Famous commentator moments

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Brian Moore was one of the most famous voices in the commentary box

Throughout the summer, the heroics of the Icelandic football team at EURO 2016 won the hearts of many neutral football fans.

Their maiden victory at the European Championships in June over Austria produced a piece of commentary by Icelandic commentator Gudmundur Benediktsson that went down as one of the fondest moments of the finals in France.  

Following that, here are some other historic moments in football where the words of commentators added to the moment happening on the field of play.

Barry Davies – “Look at his face!”                                                                                               

On December 29^th 1974, Derby County visited Manchester City and won at their title rivals with two excellent goals. Francis Lee had joined Derby that summer from the Citizens and his first return to Maine Road was a happy one. One of Barry Davies’ most famous commentary lines came out when he hit the winning goal “Look at his face, just look at his face.”

Andy Gray – “What a hit son!”

In December 2004, Liverpool FC needed to beat Greek side Olympiakos by two clear goals to progress to the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League. They were leading 2-1 with seven minutes to go but it still wasn’t enough. Cue skipper Steven Gerrard, who produced the knockout blow to take Liverpool FC through on their glory journey to Istanbul. Ex-Sky Sports commentator Andy Gray (a former Everton player) got a little bit excited; “Oh you beauty, what a hit son, what a hit!”

Clive Tyldesley – “And Solskjaer has won it!”

One more opponent stood in the way of Manchester United in their treble chase of 1999 and that was FC Bayern München. Barcelona’s glorious Nou Camp was the setting for the UEFA Champions League final and the Germans took an early lead through Mario Basler’s free-kick. They twice hit the woodwork before the amazing final few minutes. This was Clive Tyldesley’s most famous night in the ITV commentary box as the Red Devils turned the game on its head; “Into Sheringham, and Solskjaer has won it!”

John Motson – “Radford again”

In 1972, Hereford United produced one of the biggest FA Cup shocks, upsetting Newcastle United in a tie that has gone down in cup folklore. Ronnie Radford scored a marvellous equaliser and this goal is often described as the one that launched the commentary career of the great John Motson; “Radford again, oh what a goal, what a goal.”

Brian Moore – “It’s up for grabs now!”

Chasing the league and cup double in 1988/1989, Liverpool FC were facing title rivals Arsenal on the final night of the season. Arsenal had to win by two clear goals to overtake the Merseysiders and snatch the championship from them on their own turf. They were 1-0 up going into stoppage time when Michael Thomas surged through on goal. ITV’s Brian Moore said on the night: “It’s up for grabs now!” Thomas scored; Arsenal won 2-0 and stole the title away on a phenomenal evening at Anfield.

Martin Tyler – “Agueroooooooo!”

This was one of those moments when you remember where you were. Manchester rivals City and United went head-to-head for the Premier League title in 2011/2012. They were level on points and only separated by goal difference going into the final day. The title looked like it would stay at Old Trafford. They beat Sunderland 1-0, whilst City were locked at 2-2 with QPR in the final seconds of the season. The ball broke through from Mario Balotelli to Sergio Aguero. Take it away Martin Tyler! “Agueroooooooo!”

Bjørge Lillelien – “Your boys took a hell of a beating!”

In a World Cup qualifier in September 1981, England were surprisingly beaten 2-1 in Oslo by Norway. Norwegian commentator Bjørge Lillelien was so surprised by the result that he went slightly bonkers – saying as much as he could about England as a nation, including; “Your boys took a hell of a beating!” He died in October 1987 after a battle with cancer but this piece of commentary went down in both Scandinavian and English folklore.

Kenneth Wolstenholme – “They think it’s all over”

I couldn’t do this piece without mentioning the most famous words used in a football commentary and quite possibly, in sports broadcasting. England were seconds away from winning the 1966 World Cup on home turf against West Germany. Geoff Hurst burst clear and charged towards goal. As some fans ran on the pitch, BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme voiced the famous words; “They think it’s all over, it is now!” England were now champions of the world and there hasn’t quite been a moment like this since.

David Coleman – “Most stupid, appalling, disgusting…”

One of the earliest faces in football commentary was the late David Coleman. He was famous for his “1-0” catchphrase whenever a team opened the scoring in the game he was broadcasting throughout the 1960s and 1970s. This is one of my favourites though – when someone decides to voice their strong opinion on a subject. Coleman doesn’t hold back here when he introduces the 1962 World Cup game between Chile and Italy, famously dubbed as “The Battle of Santiago.” – “The most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football.”