10) What If Tim Howard Hadn’t Fumbled Against Porto In 2004?
Manchester United were cruising into the quarter finals of the 2003/04 Champions League as they led Jose Mourinho’s Porto 1-0 in their second round second leg clash at Old Trafford. Then, in the last minute, goalkeeper Howard fumbled a harmless free kick and Costinha dispatched the rebound to send Porto through and Mourinho charging down the touchline. Porto would go on to win the Champions League.
Had Howard not erred, would Mourinho have been offered the Chelsea job at the end of that season? Would he be such a respected coach without a Champions League winners medal? Would Mourinho be able to argue against those who say he has only succeeded in his managerial career because he has been at rich clubs? Would Mourinho be the 'Special One'?
9) What If England Had Appointed Felipe Scolari In 2006?
Scolari had been England’s first choice to succeed Sven Goran Eriksson after the 2006 World Cup, but eventually rejected the FA who reluctantly appointed Steve McClaren. The former Manchester United assistant would have a disastrous 18-month spell that culminated in failure to qualify for Euro 2008.
Had Scolari accepted the job, would England have qualified for Austria and Switzerland? Would David Beckham have been ditched before being re-hitched? Would Scolari have tried the 3-5-2 formation? Would he have erected that silly umbrella? Would Fabio Capello now be at the helm? Would there now be so many Italian coaches in the UK? Who would have replaced Avram Grant as Chelsea boss? Would Brian Barwick and the rest of the English FA be considered as anything other than incompetent?
8) What If Argentina Had A Good Manager?
In the 2002 World Cup, Argentina were loaded with top class players but were eliminated from the group stages due to the incompetence of their coach Marcelo Bielsa who, aside from blundering tactically, left out of the likes of Juan Roman Riquelme and Javier Saviola from his squad, preferring instead a 35-year-old Claudio Caniggia, 32-year-old Diego Simeone who hadn't played all season and Napoli nobody Claudio Husain. Not to mention the fact he started a 33-year-old past-it Gabriel Batistuta in every game.
Fast forward four years and Jose Pekerman left best right back in the world Javier Zanetti at home, as well as Walter Samuel. Despite this, Argentina blitzed their way through to the quarter finals and looked like the best team in the tournament. In the last eight they comfortably led Germany 1-0, until Pekerman thought it would be a good idea to substitute star man Riquelme with 18 minutes to go for target man Julio Cruz. Germany equalised to force extra time, Pekerman had used all his three subs (and left Lionel Messi on the bench), and the hosts would win on penalties.
What if Argentina had had a good manager in 2002 and 2006?
7) What If Pavel Nedved Had Been Eligible In 2003 & Fit In 2004?The Patrick Swayze lookalike was the world’s best player in 2003 and had dragged Juventus to the final of the Champions League almost single-handedly, but he cruelly missed the Manchester showpiece through suspension. Had he played, would Juve have beaten Milan?
A year later, Nedved had been the best player at Euro 2004, and the Czech Republic the best team. But in the semi final against Greece he limped off injured after 40 minutes and the shock eventual winners would emerge victorious with a Golden Goal in extra time. Would the Czechs have gone on to win Euro 2004 had Nedved stayed fit?
6) What If Sir Alex Ferguson Had Retired In 2002?The legendary Scotsman had announced his decision to retire from management at the end of the 2001/02 season, but changed his mind before the campaign ended. More than seven years later and Fergie is still leading Manchester United to success.
If Ferguson had quit, would United still be the dominant force in English football? Would they have gone on to win four more Premier League titles and another Champions League? Who would now be manager of The Red Devils? Martin O’Neill? Would Ferguson’s successor have been capable to wrestle the power back from Chelsea in 2007? Would David Beckham still be playing at Old Trafford?
5) What If Edgar Davids Hadn’t Joined Barcelona In 2004?In 2003/04 Barcelona had a new president in Joan Laporta, a new coach in Frank Rijkaard, and a new star player in Ronaldinho. But the first half to the season was a complete disaster as the Blaugrana languished in 12th place, way off the pace and with seemingly no chance of even getting into the Champions League places. Many directors and fans wanted Laporta out, while Rijkaard was on the brink of the sack.
Then, in January 2004, Edgar Davids arrived on loan from Juventus. The Dutchman was simply magnificent and the driving force behind a brilliant Barcelona recovery that saw them roar up the standings to finish the season in second place. Although Davids would not make his move permanent, he had saved his former Ajax colleague his job. Rijkaard and Barca would not look back as they would win consecutive La Liga crowns and the 2006 Champions League. Would Barca be the unstoppable team they are now had it not been for Davids? Would Rijkaard have been sacked? Would Laporta have been ousted? Would Ronaldinho have found his feet?
4) What If The ‘Hand Of Henry’ Had Been Spotted?It was seen by virtually every person in the world, but what would have happened had referee Martin Hansson spotted Thierry Henry’s blatant handball prior to William Gallas’ decisive extra time goal that saw France oust Ireland in the 2010 World Cup playoffs?
Would the Irish now be booking their plane tickets to South Africa? Would Giovanni Trapattoni have been hailed as a hero in Ireland? Would we be talking about the greatest moment in Irish football history? Would Raymond Domenech still be in charge of France? Would Laurent Blanc now be in his place? Would Thierry Henry have retired from international football?!
3) What If Zinedine Zidane’s Headbutt On Marco Materazzi Had Gone Unpunished?In the twentieth minute of extra time during the 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France, Zinedine Zidane performed his infamous headbutt on Azzurri defender Marco Materazzi. The referee Horacio Elizondo and his linesmen, despite halting play, appeared to miss the incident but Zidane was eventually red carded. It is rumoured to this day that Elizondo only sent Zidane off after the fourth official had watched a replay on the pitch-side television. But what would have happened had Zidane stayed on the field?
Would Italy have won the World Cup on penalties? Zidane would have been one of France’s penalty takers. Would Italy have declared war for the second World Cup running had they lost in such circumstances? Would Materazzi have been on the receiving end of such a worldwide hate campaign? Would the British tabloids have printed those defamatory remarks before being sued? Would Raymond Domenech have snubbed Serie A’s French stars at Euro 2008?
2) What If Roman Abramovich Hadn’t Bought Chelsea?Chelsea were completely transformed in the summer of 2003 when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates and poured his fortune into the club. Had the 43-year-old not taken over, where would Chelsea be now?
Would they still be waiting to win their first championship since 1955? Would the club have gone into administration due to the fact they were crippled by debt when Abramovich rescued them? Would Chelsea now be in the same situation as Leeds United? What if Abramovich had bought Tottenham Hotspur instead of Chelsea, as was first planned? Would Spurs now be a European supergiant? Had Abramovich not entered English football, would there be so many foreign owners in the Premier League? Would English teams have performed as well in the Champions League in recent years?
1) What If There Had Been No Calciopoli Scandal?The implications of this are never-ending. Would Inter just be about to enter their twenty-first year since last winning the Scudetto? Would Juventus still be dominating Serie A with the third star on their shirts? Would Luciano Moggi still be the transfer guru of Calcio?
Would the Italian league have performed much better in Europe these past few seasons? Would it be so crippled financially? Would it have such a bad image internationally? Would Kaka and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have left Italy, and would more big name stars such as Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo now be plying their trade in the Campionato? Would Marcello Lippi ever have left after Germany? Would Fabrizio Miccoli have been frozen out of the Azzurri set-up? Would Italy have won the 2006 World Cup?
Goal.comIts a pretty decent article by goal.com(!) Anymore you'd like to suggest?
Subject: Top 10 'What If' Moments Of The Decade 
Wed Dec 30, 2009 12:03 pm
