This year Men’s football saw a lot of ups and downs. Not only this the headlines of the tabloids were filled with controversies relating to the game. Although 2022 did not see the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, 2023 was almost as exciting and filled with stories as the previous year.
Fans of the game saw a dynamic game-changing year. Now, the netizens are hoping that the new year 2024 bring in entertainment and healthy games. As we commence the new year with zest, happiness and hopes, let us reminisce on the best moments of football of 2023. The top 10 football moments from the Men’s football game this year are as follows:
Iconic moments of Men’s football:
1. Manchester City win the Champions League:
After defeating Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final in June, Manchester City was officially crowned the European champion. It was the trophy that City and their great manager, Pep Guardiola, had failed to win during his tenure at the team.
After winning two Champions League titles with Barcelona, this was the Spaniard’s third title, but the unspoken concern was how long he would have to wait to lead City to continental triumph.
With the victory, City completed the domestic treble and won the Premier League for a record three times. Additionally, it gave City the opportunity to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
Bernardo Silva’s attempted cross was deflected into Rodri’s path, and he scored with a powerful shot from 16 yards out. Federico Dimarco’s initial effort was headed onto the crossbar by teammate Romelu Lukaku, who then unintentionally blocked his rebound attempt, denying Inter an immediate response.
Lukaku had a fantastic opportunity to make amends in the 88th minute, but City goalkeeper Ederson made a fantastic save to keep out his close-range header. With the final kick of the match, Ederson produced yet another excellent save to deny Danilo D’Ambrosio a corner kick, and City managed to hold on for their eighth Champions League clean sheet of the year.
In his seventh season as City’s manager, Guardiola won his third Champions League championship. Guardiola had earlier won two European titles with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011.
2. Osimhen leads Napoli to Serie A glory:
Napoli won their first Serie A championship since Diego Maradona played in the Italian top division thanks to Victor Osimhen’s outstanding season as the league’s top scorer. All of Europe’s elite clubs took notice of the Nigerian striker after he scored 26 goals in a fantastic season.
Napoli had to wait 33 years to win La Scudetta again, but they did so easily this time around with goals from Osimhen, as they finished 16 points ahead of Lazio. But as we’ll see in a moment, Napoli’s 2023 tale was anything but straightforward.
3. Messi wins eighth Ballon d’Or:
In 2023, Lionel Messi, a former Barcelona player, moved as well, moving to Miami from Paris. The Argentinean’s stint at Paris St. Germain did not exactly go as planned, but he is expected to add some glitz to Major League Soccer in the United States with his glamorous move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
For Messi, these have not exactly been a barren couple of years. Following Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar, the forward received his eighth Ballon d’Or. 2009 marked the start of his amazing club career when he claimed his first. The most recent honour, though, had to be the sweetest one for Messi, who was rewarded for at last raising the World Cup in the air alongside some of the greatest players in history.
4. Ronaldo moves to Saudi Arabia:
When Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Manchester to Saudi Arabia, he called it quits on his romance in Europe. Ronaldo made the decision to take on the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr after playing for Sporting Lisbon, United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Old Trafford once more.
After his 2022 reveal-all TV interview with Piers Morgan, the Portuguese player’s departure from United became clear, and he was linked to several of Europe’s best clubs. On the first day of the year, the transfer was made, and it made it possible for several well-known figures to follow suit.
The media has estimated that Ronaldo’s contract is worth over 200 million euros ($220 million). The 35-year-old forward for PSG, Messi, came in second on the list with a total earnings of $130 million, followed by clubmate and France captain, Kylian Mbappe, who is the youngest on the list at 24 with $120 million.
LeBron James, the legendary basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers ($119.5 million), and Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez ($110 million) completed the top five.
Additionally, last year saw the launch of LIV Golf, a breakaway tour that has used enormous sums of money to entice some of the best players on the US PGA Tour; two of its players rank in the top 10.
After making the contentious decision to switch to LIV Golf, former world number one Dustin Johnson (sixth with $107 million) made the largest gain. In 2022, he did not even make the top 50. Phil Mickelson, a fellow LIV golfer, joined him on Forbes’ list (ranking seventh with $106 million).
According to Forbes, all prize money, salaries, and bonuses received during the previous 12 months are included in the on-field earnings figures, while sponsorship agreements, appearance fees, revenue from licensing, and cash returns from businesses owned by athletes are estimated to make up the off-field earnings.
5. Napoli’s smile is turned upside down:
Following Napoli’s victory in Serie A, manager Luciano Spalletti left the team to take a break from the action. Rudi Garcia took over for the 64-year-old, who claimed to be exhausted, but he was fired after just 16 games.
With rumours of the turmoil surrounding the team, particularly regarding their prized asset Osimhen, who had removed several social media posts expressing his dissatisfaction with the club, Walter Mazzarri assumed leadership with the title defence in shambles, both on and off the field.
A contentious post by the team itself that seemed to mock Osimhen’s missed penalty didn’t help the situation. The player’s agent was quick to express his disappointment at what he called disrespect for his client, even though it was quickly removed. Legal action was even threatened. Perhaps Spalletti saw a storm brewing on the horizon.
6. Manchester City win the Club World Cup:
Manchester City, who had already won four titles, went to Saudi Arabia last week as strong favourites to win the FIFA Club World Cup.
Although the semifinal matchup against Japan’s Uwara Reds, which ended in a 2-0 victory, seemed easy in comparison to the final. Guardiola’s team destroyed Fluminense of Brazil 4-0 in 2023 to win their fifth trophy.
This was an utter mismatch, and the scoreline did City no favours at all. In Europe, the Champions League and the Super Cup took the place of the Premier League and FA Cup in England. The Club World Cup is currently underway. Not only is Manchester, England, and Europe blue right now, but the entire world is.
7. Europe’s elite face a twofold threat to dominance:
In 2021, nine of the twelve founding clubs of Europe were forced to withdraw from a proposed European Super League due to public outcry, sending the continent’s elite teams into reverse.
It seemed to eliminate any challenge to UEFA, the European Union’s governing body,’s hegemony over club competitions throughout the continent. The Champions League and the Super Cup appeared secure.
However, a threat emerged from outside of the continent this past year when a large number of the biggest names in the world followed Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League. This league has proven to be a formidable opponent to the elite level that Europe’s top leagues had long held.
The European Court of Justice’s December ruling that UEFA and FIFA are “abusing a dominant position” by prohibiting clubs from joining a European Super League, which it deemed illegal, presented UEFA with yet another challenge towards the end of the year.
8. The tightest Premier League title race in history:
While Manchester City easily won the Premier League title in the first half of 2023, the second half of the season appears to hold a much closer competition.
Tottenham Hotspur jumped into the Champions League qualifying spots, while City fell out of the top four. Both Newcastle United and Spurs had had a strong start and were in first place. Following a top-three finish, both are now vying for a spot in the top four.
Aston Villa has emerged as the least probable of the three candidates vying for City’s championship. The Villans, led by former Arsenal manager Unai Emery, have upended the party of the usual suspects.
Manchester United has lost ground once more as their problems both on and off the field worsen. They now appear destined to fight it out for the nearly run positions, which at the beginning of the year don’t include a Chelsea team that is in the middle of yet another transition. They will also have to contend with Newcastle, Spurs, and West Ham.
Though it appears that Liverpool and Arsenal have bounced back, Guardiola’s world champions will need to draw on all of their 2023 trophy-winning experience if they hope to catch up to the pacesetters in the first half of 2024.
The Premier League is usually a two-horse race, but there has never been one this open, and there are still plenty of twists and turns to come.
9. Manchester United’s sale saga:
The sale of Manchester United is a tale that has been brewing for the entire year. Is it possible that they wouldn’t? In November 2022, the Glaziers listed the club for sale; however, there were rumours that they had taken down the “for sale” sign.
Jim Ratcliffe, an English businessman and United supporter, took over the football operations from the Glazers at the end of the year when he acquired a 25 per cent share in the team.
The path was cleared for Ratcliffe and his INEOS Group when the principal rival bid, made by businessman Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, was withdrawn.
10. Europa glory for the underdogs:
West Ham and Sevilla, who won the two Europa Cups between them, demonstrated why smaller teams can succeed on the continent.
Despite having far more success on the continent, both teams had a poor season in their home leagues.
After a 1-1 draw in the Europa League final, Sevilla defeated Jose Mourinho’s Roma team on penalties. The Spanish team, the competition’s seven-time winners and perennial overachievers, advanced to the championship game by defeating both Manchester United and Juventus.
In the Europa Conference League final, West Ham defeated Fiorentina 2-1 to win the championship. The Italians had Arthur Cabral, the top scorer in the competition with seven goals, but the Brazilian was unable to produce enough stops for the Hammers.
Giacomo Bonaventura tied the score before Jarrod Bowen gave the East Londoners the victory in the ninetieth minute. Mohamed Said Benrahma had opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
Declan Rice was named player of the tournament, which sparked the biggest transfer flurry of the summer window and put an end to the Hammers’ 43-year trophy drought.
So, this was all about the top 10 iconic moments of 2023 in Men’s football. Also read, Top 5 most iconic cricket moments of 2023
