Henry’s VITAL goal, Liverpool’s FORGOTTEN Istanbul hero, Le Tiss and others that signed off in style
Thierry Henry signed off his Premier League career with Arsenal in style against Sunderland with a 90th minute winner at the Stadium of Light, before returning to New York Red Bulls in the MLS.
Plenty of players have arrived with a debut goal, but leaving with a flourish is altogether more difficult…
JURGEN KLINSMANN SAYS GOODBYE BY SAVING SPURS
Having left White Hart Lane under a cloud the first time around in 1995, Spurs fans thought they had seen the last of Jurgen Klinsmann in a Tottenham shirt, but in 1998 he returned for a six-month loan spell. His goals were vital as the club battled relegation and, in the penultimate game of the 1997/98 season, the German fired four past Wimbledon in a vital 6-2 win. He followed this with a goal against Southampton at White Hart Lane on 10 May 1998 in his final club for the club. Les Ferdinand neatly chested a long range pass into the run of Klinsmann, who drilled a 20-yard shot straight into Paul Jones’ top left corner. With Tottenham safe from the drop, it was the perfect way to bid farewell and he capped it off with his customary celebratory dive.
ALAN SHEARER HELPS SINK Sunderland IN HIS LAST ACT AS A MAGPIE
Shearer wasn’t planning on the Tyne-Wear derby being his last appearance for Newcastle in the Premier League, but injury meant that was exactly what happened - although painful, it certainly wasn't a bad way to go out! The striker tore knee ligaments against his club’s arch rivals during Newcastle’s 2006 4-1 thrashing of the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light, three games before the season ended, though his last meaningful contribution was a memorable one. Shearer’s penalty put his side 2-1 up as the Magpies scored three second half goals in six minutes before Alberto Luque capped the humiliation late on. The club’s all-time leading scorer - Shearer, not Luque - was forced off with 20 minutes to go, bringing a slightly premature, if memorable end to his goal-laden career.
VLADIMIR SMICER PROVES AN UNLIKELY HERO IN ISTANBUL
Czech winger Smicer was something of an enigma at Anfield, showing glimpses of sublime skill, but all too often flattering to deceive during a six-year spell at Liverpool between 1999 and 2005. Spanish boss Rafa Benitez had decided to let him at the end of a season in which the club reached the Champions League final, but the tricky attacker left Liverpool fans with the most incredible of memories to finish his Anfield career on an unlikely high. Having trailed 3-0 at half-time, Smicer added to Steven Gerrard's header by scoring a wonder strike from nowhere to give the Reds real belief that the game was far from over. Then, after Milan missed their first two penalties in the shoot-out, a John Arne Riise miss for Liverpool and two successful conversions from the Italians meant a Smicer miss would bring what had looked like an unlikely parity just moments earlier. Fortunately for Reds fans, Smicer was coolness personified and his successful kick proved enough to seal victory once Shevchenko missed Milan's next attempt.
DAVID BECKHAM STOPS Everton FROM SPOILING THE UNITED PARTY
Three months earlier in February 2003, Beckham was hit with a flying boot by an angry Sir Alex Ferguson, who had kicked it and accidentally hit the midfielder above the eye following a dressing room rage. Undeterred, that May Beckham helped Man United cap their eighth title in 11 years with a 2-1 win at Everton. It was, as many predicted, Beckham’s last league appearance for the club after his fall out with the manager, but he still dragged the club level after going behind, before Ruud van Nistelrooy’s penalty sealed victory.
HENRIK LARSSON CAPS SEVEN GOAL-FILLED YEARS WITH MORE GOALS AT CELTIC
In Celtic’s final game of the 2003/04 Scottish Premier League season, the super Swede rescued his club as they looked to be heading for a draw with Dundee United at Celtic Park. In the final 10 minutes, two goals in quick succession gave Larsson the perfect send off in front of his own fans as Martin O’Neill’s side won the league. In the Scottish Cup final a week later, Larsson bagged another brace as Celtic beat Dunfermline 3-1 at Hampden Park to clinch the double. When he left Glasgow, he had totalled an impressive 242 goals in 315 matches and it was as close to a fairytale ending as you're going to get.
MATT LE TISSIER SAYS GOODBYE TO THE DELL IN ITS FINAL MATCH
Scorer of exquisite goals, Southampton hero Le Tiss was fittingly the man to bag the final goal at the Dell to sign the Saints off in spectacular fashion at their former home before moving into St Mary’s. The midfielder's stunning winner against Arsenal in the closing stages of their 2001 clash earned his side a 3-2 victory and ensured no one would ever forget the name Le Tissier. Similarly, Henry scored a hat-trick as the Gunners saw off Wigan in their final game at Highbury in 2006.