobre bilhetes brevemente # DefendeOAmarelo # UECL # FCPFTOT pic.twitter.com/MUuf7sFxfk
— FC Paços de Ferreira ( @ fcpf ) August 13, 2021

Allan Saint-Maximin

He ’ s so tricky he tied sends television camera operators for hotdogs .

saint-maximin ends the Burnley defenders and camera man with a talk through one’s hat shot pic.twitter.com/BGHsqshfBo
— PT ( @ the_mayor1996 ) April 11, 2021

Andros Townsend

The greatest shithouse consequence of 2021 .

Andros Townsend does the Siiuuuuuu at Old Trafford ! ?
He enjoys a finish in Manchester ! A fantastic flow move ! pic.twitter.com/8DYwq0GdY1
— football on BT Sport ( @ btsportfootball ) October 2, 2021

Andriy Yarmolenko

not quite Townsend, but a funny story riposte to Ronaldo all the same .

“ Coca-Cola and Heineken… please contact me ! ”
Andriy Yarmolenko saw what Cristiano Ronaldo did and reversed it ?? pic.twitter.com/koH8o8TCx9
— Hayters television receiver ( @ HaytersTV ) June 17, 2021

Lionel Messi & Neymar

Awww .

Neymar was in tears after Brazil lost the Copa America final but he hush came to his acquaintance Lionel Messi and gave him a one minute long hug to congratulate him. ❤ pic.twitter.com/h5J3HjpCLc
— FootballFunnys ( @ FootballFunnnys ) July 11, 2021

Thomas Muller

Germans don ’ triiodothyronine do missed chances at major tournaments. But if they did, they ’ five hundred credibly be the best miss chances in the world .

Muller miss foot Nessun Dorma pic.twitter.com/kW0aSq92Wp
— Dr Matt Swift ( @ MSwift94 ) June 30, 2021

Sam Kerr

The Chelsea striker was having none of the idiot ’ s antics .

Sam Kerr could run through a brick rampart I ‘m not convinced otherwise… pic.twitter.com/J6vQTRXHv6
— Kelsey Trainor ( @ ktrain_11 ) December 8, 2021

Michail Antonio

This was eldritch. But eldritch in a good room .

CELEBRÓ AL ESTILO DE DIRTY DANCING ?
Michail Antonio anotó gol y festejó levantando su figura de cartón igual que en el clásico de los ochenta. pic.twitter.com/hrIdTX0xrW
— Andre Marín ( @ andremarinpuig ) August 24, 2021

Romelu Lukaku

Do you reckon Big Rom was a bit happy when Inter won Serie A ?

Romelu Lukaku doing the same thing every Inter fan appears to be doing right now… hanging out of a cable car driving round Milan celebrating the claim succeed ! pic.twitter.com/GjkNBRxWG1
— FotMob ( @ FotMob ) May 2, 2021

English football fans

The anti-Super League protests actually worked and made us believe fans had a little morsel of world power in football again. For about two days. But it was dainty .

armory fans are knocked out in their masses to protest against billionaire owner Stan Kroenke, due to the proposed european Super League. pic.twitter.com/aKz4nPIBdv
— 101 capital Goals ( @ 101greatgoals ) April 23, 2021

Gary Neville

The mainstream voice we ’ ve needed .

Gary Neville on the ‘ european Super League ’. Superb. pic.twitter.com/tlv4M8SrYw
— Tom Carnduff ( @ TomC_22 ) April 18, 2021

Jamie Carragher

World class bickerers .

“ He ‘s constantly had a problem with people from Liverpool. ” ?
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher continued their England squad debate in the Sky Sports car park. pic.twitter.com/PVbxqutvzS
— Mirror Football ( @ MirrorFootball ) April 6, 2021

Neil Warnock

Who needs selfies when you can carry around a idler cup of tea fully of photos of yourself ready to sign ?

Neil Warnock and his signed photos are the single greatest thing about this summer ’ s pre-season .
The man is a home treasure .
?- @ jukesm
pic.twitter.com/rwC9CkKbaj
— HLTCO ( @ HLTCO ) August 4, 2021

These people

After some arseholes racially abused the three England players who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final, this batch restored our religion in world .

“ Black lives matter ! ”
Anti racism protesters gather at the Marcus Rashford mural in Withington ? pic.twitter.com/4iEnIJ865t
— Stretford Paddock ( @ StretfordPaddck ) July 13, 2021

Sean Dyche

The Iceman Cometh .

Kieran Tierney

See above .

Kieran Tierney in Arsenal educate at London Colney today in the snow, even in shorts & a jersey .
rain or shine… or snow. ? @ kierantierney1 ❤️ # afc pic.twitter.com/VvNa4WRoH3

Read more: Mizuno – Wikipedia

— afcstuff ( @ afcstuff ) January 24, 2021

Roy Keane v Harry Maguire

“ Eh, uh, oh, apologies to the fans. ”

Roy Keane ‘s impression of Harry Maguire ? pic.twitter.com/tFiJNE8UJ6
— Football Daily ( @ footballdaily ) October 30, 2021

Roy Keane v Harry Maguire round 2

speak about kicking a man while he ’ second down .

Roy Keane on Harry Maguire ’ s celebration is precisely what you ’ five hundred expect .
“ Embarrassing ” ✅
“ Disgrace ” ✅
pic.twitter.com/n3m6HPrZn0
— FootballJOE ( @ FootballJOE ) November 12, 2021

Harry Maguire’s photobomb

Six months on, we can just about laugh about this now .

An italian journalist asked Bonucci for a selfie right after the Euro Final. Unintentionally Harry Maguire hush sad about the frustration leading to an epic photobomb. It shows the two side of football….joy and pain pic.twitter.com/oZiGOjlUqj
— Johndfocus???????????? ( @ JohnofAfrica ) July 16, 2021

Rob Beckett

The veridical MVP of Euro 2020 .

overcharge beckett sitting in a random backstreet eating kfc at 11pm is a on-key reflection of english people post winning an england game and one am loving it pic.twitter.com/bpFSILcgs9
— elle ?? ( @ saturncampbell ) June 29, 2021

Euro 2020

2021 peaked when Spain 5-3 Croatia and France 3-3 Switzerland happened on the like day .

READ: 28 iconic moments that tell the story of a magnificent Euro 2020

Carlo Ancelotti

The air of a valet who knew he ’ vitamin d be seeing in 2022 leading real Madrid at the top of La Liga .

Carlo Ancelotti casually blowing on a cup of chocolate as Everton score the NINTH goal of the game. Calm as you like. @ btsportfootball | # EVETOT | # EFC pic.twitter.com/E9GK45OQfF
— The Sportsman ( @ TheSportsman ) February 10, 2021

Big Sam

His go at West Brom is adept forgotten. apart from this .

sometimes you merely ca n’t help yourself ! ? # BestOf2021 pic.twitter.com/ew5tw34zY0
— football on BT Sport ( @ btsportfootball ) December 28, 2021

Emma Hayes and Ian Wright

heady days .

Watching Ian Wright & Emma Hayes Celebrating during the Euros never gets old pic.twitter.com/NL5vsTM6iv
— LawBreaker ( @ lorrebreaker ) November 1, 2021

Rio Ferdinand

Perfect amusing time .

Micah Richards

The most infectious laugh on television receiver .

equitable expect for @ MicahRichards ‘ reaction to @ AlanShearer ‘s midfield ?
On this episode of # MOTDTop10 with @ GaryLineker, the pundits have to pick a best eleven from club team-mates .
Listen to Match of the Day : top 10 on @ BBCSounds now ? # bbcfootball
— BBC 5 Live Sport ( @ 5liveSport ) December 24, 2021

Raphinha

The Leeds fan in our function still watches this day by day .

Kai Havertz

The perfect response .

“ I do n’t give a f*** about that, we won the f***ing Champions league ! ” ?
ZERO care and ZERO cool from Kai Havertz when he ‘s reminded he ‘s the most expensive player in Chelsea history ? # UCLFinal # OptusSport pic.twitter.com/gv3pd8cIW9
— Optus Sport ( @ OptusSport ) May 29, 2021

Xherdan Shaqiri

Bless him .

Shaqiri tries to swing off the bar and misses ?? pic.twitter.com/yDvzIQfLXR
— Greg ( @ gregofallgregs ) November 8, 2021

Sergio Aguero

We already miss watching him .

Sergio Aguero ‘s reaction when the fourth official got his issue wrong ? # BestOf2021 pic.twitter.com/bqtdOuqGsi
— football on BT Sport ( @ btsportfootball ) December 28, 2021

Mohamed Salah

A privilege to watch him in 2021 .

?? ?????
?? ?????
? ???????
??’? ????? ????????. ? pic.twitter.com/q4I1Ea6335
— Liverpool FC ( @ LFC ) December 2, 2021

Robert Lewandowski

41 Bundesliga goals in 2020-21. 69 goals in the calendar year. Ridiculous .

Robert Lewandowski had to wait until the 90th moment to break Gerd Muller ‘s finish record, but he did it ?
That celebration ? pic.twitter.com/8MV4M2RbQz
— GOAL ( @ goal ) May 24, 2021

Alisson

A header any No.9 would be gallant of .

In encase you missed the epic poem Alisson goal, or just want to watch it again… ? pic.twitter.com/LQMtBxdOHO
— GOAL ( @ finish ) May 16, 2021

Eric Bailly

Pure box agency .

This Eric Bailly block concluding night ?⛔️ # UCL pic.twitter.com/31P056Sx2R
— football on BT Sport ( @ btsportfootball ) November 3, 2021

Joel Matip

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an riddle .

Victor Orta

More directors of football should act like they ’ ve had 10 pints on an off day, we reckon .

Passions were running very high for Leeds director Victor Orta at full time ? pic.twitter.com/q5TBePZuoU
— Football Daily ( @ footballdaily ) December 5, 2021

Charlie Patino

We can ’ thyroxine wait to see what 2022 brings for the Arsenal wonderkid .

This goal

We support indonesia now .

The test. The nutmeg. The one-two. The finish .
This goal by Indonesia had it all ?
( via @ affsuzukicup ) pic.twitter.com/0pEPwG5tOS
— B/R Football ( @ brfootball ) December 22, 2021

This rabona

Eat your center out, Erik Lamela .

Okay, we see your Erik Lamela and raise you Leixões midfielder Joca and this pathetic rabona chip. pic.twitter.com/qSBEGPqIof
— MUNDIAL ( @ MundialMag ) March 24, 2021

This penalty

RB Leipzig signed him. Their scouts must have missed this .

There is Ramos penalty miss, there is Neymar punishment miss and there is this penalty miss by Brian Brobbey pic.twitter.com/ciOj4IMetC
— Match Bet ( @ MatchBetTips ) May 1, 2021

This ballboy

sensational scenes .

This Ajax ballboy is not here for your time wasting bullshit pic.twitter.com/YlxkNvASy5
— FootballJOE ( @ FootballJOE ) April 8, 2021

This fan

never change, football .

The top 10 scorers in Europe’s major leagues in 2021: Lewy, CR7, Messi…