A few of the Bundesliga's 50,000 goals
The 50,000th goal in the history of the Bundesliga was scored by Karim Bellarabi of Bayer Leverkusen on Friday. From Okocha to Hitzlsperger - here are some of the Bundesliga's most memorable goals.
A dance and a finish to make it five
In April 2009, Wolfsburg's Grafite scored one of the prettiest goals in the Bundesliga - or anywhere for that matter. The Brazilian beat two Bayern defenders as well as goalkeeper Michael Rensing before ending his incredible run by back-heeling the ball into the net to make it 5-1. It was a rare resounding defeat for the Munich side, and a step closer to the title for Wolfsburg.
No sign of injury
Corner to Bayern on the left. The ball comes in and Lothar Matthäus takes it first time. His incredible volley turned the game against Bayer Leverkusen on its head and put Bayern on the road to victory (4-2). Matthäus had just returned from a knee-ligament injury, but you would never have noticed. His goal was voted 1992 goal of the year in Germany.
Okocha's dance around Karlsruhe's King Kahn
August 1993 - three minutes to go in the game. Jay-Jay Okocha is in the box. The Nigerian feints one way, then another. He dummies a shot. Karlsruhe goalkeeper Oliver Kahn throws himself in front of the shot, but no shot comes. Okocha continues to dribble, deceiving two more defenders. Two tricks later, Kahn is beaten and Frankfurt's Okocha has a goal for the ages.
The longest shot
In September 2014, newly promoted Paderborn were up 1-0 against Hannover in injury time. Pushing for the equalizer, Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler was in the Paderborn area for a free kick, which was blocked and fell to Paderborn's Moritz Stoppelkamp just outside his own area. He cleared the ball some 82.3 meters (270 feet) - and into the Hannover goal. Paderborn 2 - Hannover 0.
Super Mario's corner
In March 1996, Mario Basler's plan was to deliver a dangerous ball into the heart of Freiburg's defense from a corner. His delivery was so dangerous that then Freiburg goalkeeper, Jörg Schmadtke, had no chance. The ball hit the far post and rippled the net.
Phantom goal
November 2013: Bayer Leverkusen's Stefan Kiessling (above, left) was disappointed to see his shot hits the side netting. What he didn't yet realize was that the ball was in the Hoffenheim goal - having entered though a large hole in the net. The referee gave the goal, a decision that, according to the rule book, could not be reversed. The goal counted stood.
Goooooooooooooool de Raul!
Do I go left, or right? Schalke's legendary striker Raul was spoilt for choice in August, 2011, because only Cologne's goalkeeper Michael Rensing stood in his way. The Spaniard chose option three and looped the ball over the top of the goalkeeper and into the goal. The chip, executed from a standing position, is just one of the reasons Schalke fans will always love Raul.
Hitz delivers a hammer on the way to the crown
For eight minutes on May 19, 2007, Schalke felt like champions. The Royal Blues were leading 2-0 against Arminia Bielefeld, and top-of-the-table Stuttgart were on the verge of a surprise defeat to Cottbus. Then Thomas Hitzlsperger delivered a cracking volley in and soon after, Sami Khedira sealed the win for Stuttgart - as well as the 2007 Bundesliga title.
The law of physics defied
He ran, and ran, and ran. Jan Schlaudraff went past three opponents in 2006. At the end of his run, the Alemannia Aachen striker chipped Werder Bremen's goalkeeper, Tim Wiese, with a shot against the direction of his run. A month earlier, Schlaudraff had been called up by Germany head coach Joachim Löw.
A dream goal, in the wrong net
In November 2014, Dortmund were completely in charge but just couldn't find the back of the net. Christoph Kramer got the ball in midfield and opted to play a back pass to his goalkeeper Yann Sommer on the edge of the box, but Kramer got it wrong and hit the pass over his keeper and into the back of the net. The goal proved to be the winner - for Borussia Dortmund.
The little man makes the big headlines
It's easily forgotten today, but Werder Bremen were once one of the most entertaining teams in the Bundesliga. Quick, attacking and a heap of goals. One of the best was scored by midfield maestro Diego in October 2007 against Karslruhe. The little Brazilian chipped the ball from 30 meters out and it landed under the bar and in the net. He scored from 60 meters against Aachen later on.
Hands off!
According to the rulebook, you cannot score from a throw-in. This was no different in 1982, when Jean-Marie Pfaff made his debut at Bayern Munich - but he must have forgotten the rule. On a windy day in Bremen, Werder's Uwe Reinders directed his throw-in towards Pfaff's goal. Instead of letting it go harmlessly past, Pfaff reached for it - and deflected it into his own net. Bremen won 1-0.
Off his head
April 1992: Energie Cottbus goalkeeper Tomislav Piplica fishes the ball out of his net. As if he had lost the ball in the sun, the Bosnian keeper had watched a high looping ball fall from the sky - until it hit him on the top of the head and dropped into the goal behind him - much to the delight of the visiting Mönchengladbach fans, as it tied the match 3-3.
Goal number 50,000!
The honor belonged to Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi, whose season has been ravaged by injury. He opened the scoring at Augsburg and improving Leverkusen went on to win 3-1. It was a well-worked goal too but not quite as good as Grafite's strike. How long before someone scores the 100,000th goal?