World Football: Ranking the 20 Worst Leg-Breaking Tackles of All Time

Throughout all of football history there have been bad tackles. Some worse than others, and some shockingly bad. Like career-ending bad.

It should probably be said now that most of these videos are not for the faint-hearted or the squeamish.

Some of these injuries could understandably put players off football for the rest of their careers, luckily for us though it hasn't most of the time.

Before the slideshow starts, it should be pointed out that the Ryan Shawcross / Aaron Ramsey injury is not on this list.

Although it was one of the first leg breaks that came to mind, the fact that the tackle was 50/50 and neither players fault meant it was left out of this list.

So without further procrastination, I give to you, 20 of the worst leg breaks in football history...

Alf-Inge Haaland

Four years after a tackle on Keane from Haaland that injured the Irishman, Roy Keane chose to get revenge in a Manchester Derby.

This time the tackle was far worse and Haaland's career was finished...

Marcin Wasilewski

Marcin Wasilewski was the victim here, as he went in completely normally to pass the ball away and was the unfortunate victim of a misplaced foot from his nearest opponent.

The look on the players face says it all.

Oupa Ngulube

In one of the most popular injury clips on youtube, Oupa Ngulube is the victim in this scene from South Africa.

The poor player is hit in just the wrong way and the commentator sums the story up perfectly.

David Busst

No, it's not a misspelt name.

Another injury from a tough tackle in the Manchester Derby although this time it doesn't seem quite as malicious. Although the camera hasn't found the best view for the injury, if you watch closely you can see how painful it must have been.

Djibril Cisse

Djibril Cisse just seemed to get a bit unlucky here as he moved across to defend possession of the ball but got tangled up in the opponents legs.

The incident was just one of two hard leg breaks for the former Liverpool man.

Eduardo

Forgive the fact that it's Alan Hansen commentating on the tackle, and it's actually still quite a tough challenge.

Taylor clearly wasn't malicious, but did mistakenly lift his leg too high, resulting in another disgusting injury.

Riki Van Steeden

Playing in New Zealand, Riki Van Steeden is the victim in this ridiculously stupid challenge.

It's hard to believe that there was no intent behind this clip as the opponent just comes diving in to Van Steeden with his studs up and his legs pointed right out at the player.

Luc Nilis

It was hard to find a clear video of this incident so the injury can be found if you skip to 1:02 of this video.

The former Aston Villa striker's leg can be seen pointing forward towards goal and down at the ground all at the same time. Revolting.

Henrik Larsson

Alright, so he was largely just running awkwardly on the leg when the injury happened, but Larsson's leg break is still one of the most famous of all time.

He gets slightly caught up in the legs of his opponent and it costs him dearly as he was ruled out for a very lengthy spell.

Alan Smith

Better known as "The foot that pointed to Hong Kong" simply because of the angle of the foot.

Although not a direct challenge, it came from John Arne Risse's free kick and Alan Smith's foot paid the price.

Djibril Cisse (Part 2)

It's that man again. Djibril Cisse back injured again with yet another broken leg, this time on international duty.

Playing for France against China, Djibril once again seems to get his leg tangled in the opponents and it again shatters.

Edgar Andrade

Perhaps one of the most disturbing on this list because of the clear view of the injury and the placement of the foot afterwards.

Edgar Andrade did return to play months later and has regained his place in the starting XI at the club.

Tomi Maanoja

A lesser known tackle here but nonetheless equally bad, although this time it looks like the goalkeeper who's making the tackle and it's him who gets injured.

Although the leg can't be seen too closely it still look likes another horrific injury.

Gregory Coupet

Gregory Coupet received a tough leg break here summed up in pictures and videos in this youtube clip.

The video shows the goalkeeper going to kick the ball with no one around and then awkwardly stepping as he runs, leaving him with an injury that he won't forget in a hurry.

Francisco Arguello

In this clip, Francisco Arguello gets his leg absolutely hammered by an opponent who has clearly lifted his foot far too high.

What makes the challenge (and injury) even worse is that the offending player only got a yellow card from the whole incident.

Nicolaj Agger

Nicolaj Agger, cousin of Daniel Agger, is the victim in this video clip as he lunges in wildly with one leg and accidentally bends, twists and breaks the other one.

The challenge could have gotten him sent of himself if he hadn't already found a way to remove himself from the pitch.

Antto Tapaninen

Antto Tapaninen has to endure the pain this time around and once again, it's a pain that most of us can gladly say we've never felt before.

The Finn goes in to make a tackle but he's the one that comes out worse for wear by the end of the challenge. 

Niels Kokmeijer

This is a challenge that is hard to call. It doesn't look particularly malicious, just desperate.

The tackling player is looking at the ball the whole time and although reckless he did not intend to break Kokmeijer's leg. Although, most of the time people don't intend to hurt the other player, but it still happens.

Wender

Alright so I cheated a little bit on this one but arms are the key part of the body for goalkeepers, the same as legs are for outfield players so I managed to convince myself it was alright to include.

I also chose to include it because it's possibly the only time you'll see a goalkeeper injuring his arm by trying to save a penalty. Only in South America.

Matias Concha

This tackle was made at the end of 2010 and was understandably gruesome, and similar to many that we've already seen on this list.

The offending player once again steps on the ankle of the victim, and although not on purpose, it's no doubt still a horrific challenge to be making.