Hi Guys, I’m here with my first post. I’m going to be doing a weekly post on the reasons why I love the beautiful game so much. This week I will be starting, ironically, with last gasp goals.

It doesn’t matter how they are scored, whether it’s a tap in like Aaron Lennon in last seasons dramatic 4-4 in the North London Derby and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer winning the treble at the Camp Nou, or beautifully crafted like Beckham lighting up Old Trafford once again to send England to the 2002 World Cup and Gerrard smashing home against Olympiakos in the 86th minute, giving them the 2-goal lead they needed to progress past the group stage of the 2004 Champion’s League, a competition they would go on to win.

A late goal is what’s beautiful about football, and highlights how quickly a game can change. You just drift away from the real world for that split second and find yourself in a state of ecstacy with no control over your actions. Andy Gray’s commentary during the Gerrard goal illustrates that so beautifully.

There aren’t many moments that give me goosebumps 8 years on after countless times of watching, but Beckham v Greece is one of them. It was almost poetic, and there was only ever one person who was going to carry us through to the World Cup Finals. It was the turning point in his career after the controversy of the 1998 World Cup, and had that goal not gone in, how different could David Beckham’s career have turned out.

So never give up hope, and never leave a game early. No amount of traffic can ruin that perfect moment.

Last gasp goals are why we all love football.

This Tuesday and Wednesday in London, several hundred rare football collectibles are being sold by auction through auctioneer Graham Budd. Among the collection are rare medals, programmes, tickets and a treasure trove of football shirts, photographs and rare pieces of memorabilia.

Here are a few items that stood out for me:

• Nat Lofthouse England shirt from 1952,
• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shirt signed by the 1995-96 Man United squad,
• 1916 photograph of the first ever USA national soccer team (pictured above),
• The original 1905 lease agreement between a landlord and Chelsea to acquire Stamford Bridge, and
• An oil painting with a portrait of BBC football commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme (who was best known for the “Some people are on the pitch” phrase from the 1966 World Cup final).