ALERT ALERT ALERT: Greatest goal of all-time

To start your week off with a bang I am giving you the link to the greatest goal ever scored by a man. Not Roberto Carlos' incredibly bent free kick goal for Brazil vs. France, not Brazilian Ronaldo's incredible run for Barcelona through an entire defense that sparked a Nike ad campaign...

Rivaldo's bicycle kick goal vs. Valencia in the last game of the 2000-01 La Liga campaign.

If we didn't blow your socks off over the weekend, hopefully these youtube clips will do the trick. Maybe you've seen it before, it's definitely worth seeing again 10 times, 100 times. If you haven't you are in for a treat.

To give you just a little background about this particular game and the importance of Rivaldo's legendary strike, Barcelona entered needing to win to retain it's place in the champion's league as Valencia was ahead of them in the table and need just a draw. Quite literally $10s of millions were on the line, and Rivaldo's final kick sent the Blau Grana faithful as well as their ownership into total ecstasy as you will see in this clip

Guardian writer Rob Smyth on the sublime performance, "Best of all there was the greatest hat-trick of all time, against Valencia on June 17, 2001, a midsummer night's dream of a performance that deserves a book, a film and even a Tim Lovejoy tribute all of its own.

"In a straight shoot-out for the final Champions League place, which was worth tens of millions and even more in terms of pride, Barcelona needed a win and Valencia a draw. Twice Rivaldo screamed Barcelona ahead from long range, the second hit with such fury that it knocked him off his feet; twice Ruben Baraja equalised. Then, in the 89th minute, he scored with an overhead kick from outside the box so perfectly executed that it even swerved away from the dive of Santiago Canizares. Even now, it beggars belief."

If you can find the game in its entirety online somewhere, I highly recommend it. Non-stop action until the last whistle. I have still have a VHS of the game somewhere in my old collection of tapes that alone is reason to keep my VCR for as long as it will function.

Here is the final goal in all its glory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCwxlyN3B0E

Here is the entire epic hat trick highlight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ujBOUQIxw

Please share with us your thoughts on the greatest goals or plays you've ever seen and any reaction to Rivaldo's stunning strike.