World Football: Top 10 Plays of the Weekend

Take a bow, Peter Crouch. And, uh, Enrique Bologna…well, you're baloney.

Here are the top 10 plays of the world football weekend (actually, one's from the middle of the week, but who's counting?), complete with stunning goals, shocking misses and brazen rule-bending.

In other words, there's a little bit of everything here. Even a goal after seven seconds.

Have another great play? Leave a tip in the comments.

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Peter Crouch's Volley

So, I had just published my article for best goal of the weekend (oops) the other day, and at the time, I thought no one would do anything more impressive than Mikel Arteta's rocketed free kick for Arsenal against Aston Villa.

But I was wrong.

Peter Crouch's goal for Stoke City against Manchester City was much, much, much more impressive.

Mike Arteta's Rocket

That's not meant to take anything away from Mikel Arteta. His bullet of a free kick against Aston Villa came straight out of the top draw.

Any other time, that probably would have been the best goal of the weekend. Not this time.

Click here for the video. It won't embed.

An Outstanding Overhead Kick

Everybody loves a good overhead kick. This one certainly qualifies.

That's Rostov defender Kornel Salata scoring in a Russian Premier League match with a sick overhead kick from outside the box.

And he didn't just score because the goalie is a buffoon (though he may be). Salata made excellent contact and placed the ball well.

Rostov won the match 2-1 against Spartak Nalchik.

(h/t 101GG)

Another Outstanding Overhead Kick

And here's another great overhead kick, courtesy once again of 101 Great Goals.

This time the player is Joan Tomas of Celta de Vigo, and he's scoring against Huesca in the Spanish Segunda Division.

So, which one do you prefer? I've got to go with the Russian.

Not the Hand of God

Sorry, Luis, but the Hand of God is reserved for only the select few.

That didn't stop Liverpool's Luis Suarez from trying, though. And for a moment, it looked like the Uruguayan had given Liverpool a 2-1 lead against Wigan.

Instead, not. And Wigan won 2-1.

Click here to see Luis Suarez's version of the Hand of God.

A Lesson in Taunting

While we're on the subject of Liverpool, let's talk about taunting.

Sigh. It's probably too easy to pick on the Reds right now. They can't even beat the worst teams in the English Premier League on current form.

And, seriously, you know it's bad when Franco Di Santo is taunting you.

Confused? Click here.

Neymar's Latest

So the word is that Neymar is heading to Barcelona sooner or later.

As of now, though, he's still schooling defenders in South America while playing for Santos.

And, yes, I did mean defenders, as in plural. Neymar is good enough to burn half the opposing team.

That's what he did against Peruvian club Juan Aurich on Friday in Copa Libertadores action. Neymar didn't score on this play, but it didn't matter.

Santos won the match 2-0.

Seven Seconds (Bonus Weekday Slide)

How long does it take to generate a goal?

If you're Hapoel Tel Aviv and you're playing Bnei Lod over the weekend (okay, so it was Wednesday, but work with me here), it takes seven seconds.

That's Mirko Oremus scoring the goal, by the way. He tied the game seven seconds into the second half of a Toto Cup match, and Hapoel went on to win 3-1 in extra time.

Penalty Miss, Times Two

You know why it's a rarity for keepers to take penalties?

Because of stuff like this. Times two.

Take a bow, Enrique Bologna (is that name made up?). Your Unión de Santa Fe crushed Racing Club on Saturday. But your scoring prowess had nothing to do with it.

A Moving Tribute

There wasn't a dry eye in the stadium when Bolton's fans paid tribute to their stricken player Fabrice Muamba before Saturday's game against Blackburn Rovers.

Muamba collapsed during Bolton's FA Cup tie against Tottenham earlier this month. He suffered cardiac arrest and was "in effect" dead for more than an hour.

To show support for Muamba during his recovery, Bolton's fans held up a mosaic of cards that spelled out "Muamba 6." It was moving, and it was classy.

Get well soon, Fabrice.