The referee blows, Madrid kick-off - and then this: “The ball went to Gago, he played it to Roberto Carlos and he lost control. Salihamidžić intercepted and before we knew it, it was in the net.”
That's Roy Makaay, remembering his opening goal in the Champions League first knockout round second leg tie against Real Madrid on 7 March 2007. The Dutchman, who celebrated his 45th birthday on Monday 9 March, scored after just 10.12 seconds and is still the fastest Champions League goalscorer in history. The 'goal phantom' buried Hasan Salihamidžić’s cross with his right foot into the lower left corner to net an extremely important goal.
Makaay strikes Bayern towards the quarterfinals
Two weeks earlier, Bayern had lost the first leg at Estadio Bernabeu 3-2. The tension in the Allianz Arena was high and the 66,000 spectators hoped for a quick start from FCB - Makaay definitely gave them that.
In the end, the Munich side won the game 2-1 (Lucio also scored) and advanced to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule. “It's nice that people remember me with this record,” said Makaay looking back fondly at his lightning strike.
📸 The goal in images:
Top 5 fastest UCL goals:
1) Roy Makaay (FC Bayern), 10.12 seconds, against Real Madrid, 7 March 2007
2) Jonas (Valencia), 10.96 seconds, against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 1 November 2011
3) Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), 20.07 seconds, against PSV Eindhoven, 25 September 2002
4) Alessandro del Piero (Juventus), 20.12 seconds, against Manchester United, 1 October 1997
5) Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan), 21.06 seconds, against Schalke, 28 September 2005
The goal was only possible because Hasan Salihamidžić was on the ball from the first second:
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