It seems substitutes are notable for warming the bench and watching the game from the sidelines as a spectator. But not forgetting, these players have come off the bench and scored a goal or two, making an immediate impact on the game within a span of minutes.
Remember the UEFA Champions League Finals in 1999? Trailing to an early goal by Bayern Munich’s Mario Basler, Alex Ferguson brought on two forwards to search for an equalizer. Most notably, the introduction of Norwegian attacker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the last ten minutes ignited attacking impetus of Manchester United.
It was a dramatic end when the Red Devils amazingly converted two stoppage time goals to emerge victorious. First, David Beckham swung in a bending corner kick which Ryan Giggs connected with a miskick attempt. Instead, Teddy Sheringham, the first substitute who Alex Ferguson brought on in the 67th minute, was well positioned to slot home the equalizer. Barely 30 seconds after the subsequent kick off, another substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was on hand to poke home the winner courtesy of an assist by Teddy Sheringham from a resulting corner.
Just recently in a Cosmo League affair, we witness a less dramatic scenario which involved two Japanese substitutes, Teppei Koshida and Yasuaki Imada, who came on in the second half and instilled creativity and flair in FC Nippon’s attack against a physical Hollandse FC. In the end, thanks to a brace by forward Yasuaki Imada, FC Nippon overcame the likes of Hollandse with a 3-2 win.
Looking back at this magnificent second half show, Are substitutes a contributing factor to success in amateur football?
What do you think?