D’oh! — Bulgarian substitute sets record for fastest own goal
Nov 6, 2010, 11:30 AM EDT
Pretty much the worst thing a player can do in any sport is score for the other team, and in soccer that principle is greatly amplified due to the relative scarcity of goals to begin with. Upon his last substitution, poor Ivo Ivanov of Europa league club Levski Sofia must of thought he’d just get that out of the way early. Very early.
14-seconds-after-he-entered-the-match early.
From Reuters:
The Bulgarian soccer website www.bgfootball.eu said Ivanov scored the fastest own goal by a substitute in European club competition on Thursday with some statisticians claiming it was the quickest ever own goal by a player coming off the bench.
Ivanov headed the ball into the Levski net in the 87th minute with his first touch to level the scores at 2-2 just six minutes after Vladimir Gadzhev had put the home side ahead.
“This is the worst moment of my life,” said Ivanov.
Ouch.
As anybody who’s been on a first date knows, it sometimes doesn’t take much to ruin something in a hurry, but 14 seconds is a pretty impressive flame-out nonetheless. Own goals are a part of the game in soccer, but that certainly doesn’t make it any more palatable when the errant shot frustratingly finds the back of the wrong net.
The fans of Levski Sofia should be commended though, as according to Reuters, the “fans chanted Ivanov’s name after the final whistle while he was wiping tears from his eyes.” That’s pretty cool (I don’t remember Red Sox fans doing the same for Buckner after that grounder split the 5-hole).
It probably helps that Ivanov is a good player — he won the Best Bulgarian Defender award last season and is held in high regard by his squad. One imagines a player with a lesser pedigree may not have gotten such a friendly reception. I’m not too familiar with Bulgarian soccer specifically (mea cupla) but am aware enough of professional European leagues to know how contentious things can be when the match is on the line (riots, anyone?).
Good for Levski Sofia for keeping their heads, and hopefully Ivo Ivanov can come out in the next match and successfully put all of this behind him.
Er, make that in front of him.
**
Levski Sofia defender in tears after own goal record [Reuters]
