Everything about this goal that wasn’t makes it shoo-in to win. It happened in a big game — the semifinal of the prestigious Taca Guanabara (Rio de Janeiro state championship). Two eternal rivals from the same city were playing. And you could have bet your worldly possessions that Deivid would have scored.
The score was tied at 1-1 in the 35th minute of Wednesday’s game. Deivid, Flamengo’s veteran striker (and last year’s leading scorer), ran onto a pass just three yards from the goal … and he scuffed his shot off the post. Vasco would go on to win the game, on a late goal from Diego Souza.
On Thursday, the 32-year-old asked to participate in Flamengo’s press conference to tell his side of the story, according to the Associated Press.
“I was certain I was going to score,” Deivid said. ”I hit it and started turning to celebrate, and in that fraction of a second, in a moment of carelessness, it happened what it happened. Even my 5-year-old son would have scored.’
“‘I’m the only one guilty,” he added. ”I wish I could be here talking as a hero and not as a villain. If I had scored, it would have been a different story.”
Shut down the voting, lock up the polling stations because this one’s a wrap.
See Deivid’s miss in the video below.
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Photo via Flickr/Ide Gomes
