"I swear you will never see anything like this ever again".
The Immortal line from commentator Martin Tyler(Sky Sport) applied to the breathtaking conclusion of last season's Premier League title race, as Sergio Aguero won the trophy for Manchester City with almost the final kick of the campaign.
But, let us be honest, it could have related to 2012's footballing year.
It has been a truly spectacular 12 months for sport as a whole and the Beautiful Game played its part.
There has been title-winning team brilliance and record-breaking individual displays.
At the same, there has been sadness and those instances to forget, when it has felt like off-field events have become more of a focus than the matches themselves.
Away from Aguero reducing grown Manchester City fans to tears.
Chelsea and Spain also had a sense of phenomenal achievement.
The latter were victorious at Euro 2012 to bolster their reputation as the greatest team in football's archive.
Chelsea, meanwhile, lifted the Champions League for the first time, although it was not enough to save boss Roberto Di Matteo's job just six months after also winning the FA Cup.
Di Matteo was not the only manager to become unemployed in a typically frantic year on the merry-go-round.
To name just a few, Pep Guardiola decided to leave Barcelona and Kop idol Kenny Dalglish was shown the door at Liverpool despite winning the League Cup.
Fabio Capello also quit England amid the row surrounding demoted captain John Terry and accusations of racism, for which the defender was later cleared in court but was handed a Football Association ban and fine.
On the back of a tour de force performance from Falcao, Atlético Madrid claimed the Europa League crown with a 3 – 0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in București’s Arena Națională.
On the other hand, Celtic boss Neil Lennon's job security has not been in question after reaching the last 16 of the Champions League with a famous win over Barcelona en route.
A Capello-less England went to Euro 2012 with Roy Hodgson as their boss after he was picked ahead of Harry Redknapp, who himself made a court appearance when being acquitted of tax evasion.
But it was a familiar story of penalty pain in a quarter-final defeat by Italy. Stuart Pearce's Great Britain football team, without the overlooked David Beckham, also crashed out on spot-kicks when making an historic appearance at the London Olympics.
Reassuringly, there has been no shortage of spectacular goals.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's sensational, long-range, overhead-kick against England was arguably the pick of the bunch.
But it is also impossible to forget Peter Crouch for Stoke City against Manchester City, Newcastle United winger Hatem Ben Arfa's mazy dribble to stun Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool's Luis Suarez lobbing Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy, or Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse's gravity-defying volley at Chelsea.
Off the field, transfer windows have become as much a part of football as two posts and a crossbar. In January, Cisse's £9m move to Newcastle proved value for money in the second half of last season while the deadline day switch of Nikica Jelavic from Rangers to Everton was also funds well spent.
Swansea City's bargain deal for Michu looks like being the pick of the buys in a summer which also saw Robin van Persie leave Arsenal for rivals Manchester United. A typically hectic 31 August saw Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur keep busy.
But it has not been a year of complete happiness. Bolton's Fabrice Muamba suffered an on-field heart attack which stunned the world in his club's FA Cup game at Tottenham Hotspur before he went on to make a miraculous recovery.
There was also sad news at the end of the year, when coach Tito Vilanova suffered a relapse in his fight against cancer having led Barcelona to a record-breaking start to the season only months after succeeding Guardiola.
The battle against racism in football has also been forced to continue, and perhaps intensify, with the Terry case sadly just one of several reported to authorities and police throughout the year.
Elsewhere, there was more negative news as the unthinkable happened when Scottish giants Rangers were liquidated and had to reform as a newco before beginning this season in the Third Division.
But the year also ended on a good note, as Liverpool supporters, and football fans around the globe, saw original inquest verdicts into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, when 96 people lost their lives, quashed in the High Court. That followed September's report from the Hillsborough Independent Panel.
The purity of Lionel Messi's year-long radiance cannot be ignored.
The Argentine ripped up the history books to score 91 times, the highest number of goals in a calendar year, and underline his reputation as the best footballer of all time.
So, it has been a year in which Manchester City created the latest of late dramas, Messi chartered new levels of phenomena, Spain reached previously unseen levels of achievement and London hosted an Olympics.
Conversely, there have been saddening events and mixed emotions off the pitch which will live long in the memory. In short, you will never see anything like this ever again. Well, apart from England losing on penalties.
AGUEROOOOOOOOOOOOO! :
"I swear you will never see anything like this ever again". The immortal line from Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler applied to the breath-taking conclusion of last season's Premier League title race, as Sergio Aguero won the trophy for Manchester City with almost the final kick of the campaign.
Chelsea win Champions League
Assist of the year - Nicklas Bärkroth
Goal of the Year - Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Skill of the year - Bernard
Player of the Year - Lionel Messi:
Manager of the Year - Neil Lennon
Signing of the Year - Michu
Flop of the Year (Team) - Queens Park Ranger
Flop of the Year (Player) - Stewart Downing
Game of the Year - Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2
Controversy of the Year: Capello Resigning
Team of the Year- Spain
The Immortal line from commentator Martin Tyler(Sky Sport) applied to the breathtaking conclusion of last season's Premier League title race, as Sergio Aguero won the trophy for Manchester City with almost the final kick of the campaign.
But, let us be honest, it could have related to 2012's footballing year.
It has been a truly spectacular 12 months for sport as a whole and the Beautiful Game played its part.
There has been title-winning team brilliance and record-breaking individual displays.
Away from Aguero reducing grown Manchester City fans to tears.
Chelsea and Spain also had a sense of phenomenal achievement.
The latter were victorious at Euro 2012 to bolster their reputation as the greatest team in football's archive.
On the back of a tour de force performance from Falcao, Atlético Madrid claimed the Europa League crown with a 3 – 0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in București’s Arena Națională.
On the other hand, Celtic boss Neil Lennon's job security has not been in question after reaching the last 16 of the Champions League with a famous win over Barcelona en route.
A Capello-less England went to Euro 2012 with Roy Hodgson as their boss after he was picked ahead of Harry Redknapp, who himself made a court appearance when being acquitted of tax evasion.
But it was a familiar story of penalty pain in a quarter-final defeat by Italy. Stuart Pearce's Great Britain football team, without the overlooked David Beckham, also crashed out on spot-kicks when making an historic appearance at the London Olympics.
Reassuringly, there has been no shortage of spectacular goals.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's sensational, long-range, overhead-kick against England was arguably the pick of the bunch.
Swansea City's bargain deal for Michu looks like being the pick of the buys in a summer which also saw Robin van Persie leave Arsenal for rivals Manchester United. A typically hectic 31 August saw Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur keep busy.
But it has not been a year of complete happiness. Bolton's Fabrice Muamba suffered an on-field heart attack which stunned the world in his club's FA Cup game at Tottenham Hotspur before he went on to make a miraculous recovery.
The battle against racism in football has also been forced to continue, and perhaps intensify, with the Terry case sadly just one of several reported to authorities and police throughout the year.
Elsewhere, there was more negative news as the unthinkable happened when Scottish giants Rangers were liquidated and had to reform as a newco before beginning this season in the Third Division.
But the year also ended on a good note, as Liverpool supporters, and football fans around the globe, saw original inquest verdicts into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, when 96 people lost their lives, quashed in the High Court. That followed September's report from the Hillsborough Independent Panel.
The Argentine ripped up the history books to score 91 times, the highest number of goals in a calendar year, and underline his reputation as the best footballer of all time.
So, it has been a year in which Manchester City created the latest of late dramas, Messi chartered new levels of phenomena, Spain reached previously unseen levels of achievement and London hosted an Olympics.
Conversely, there have been saddening events and mixed emotions off the pitch which will live long in the memory. In short, you will never see anything like this ever again. Well, apart from England losing on penalties.
Overall moment of the year:
AGUEROOOOOOOOOOOOO! :
"I swear you will never see anything like this ever again". The immortal line from Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler applied to the breath-taking conclusion of last season's Premier League title race, as Sergio Aguero won the trophy for Manchester City with almost the final kick of the campaign.
Chelsea win Champions League
Assist of the year - Nicklas Bärkroth
Goal of the Year - Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Skill of the year - Bernard
Player of the Year - Lionel Messi:
Manager of the Year - Neil Lennon
Signing of the Year - Michu
Flop of the Year (Team) - Queens Park Ranger
Flop of the Year (Player) - Stewart Downing
Game of the Year - Barcelona 2 Chelsea 2
Controversy of the Year: Capello Resigning
Team of the Year- Spain
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