The 25 Best Football Matches of the Decade

Throughout the first decade of the new millennium, there were many great matches and comebacks throughout football.

From cup finals to important league fixtures, we have been lucky enough to experience many great moments in the last 10 years.

It is time to look back at the 25 greatest matches that happened from 2000-2009.

25. 2001 World Cup qualifier—England vs. Greece

In the second round of the 1998 World Cup, David Beckham got red carded for a kick to the thigh of Argentina's Diego Simeone, which led to England getting eliminated from the World Cup on penalties, and caused lots of negative backlash for Beckham.

But on Oct. 6, 2001, Beckham and his England teammates found themselves down 2-1 late against Greece, and a loss would mean that England would have to be in a playoff in order to get into the World Cup.

In stoppage time, Teddy Sheringham won a free kick for England, and Beckham's free kick went into the back of the Greek net, tying the game at two and exciting the crowd at Old Trafford as England were able to qualify for the World Cup, and Beckham completed his transition from villain to hero in a three-year span.

24. 2004 Premier League—Manchester United vs. Arsenal

In 2004, Arsenal were the best side in England after going unbeaten the season before in the Premier League, and they traveled to Old Trafford in Manchester to take on Manchester United and stretch their unbeaten streak in the Premier League to 50 consecutive matches.

This was the most important fixture of the season for both sides going into this match and early on, Wayne Rooney nearly gave United the lead early, stopped only by some last-ditch defending by the Arsenal.

As United and Arsenal continued to exchange chances, United were able to take the lead in the 73rd minute, as Rooney got "tripped" by Sol Campbell, and United were awarded a penalty.

On the ensuing penalty, Ruud Van Nistelrooy took the penalty and beat Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann, giving United a 1-0 lead.

After the goal, Rooney got United's second goal off a pass from Alan Smith, and Manchester United defeated Arsenal by a 2-0 score, ending the Gunners' 49-match Premier League winning streak.

After the match, food went flying in the Old Trafford tunnel, including an infamous slice of pizza that hit United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that was thrown by someone on Arsenal in what has become known as Pizzagate.

23. 2004 Champions League—Deportivo de La Coruña vs. AC Milan

In the 2004 Champions League quarterfinals, Spanish side Deportivo were paired against the winners of the Champions League the season before in AC Milan.

After Milan won 4-1 at the San Siro during the first leg, both sides went to the Estadio Riazor in Spain looking to get into the semifinals of the Champions League.

But, Deportivo did not give into the Italian giants and got an early goal in the fifth minute by Walter Pandiani to get them back into the match.

Afterwards, Deportivo was able to get within one goal in the 35th minute off a header by Juan Carlos Valeron and took the lead in the match up in the 43rd minute on away goals when Albert Luque scored.

In the 75th minute, substitute Gonzalez Fran scored to make it a 4-0 game in what turned out to be the game-winner.

22. 2009 Confederations Cup Final—Brazil vs. United States

In the 2009 Confederations Cup final, world power Brazil faced an upstart United States squad that managed to somehow advance from Group B, and subsequently beat the best nation in the world in Spain by a 2-0 score.

Meanwhile, Brazil eased their way into the final, not losing any games, and also beat the United States by a 3-0 score in the group stage.

However, the United States were not afraid of Brazil, and they got first half goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan to take a 2-0 score into the half.

In the second half, Brazil stormed their way back on the foot of Luis Fabiano, who scored two second half goals, and a late goal off a corner by captain Lúcio to give Brazil a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the United States and the Confederations Cup title.

21. Euro 2000—Spain vs. Yugoslavia

In the final match of the group stage in Euro 2000, Spain faced off against Yugoslavia with a spot in the knockout stage on the line for Spain.

Heading into stoppage time, it appeared that Spain were out of the tournament down 3-2 to Yugoslavia, but they were able to start a comeback for the ages, as Spain were awarded a penalty on a push on defender Abelardo Fernández, and Gaizka Mendieta was able to score on the penalty, tying the match at three.

Several minutes later, Spain were able to get a winner from Alfonso Pérez on a rebound, and the entire Spanish team mobbed Pérez after he got Spain into the quarterfinal, where they were eliminated by France on a Golden Goal by Zinedine Zidane.

Yugoslavia were also able to advance but got thrashed by a 6-1 score by the Netherlands in the quarterfinal.

20. 2002 World Cup—Senegal vs. France

In the opening match of the 2002 World Cup, defending World Cup champion France played against a Senegal side that were playing in their first-ever World Cup match.

Going into the match, the French were without superstar Zinedine Zidane, who was out due to injury, but France still had many big names and were expected to win.

However, Senegal played an inspired match and got rewarded for their hard work in the 30th minute, when Pape Bouba Diop was able to score the first goal of the 2002 World Cup after he put away a loose ball that had the French confused.

After the goal, the French continued to attack the Senegal net, but had problems against a Senegal defense that was anchored by Senegal captain Aliou Cisse, who played an incredible match, and with the post, which they hit twice, as they lost to Senegal 1-0 as they went on to advance to the knockout stage, while France finished last in Group A, and were eliminated from the World Cup.

19. 2007 Champions League—Manchester United vs. AS Roma

During the 2007 UEFA Champions League, Manchester United was paired with AS Roma in the Quarterfinals.

In the first leg, United were down 2-1 on aggregate, but got an all-important away goal by Wayne Rooney, which gave them a great chance to advance.

And they were able to do so at Old Trafford, where Manchester United absolutely blew apart Roma, as they got first half goals from Michael Carrick, Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney, and Cristiano Ronaldo, to give Manchester United an improbable 4-0 lead going into the half.

In the second half, United got goals from Ronaldo, Carrick and Patrice Evra, to give them seven goals.

United were then able to advance onto the semifinals, where they lost to AC Milan, but that United side were great against Roma.

18. 2003 Champions League—Manchester United vs. Real Madrid

In the second leg of the 2003 Champions League quarterfinal, Manchester United hosted Real Madrid at Old Trafford with one of the two sides heading to the semifinal.

Early on, Brazilian Ronaldo gave Real the lead with a goal in the 12th minute, which caused United to attempt to get back into contention to advance (they were down 4-1 on aggregate with Ronaldo's goal).

But United were able to tie the match at one in the 42nd minute on a goal by Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

In the second half, Real continued to attack, and Ronaldo scored twice more to achieve a hat, and the Old Trafford faithful gave him a standing ovation.

After the goal, United (who got one goal back on an own goal by Iven Helguera during Ronaldo's heroics) brought in David Beckham after controversially not getting the start in this important match, and Beckham subsequently scored off a free kick and a late winner to give United a 4-3 victory, but they were still eliminated from the Champions League.

This was Beckham's final ever Champions League match with United, as he left for Madrid that summer.

17. 2006 World Cup—Germany vs. Italy

In the 2006 World Cup semifinal, Germany had a chance to get back into the World Cup finals on their home soil, as they only had to beat Italy.

In the first half, both sides got great scoring opportunities, but goalkeepers Jens Lehmann and Gianluigi Buffon were incredible, as they were able to stop all of the opportunities.

This continued into the second half, and after 90 minutes of scoreless football, extra time was required in order for one of the two sides to go to the final.

With penalties rapidly approaching, Italy got the chance that they needed, as Andrea Pirlo was able to beat Lehmann and give Italy a 1-0 lead in the 119th minute.

And after the goal, Italy added another goal as Alessandro Del Piero was able to score, giving Italy a 2-0 win and they were onto the World Cup finals against France.

16. 2001 UEFA Cup Final—Liverpool vs. Deportivo Alavés

In the 2001 UEFA Cup final, Liverpool played against Deportivo Alavés in the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Germany.

Markus Babbel and Steven Gerrard scored to put Liverpool up 2-0 within 20 minutes.

But Deportivo were able to get one goal back with Iván Alonso, but after Michael Owen got brought down for a penalty and Gary McAllister was able to score, giving Liverpool a 3-1 lead at the break.

In the second half, Javi Moreno scored two more goals for the Spanish side and despite a goal by Robbie Fowler, Deportivo were able to tie the match in the 89th minute off the Jordi Cruyff on a corner.

As the game went to extra time, Liverpool were given a two-man advantage due to red cards by Magno Mocelin and Antonio Karmona, and off the free kick by the red card by Karmona, McAllister's free kick hit Delfí Geli and went into the net, giving Liverpool a 5-4 win on a Golden Goal and a unique treble consisting of the UEFA Cup, the Worthington Cup (English League Cup) and the FA Cup.

15. 2006 Champions League Final—FC Barcelona vs. Arsenal

In the 2006 Champions League final, FC Barcelona faced off against Arsenal at the Stade de France in what was billed as a battle between the two best football clubs in Europe.

Early on, Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann became the first ever player to get sent off in a Champions League final after he brought Samuel Eto'o down outside of the box, causing Arsenal to be down to ten men.

Afterwards, Barcelona put tremendous pressure on Arsenal, but it was the Gunners who scored first after Carlos Puyol brought down Emmanuel Eboué outside of the box, giving Arsenal a free kick.

On the ensuing free kick, Sol Campbell was able to score, giving Arsenal a 1-0 lead at the half. Afterwards, both sides continued to attack each other's net.

Barcelona were able to tie the match in the 76th minute on a goal by Eto'o, and Juliano Belletti was able to win it for Barcelona in the 80th minute that went through the legs of Arsenal replacement keeper Manuel Almunia, giving FC Barcelona their second-ever European Championship.

14. 2009 Champions League—Chelsea vs. Liverpool

In the 2009 Champions League quarterfinals, Chelsea faced English rival Liverpool for the fifth consecutive season in the Champions League.

In the first leg at Anfield, Chelsea were able to win on a brace by Branislav Ivanović and a goal by Didier Drogba to give the Blues a 3-1 win.

With this result in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool would need to get three unanswered away goals in order to advance and would have to do so without captain Steven Gerrard.

However, Liverpool were able to get goals by Fábio Aurélio on a free kick, and Xabi Alonso on a penalty and at the half, Liverpool only needed one more goal to take the lead on aggregate.

In the second half, Drogba, Alex, and Frank Lampard were all able to score in a 25-minute span, giving Chelsea a 3-2 lead and it appeared that Liverpool were eliminated.

But just seven minutes later, Liverpool were able to get goals by Lucas and Dirk Kuyt to take a 4-3 lead, and needed just one more goal to take the lead on away goals.

But Lampard responded to this with a goal in the 89th minute, tying the match at four, which became the final score as Chelsea advanced 7-5 on aggregate over Liverpool to go onto the Champions League semifinal. against Barcelona.

13. 2002 Champions League Final—Real Madrid vs. Bayer Leverkusen

In the 2002 Champions League final, Real Madrid faced Bayer Leverkusen in Glascow's Hampden Park.

Going into this match, this was the first time that Real Madrid's Galácticos were going to play in a Champions League final.

Early on, Real Madrid grabbed the first goal of the contest, as they were able to catch the Bayer defense napping, and Raúl was able to score to give Real Madrid a 1-0 lead.

But just five minutes later, the German side was able to equalize. As the game continued on towards the half, it appeared that the score was going to be knotted at one, but Zinedine Zidane was able to nail in Roberto Carlos' high cross into the top corner of the net in one of the greatest goals in Champions League history to give Real a 2-1 lead.

As the game went into the second half, Bayer continued to relentlessly attack Real's net and despite an injury to Real keeper César Sánchez, young keeper Iker Casillas was able to keep the German side at bay, and Real Madrid won their ninth Champions League final by a 2-1 score.

12. 2008 Champions League Final—Manchester United vs. Chelsea

In the 2008 Champions League final, Manchester United took on English rival Chelsea in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium in the first ever matchup between two English teams in a Champions League final.

Early on, Cristiano Ronaldo gave United a 1-0 lead but Frank Lampard knotted the match at one right before the half.

In the second half, Chelsea had several great chances but weren't able to score, and the game went to extra time.

In the second half of extra time, Chelsea's Didier Drogba got red carded for a slap on Man United's Nemanja Vidić, which would hurt Chelsea as the match went to penalties.

In the third round of penalties, Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty was stopped by Chelsea keeper Petr Čech and Chelsea just needed to score on their final penalty with club captain John Terry up with the chance to win the Champions League final for Chelsea.

However, Terry slipped and fell on the wet pitch during his penalty, which clipped the outside of the post and kept the shootout alive.

Two rounds later, Chelsea's Nicholas Anelka shot into the hands of Man United keeper Edwin Van de Sar, giving Manchester United their third Champions League title.

11. Euro 2008 Final—Spain vs. Germany

In Euro 2008, Spain were able to march their way into the final by cutting though their competition and were onto their first European Championship final since 1964.

In the final, Spain faced off against Germany, who also were having a great tournament, as they had close wins over Portugal and Turkey as they reached the final.

In the final, Fernando Torres was able to beat German keeper Jens Lehmann and his goal gave Spain a 1-0 lead at the half.

As the second half went on, Germany had their chances to tie the match, but they weren't able to and Spain broke their 44-year spell of not winning any major tournaments and are a top side heading into the 2010 World Cup.

#10 2006 World Cup Quarterfinal—France vs. Brazil

In the 2006 World Cup quarterfinal, world powers France and Brazil faced off against each other in a rematch of the 1998 World Cup final, which France won 3-0. From the beginning of the match, France were the more dominant side, as they were in control of the match throughout the first half, but weren't able to score. Throughout the match, French legend Zinedine Zidane's play was incredible, and he was the man who led to the only goal of the match. That goal was in the 57th minute, as Zidane's free kick found Thierry Henry, who put the ball past Brazilian keeper Dida and give France a 1-0 lead. France were also able to completely stop the Brazilian attack with their great defensive play, and France advanced onto the semifinal with a 1-0 victory.

#9 Euro 2004 Final—Portugal vs. Greece

In Euro 2004, Greece (who had 100-1 odds to win Euro 2004) faced off against host Portugal in the final. In the first game of the tournament, Greece beat Portugal by a 2-1 score and both sides met again in the final. In the final, Greece continued to play a stringent defensive game, as goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis was able to register his third consecutive clean sheet of the knockout stage, and Greece were able to score on their only shot on goal, as Angelos Charisteas was able to score off a corner and Greece were able to defeat the hosts and win their first major championship.

#8 2006 FA Cup Final—Liverpool vs. West Ham

In the 125th FA Cup final, Liverpool faced off against West Ham United in the final FA Cup before the FA Cup final moved back to the new Wembley Stadium. Early on, West Ham took the lead off an own goal by Jamie Carragher and a tap in by Dean Ashton to take a 2-0 lead, but Liverpool cut the score in half of a goal by Djibril Cissé from a pass by Steven Gerrard before the end of the first half. In the second half, Gerrard was able to knot up the score at two but West Ham were able to take the lead on a cross by Paul Konchesky that ended up in the Liverpool net. As the game went into stoppage time, West Ham still had a 3-2 lead, but Gerrard nailed an amazing 37 yard strike into the West Ham net, tying the match at three as extra time was now required. After nothing notable happened in extra time, the match went to penalties, where Liverpool won on a 3-1 score, with Gerrard netting the winner on penalties in a match that has become known as the Gerrard Final.

#7 Euro 2008—Turkey vs. Croatia

In the quarterfinal of Euro 2008, Turkey, who just had an incredible run to get into the quarterfinals with come-from-behind victories over Switzerland and Czech Republic in the Group Stage, faced a Croatian side that breezed their way to the quarterfinal. Throughout the match, both sides had great chances to score, but the keepers were giants and were able to force extra time. In the 119th minute, Croatia got the break they needed when Turkish keeper Rüştü Reçber made a terrible error by challenging a play in the box, and Ivan Klasnic was able to head the ball into the Turkish net to give Croatia a late lead, and appeared that they would go onto the semifinal. In stoppage time however, Turkey were able to equalize with the last kick of the football, as Semih Şentürk was able to put the ball into the net and remarkably tie the match at one, which was a devastating blow for a Croatian side as the match went to penalties. In the shootout, Turkey were able to win 3-1 and continue their remarkable run to the semifinals against Germany.

#6 2002 World Cup Final—Brazil vs. Germany

In the 2002 World Cup final, Brazil faced Germany in the World Cup final. Going into the match, Brazilian strikers Ronaldo and Rivaldo led the Brazilian side to the final after many counted them out due to a bad qualifying campaign, while Germany worked their way into the final, and were looking to bring the World Cup back to Germany. Throughout the first half, both sides had chances to take the lead, but no one was able to score and as the game went on, Ronaldo was able to give the Brazilians a 1-0 lead after Rivaldo's shot was cleanly handled by Oliver Kahn, and Ronaldo went in for a tap in to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. Just 12 minutes later, Ronaldo was able to get Brazil a two goal lead as he was able to beat Kahn with a side-foot shot. With this goal, Brazil won the 2002 World Cup 2-0, which was their fifth World Cup title and Ronaldo won the Golden Boot for a record eight goals in the World Cup.

#5 Euro 2008—Turkey vs. Czech Republic

In Euro 2008, Turkey pulled off a great run as they went onto the semifinal against Germany, and continued to come back from whenever they were dead. The most incredible comeback that they had was in their final Group A match, with the winner advancing onto the quarterfinals and the loser going home. In the first 62 minutes of the match, the Czech Republic got a 2-0 lead, and appeared that they would be going onto the quarterfinal. But in the final 15 minutes, Turkey pulled out an incredible comeback, as they first got a goal by Arda Turan to make the score 2-1. After the goal, Turkey continued to put pressure on the Czech's, but Turkey's second goal really stung the Czech's the most, as Hamit Altintop's cross went into the hands Petr Čech, but Čech uncharacteristically dropped the cross and Nihat Kahveci was their to pounce on the drop and tie the match at two. And two minutes later, Kahveci won it for the Turk's with an incredible shot that landed past Čech and won the match for Turkey, as they advanced onto the quarterfinals against Croatia.

#4 2009 Champions League—Chelsea vs. Barcelona

In the second leg of the 2009 Champions League semifinal, Chelsea and FC Barcelona met in Stamford Bridge in London with a chance to go to the Champions League final on the line. Early on in the match, Michael Essien scored for Chelsea on a fantastic strike, and his goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 lead in the match and on aggregate. After Essien's goal, Chelsea completely dominated Barcelona for most of the match and Barcelona were down to ten men after Eric Abidal got red carded for a tackle. However, not everything was perfect, as Tom Øverbø denied four penalties for Chelsea, and as the game headed into stoppage time, Barcelona started to mount an attack. And in the 93rd minute, Barcelona were able to score as Andrés Iniesta was able to score from Lionel Messi's pass, tying the match at one and gave Barcelona the lead on away goals. But there was even more room for controversy, as Michael Ballack's shot several minutes later hit the upper part of Samuel Eto'o's arm, but Øverbø denied the penalty, causing Ballack and the rest of the Chelsea squad to become enraged with Øverbø and Barcelona went onto the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester United 2-0 and completed their treble.

#3 2006 World Cup Final—Italy vs. France

In the 2006 World Cup final, rivals Italy and France faced off against each other with everything on the line for football's biggest trophy. Early on, France were controversially awarded a penalty and French legend Zinedine Zidane (who was playing in his final ever match) took the penalty and scored, giving the French an early 1-0 lead. But several minutes later, Italy's Marco Materazzi scored ofn of a corner by Andrea Pirlo, which evened the match at 1-1. Afterward, both sides continued to exchange chances but continued to get denied by both sides goalkeepers, and the World Cup final went into extra time. In the 110th minute of extra time, Zidane went up to Materazzi and headbutted him in the chest, causing the Italian to fall to the ground, and causing Zidane to get sent off in his final ever match. Afterwards, the game went to penalties, during which David Trezeguet missed his penalty, and Italy won the World Cup on penalties by a 5-3 score.

#2 Euro 2000 Final—France vs. Italy

In the final match of Euro 2000, World Cup champions France took on rival Italy at the Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam for the European championship. Early on in the match, Italy surprised the French by attacking and continued to put pressure on France throughout the first half, but they were not able to score and the first half went goalless. In the second half, Italy were able to break the drought in the 57th minute, as Marco Delvecchio was able to shoot over French keeper Fabien Barthez to give Italy a 1-0 lead. After the goal, both sides got chances, but the keepers were giants in their nets, and it appeared that Italy were going to win. However, this wasn't to be, as Sylvain Wiltord was able to net a goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, which lead to a Golden Goal situation. And in the 103rd minute, David Trezeguet was able to win France Euro 2000 off a cross from Robert Pirès, which made France the first ever side to hold the World Cup and Euro Championships at the same time.

#1 2005 Champions League Final—Liverpool vs. AC Milan

In the 2005 Champions League final, Liverpool faced off against AC Milan in a battle of two of the biggest football clubs in the world. Going into the final, Liverpool needed to win in order to qualify for the Champions League next season, while AC Milan were trying to get their seventh Champions League title. In the first minute of the match, Milan captain Paolo Maldini scored off a free kick by Andrea Pirlo and Milan were able to get two more goals by Hernán Crespo to give the Italian giants a 3-0 lead going into halftime, which caused many people that the game was over. However, Liverpool showed us that night that you could never count them out of anything, as Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso all scored goals for the Reds within six minutes, rattling the Italian giants and tying the match at three. After no more goals in the second half or in extra time, penalties would resolve who would win. During the penalties, Jerzy Dudek was able to stop two shots with another one completely missing the net and Liverpool were able to win 3-2 on penalties to win their fifth Champions League title in the Miracle of Istanbul, get their fifth Champions League title, and could now attempt to qualify for the Champions League during the next season (which they did). Because of this, the 2005 Champions League final was the greatest match of the first decade in the 21st century.

What Do You Think?

Now that we have looked back at this decade's biggest matches, what do you, the reader, think?

Is there an important match that I missed? Do you agree with the order of the list?

Please tell me in the comment thread below.