2 weeks ago
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It's been 16 years since a beach ball became Sunderland's 12th man - and Darren Bent continues to milk every moment of it.
The former England forward's notorious strike against Liverpool - diverted into soccer folklore by a wayward inflatable thrown onto the field by a Reds supporter - remains among the Premier League's most peculiar incidents.
The strike - which sealed Sunderland's 1-0 triumph over Liverpool on October 17, 2009 - was so extraordinary that it has, to some extent, eclipsed Bent's impressive career, having scored more than 100 Premier League goals while playing for Ipswich, Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Fulham.
Predictably, Bent hasn't allowed the incident to fade into obscurity, consistently ribbing former Liverpool defender Glen Johnson, the player who came within millimetres of thwarting one of English football's most memorable goals.
"I speak to Glen Johnson about it - he's a good friend of mine," Bent told Mirror Football. "We started at England youth together. We have a laugh and a joke about it.
"Even when I see him now we laugh about it, because he stuck his foot out, but it went past his foot and hit the beach ball. So we have a joke about it, I take the mickey out of him."
Had VAR been operational in 2009, the goal would almost certainly have been chalked off.
According to the laws of the game, any external object that directly impacts a goalscoring chance should result in play being halted and a dropped ball awarded. As matters stand, though, the strike remains the most unforgettable goal of Bent's career, which featured significant stints at Tottenham, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Charlton, and Ipswich.
When questioned whether he resented being dubbed "the beach ball guy," the 41-year-old maintained he wasn't bothered, although he acknowledged the perpetual mentions can prove irksome.
"It doesn't faze me," he said. "I'm incredibly proud of what I managed to achieve. A lot of it is to do with the fact VAR is in the league now. Back when I was playing there was no VAR which is why that goal stood.
"It can be frustrating, but it's one of them where it's a really freak moment in Premier League history. It doesn't really bother me.
"Every year it seems to get bigger which is kind of strange, but I've got no issues with that... Because, with VAR, we'll never see anything like that goal again, I think that's why it gets so amplified."
Reflecting on the goal during a Sky Sports appearance years afterwards, Bent remarked: "Andy Reid got down the line on the right. He had a wand of a left foot - but as it was on his right foot, I knew he'd cut it back and get it into a good area.
"I remember it coming across the box, and as it bounced up and was on its way to me, I was thinking to myself, 'Hit the target. Hit the target.' I didn't connect with it that well, but I knew it was going on target... Then it hit the beach ball and went in!"
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