John Motson - Quotes

Quotes

• "Radford...now Tudor's gone down for Newcastle...Radford again...OH, WHAT A GOAL!!! What a goal! Radford the scorer! Ronnie Radford! And the crowd...the crowd are invading the pitch! No goalkeeper in the world would have stopped that!" - after arguably the most famous goal commentated upon by Motson; Ronnie Radford's spectacular equaliser for non-league Hereford United against Newcastle United in 1972 - regarded as the goal from which Motson's career has never looked back.

• "Jimmy Greenhoff with the header on for Pearson, a chance on here - and Pearson is the scorer!" - the first goal in an FA Cup Final commentated upon by Motson; Stuart Pearson's opener for Manchester United in the 1977 game at Wembley.

• "For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are playing in yellow" - seconds into a 1977 league fixture for Match of the Day at Roker Park between Sunderland and Spurs.

"John Motson is my stage name and I live in Warwickshire."

• "Villa ... AND STILL RICKY VILLA! What a fantastic run! He's scored!" - the winning goal in the 1981 FA Cup Final replay.

• "And Arconada... ARMSTRONG!" - the two words which Northern Ireland fans remember more than any others, as Gerry Armstrong's goal beats 1982 World Cup hosts Spain and silences the stadium.

• "Stein again ... and he gets in the cross ... and Williams has come ... ANTIC! OH, IT'S THERE! THEY'VE DONE IT!" - Radomir Antic's goal on the last day of the 1982-83 season that saved Luton Town from relegation.

• "Tigana again... Tigana... Tigana... Platini... GOAL! Platini for France, with a minute to go, it's 3-2. I've not seen a night like this in years!" - after Michel Platini's last-gasp winner for France against Portugal in the Euro 1984 semi-final.

• "It's like they are running around the pitch playing with themselves" - referring to the Brazil national football team.

• "Mrs Thatcher has her own cup final later this month" - after the BBC camera spotted the then Prime Minister in the Wembley crowd prior to the 1987 FA Cup Final, which was played just before the 1987 UK general election.

• "The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club!" - reaction to the final whistle as Wimbledon defeated Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final.

• "And chipped in. AND VOLLEYED IN!!! And it's there by David Platt! England have done it! In the last minute of extra-time!" - On Platt's winner against Belgium in Round 2 of Italia '90, commentary later featured in the song Three Lions.

• "And it's been..... deflected... and it's in the net!!!" - The opening goal from Andreas Brehme, England vs. Germany, World Cup 1990

• "It's delirious! It's delightful! It's Denmark!" - reaction as Denmark won Euro 92 (paraphrasing "It's De-Lovely" by Cole Porter).

• "All the talk here in America is of Disney's summer smash, but Jürgen Klinsmann is The Lion King of Germany. He's a predator... and his territory is the 18-yard box" - Motson in excelsis during Germany v Spain, World Cup 1994

• "None of the players are wearing earrings. Jakob Kjeldbjerg, with his contact lenses, is the closest we can get"

• "Over The Top, Over The Bar, And He Knows He Should Have Done Better!" His most famous words on the FIFA '98 World Cup Game.

• "Goodness, that tackle was so hard, it hurt his whole family!" Another famous quote from the FIFA '98 World Cup game.

• "And it's Pires. Trezeguet's waiting in the centre. TREZEGUET!!!! And France have won the European Championship, to add to the World Cup, the first nation ever to do it that way around!!!" as David Trezeguet scores the Golden Goal in the Final of Euro 2000 to give France a dramatic 2-1 victory over Italy.

• "England versus Germany games have often caused the tea-cups to topple off the table, so those of you at home watching tonight be careful with the crockery" - Motson before England versus Germany in a crucial 2002 World Cup qualifier in Munich. England would go on to win the match 5-1.

• "Ohhh, this is getting better and better and better! One, two, three for Michael Owen! - Motson as Owen completes his hattrick in that famous 5-1 win.

• " Beckham to take. The 93rd minute at Old Trafford. Beckham.... YES! YES! HE'S DONE IT! DAVID BECKHAM HAS DONE IT! IT'S 2-2!" - Motson beside himself after David Beckham's sensational free kick at Old Trafford (against Greece) sent England into the 2002 World Cup.

• "Oh, and Bouba Diop is there! Oh, and Bouba Diop is there!" - as Senegal's Papa Bouba Diop shocks world cup holders France by scoring the opening goal of the 2002 World Cup. Senegal went on to win the match 1-0.

• "Beckham to take the penalty for England. Hold the cups and the glasses at home.....you can smash them now, Beckham has scored!" - message to viewers in England regarding their beer glasses after David Beckham scored the winning goal against Argentina at the 2002 World Cup

• "Mills, Heskey, Owen's sprinting away to the left here against Lucio, MICHAEL OWEN FOR ENGLAND, IT'S A GREAT CHANCE... and he's scored! Michael Owen against Brazil in the World Cup, in the 23rd minute, England are in front! Michael Owen and England sizzling in the heat of Shizoka, and after this the sausages will be sizzling back home I should think!!"- John Motson in overdrive as Michael Owen puts England 1-0 up against Brazil in the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-final. Brazil would later go on to win the game 2-1 and knock England out of the World Cup on the way to winning the tournament.

• "Something came up out of the ground!" - alluding to a possible mole interdiction to David Beckham's penalty kick against Portugal in Euro 2004.

• " And the unbelievable, the unfathomable, and the almost impossible has happened, Greece have won Euro 2004!" After the final whistle at Euro 2004

• "This is the biggest thing that's happened in Athens since Homer put down his pen" - after Greece won Euro 2004

• "The Czech Republic are coming from behind in more than one way now" - in 27th minute of World Cup 2006 game against Italy.

• "The roof is on but the gloves are off"- Commenting during the 2006 World Cup game between England and Portugal.

• "And the referee has gone across now with his hand in his pocket, he's been told about it! He's off, it's red, it's Zidane! Zidane's career ends in disgrace!!!" -Commentating during the 2006 World Cup final, in a game between Italy and France.
• "Shevchenko can't hit a barn door with a banjo for Chelsea!" Commentating after Shevchenko misses a goalscoring opportunity in the 2006/07 season.

• "On a scale of one to ten that was one hell of a strike"

• "Koller shares a hairstyle with Jaap Stam. Of course, they have no hair"

• "They are nearer to being out of the FA Cup now than any other time since the first half of this season, when they weren't ever in it anyway" - Commentating on Tottenham Hotspur.

• "What Drama Here!" - Used in many of his matches, although best known for Sammy McIlroy's 88th minute equaliser in the 1979 FA Cup Final.

• "Uff! What a let off!" - Used in many games if the player narrowly misses or prevents scoring goals.

• "Oh, Shevchenko! Oh, Shevchenko! A goal out of absolutely nothing!" - Commentary after Andriy Shevchenko scored on a curling, long range effort in a cup match against Tottenham Hotspur.

• "Mikel playing it up forward to Drogba, it's Drogba again! And Chelsea score! It's Didier Drogba with the first goal in an FA Cup Final at the new Wembley!" - After Didier Drogba's winning goal in the 116th minute against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final.

• "Richards, Here's Beckham, Crouch waiting in the center, CROUCH SURELY! YES!! YES!! PETER CROUCH HAS DONE IT FOR ENGLAND!! IT'S 2-2 !! The big man keeps up his PHENOMENAL scoring record, but guess who supplied the cross...DAVID BECKHAM!!" - Motty's reaction after Peter Crouch scored the equalizing goal at Wembley Stadium, after England were down 2-0 at half time. England went on to lose 3-2 to Croatia in a must-win game, giving Russia the final qualification spot in the group.

• "Say something, Mark, say something!" - A shellshocked and disheartened Motson imploring his broadcast partner Mark Lawrenson to make some sense of England's disastrous loss to Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

• "The FA Cup needs a cuddle"

• "Devaney...Odejayi wouldn't mind a diagonal cross here. But Van Homoet has come up as well, that is a diagonal cross it is Odejayi!!!!!!!...It's a goal for Barnsley!!!!. And it's Kayodi Odejayi, in the 66th minute and Oakwell has gone wild!!!" - The winning goal for Championship side Barnsley that knocked Chelsea, the holders, out of the F.A. Cup.

• "It's magic if you come from Madrid, it's beautiful if you come from Barcelona, it's a vindication if you come from Valencia or Villarreal and it's lovely if you come from Liverpool"' - summing up the Spanish victory in the UEFA Euro 2008 final on 29 June 2008, mentioning Liverpool as Liverpool's Spanish striker Fernando Torres had scored the winning goal.

• "And how ironic that the time on the clock is 66." - Yet another 1966 reference as the fourth goal is scored in England's 5-1 defeat of Germany in Munich, 1 September 2001.

• "I think this could be our best victory over Germany since the war." - On the occasion of England's 5-1 defeat of Germany in Munich, 1 September 2001.

• "The World Cup is a truly international event."

• "It was in 1963 that I first started using the pointless statistic, and I've never looked back since."

• "In a sense it's a one-man show, except there are two men involved."

• "The goals made such a difference to the way this game went."

• "Steve Bruce has got the taste for Wembley in his nostrils!"

• "OH BALLACK! Anelka, Anelka... 2-0 Chelsea"

• "Oh, and it's still there on the far side, hits the post, VAN PERSIE!!! Surely number three, no! It's Arsenal's turn this time to be denied by the post! That could so easily have been 3-0!" - Motson going falsetto during an Aston Villa vs. Arsenal match. Arsenal was leading 2-0 at the time, but Aston Villa would come back and claim a 2-2 draw.

• "Keane making ground too, Lennon's going ALL THE WAY!!!" - Motson going falsetto again during a Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur match.

• "Oooooh! Off the post!" - A characteristic comment from FIFA 96 and 97.

• "How close can you be?!" - A comment from FIFA 2003.

• "Oh, dear, dear, dear, he's gifted them a goal!" - From FIFA '98 World Cup when a player commits an own goal.

• "And he's left the keeper no chance at all, a silly error!"