A thread to post random stories from football history... I'll start with a dalliancesque story.

Until 1924, goals scored directly from a corner didn't count. Bad luck that in the Olympics that year, Uruguay's Hector Scarone cored two such disallowed goals, against Yugoslavia and Switzerland. The distressed Uruguayan FA thereafter petitioned FIFA to change the rule, to allow directly converted corners to count.

FIFA didn't piss around much in those days: the application was quickly approved, coming into effect on October 1, 1924. Next day Uruguay played Argentina and, you guessed it, conceded a goal scored directly from a corner in a1-2 defeat.

since no one else is playing, i'll offer something completely awesome, if not particularly obscure (having been mentioned in the guardian blogs this week):

rio mavuba's passport states, under 'place of birth', that he was born at sea.

The law of 1924 removed the requirement for another player to have touched the ball after a corner had been taken for a goal to be given. The new law was worded so vaguely that in 1926 Everton's Sam Chedgzoy took a corner against Spurs and dribbled the ball into the net without any other player touching it. The goal stood - after some debate - but the law was quickly amended so that the corner taker couldn't touch the ball again until another player had touched it.

Hmmm, where is dalliance these days anyway?

On his way to Manchester, I assume.

Intriguingly, Football Manager 2008 states Rio Mavuba's birthplace as 'Unknown' ...

I believe this means Mavuba is eligible to play for any country with a coastline.

...And the story which starts this post is the reason that, on both banks of the Río de La Plata, a goal scored directly from a corner is called a gol olímpico.

Oh, and confirmation of the Mavuba story here.

Since the law was changed allowing a player to score directly from a kick-off have there been any reports of it having been done?

In the days well before this rule was amended - mid 70's probably - I remember the Australian Adrian Alston, playing for Cardiff City, going for goal from a kick-off tapped to him and hitting the woodwork. Nearest I've seen.

I'm amazed Adrian Alston is still remembered at Cardiff- he was only there for about one season, I think. He was Lancashire born, and emigrated to Australia as a teenager. Played in the Socceroos' 1974 World Cup finals side. After leaving Cardiff he partnered Rodney Marsh in attack at Tampa Bay, and finished his career at Canberra City.

As for goals direct from the kick off- Adelaide City striker Damian Mori did it in an NSL match against Sydney United at Hindmarsh in 1996- it was at the start of the match and was timed at 3.7 seconds....

QUOTE:
on both banks of the Río de La Plata, a goal scored directly from a corner is called a gol olímpico.

And in Spain, too, although I never knew or even wondered why. Thanks for that!

Nothing to do with corners, but in the last 16 of this year's African Champions League, all 8 matches are North Africa v Sub-Saharan Africa affairs, even though the draw wasn't seeded that way at all. I wonder if, back in the day, there was ever a Champions Cup last sixteen where all 8 ties were Western Europe v Eastern Bloc, or similar.

Tim Borowski's half-brother is George Borowski, made famous by being "Guitar George" in OTF classic Sultans of Swing.

Sergei Rachmaninov is his great-uncle.

Tony C wrote:

QUOTE:
Since the law was changed allowing a player to score directly from a kick-off have there been any reports of it having been done?

In the days well before this rule was amended - mid 70's probably - I remember the Australian Adrian Alston, playing for Cardiff City, going for goal from a kick-off tapped to him and hitting the woodwork. Nearest I've seen.

I think rivelino scored one of these. He saw that the goalkeeper was still doing his pre-match prayers.

Another convert to atheism...