E is for... Euphoria

"To score a goal is like an orgasm"

                                  (Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez)

Whilst Xavi may have been exaggerating somewhat, anyone who has ever played football and scored a goal will know what he’s talking about. My favourite expression of this feeling, when a footballer was taken over by the euphoria of scoring a goal, came during the 1982 World Cup Final in Madrid.

Italy were already 1-0 up in the match against West Germany when Marco Tardelli, a tenacious midfielder, received the ball on the edge of the area. His first touch was poor, with the ball running away from him as he tried to set himself up for a shot. However his second touch was sublime, as the falling Tardelli wrapped his left foot around the ball, sending it into the corner of the net.

Taken over by pure joy, Tardelli leapt to his feet and started sprinting towards the Italian bench. As he ran his arms were pumping with delight, and he screamed “Goal! Goal! Goal!”.A teammate tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t be held back as the realisation of his achievement hit him: he’d scored the goal which would win the World Cup Final for his team.

Can you think of any celebration that beats this as the greatest expression of euphoria in sport? And what other things in life can you think of that make you feel that way? (Keep it clean, please!)