A-list A-frames - Everton FC

Tracing the history of Everton's goal nets, you follow a familiar lineage back from today's box goal nets


Through Championship winning Continental D's



Back to a set of A-frame stanchions straight out the 70's top drawer

Brazil - Atlético Clube Goianiense

AC Goianiense - or Atlético-GO as they're more popularly known - sport a pair of classic L-supports for their sparsely attended matches at the Estádio Serra Dourada.

 Join the 1,112 fanatics who turned up to watch the recent 3-2 victory over Figueirense.

 

In a game of three penalties, you may be reminded of a famous game of two penalties and one of the World Cup's most famous goals, all scored into goal nets identical to those at Atlético...

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Brazil - Associação Olímpica de Itabaiana

On our Youtube travels round Brazil we came across Itabaiana, a Serie D side from Sergipe with the most amazing stanchions you'll see anywhere in 2012.



Viewing the goals at the Estádio Presidente Emílio Garrastazu Médici we were inspired to re-post Grand Designs from October 2010, which re-stated the premise of this blog and celebrated the diversity and beauty so evident at Itabaiana.


Grand Designs  

When we started this blog, we began by writing about what a stadium's goalnets said about the character of that stadium or its home club (eg Arsenal) or what part the goalnets played in the club's history (eg Manchester United). We also ran a series on the World Cups, demonstrating how the evolution of goalnet fashion and technology has been every bit as interesting as tactics, or rules (or strips).

More recently we've simply celebrated great goalnets, by which we hope to remind readers that goal design doesn't happen by accident. Somebody somewhere - either within the club or, if the posts, stanchions and nets are bought 'off the shelf,' at the manufacturers - designed the architecture. Did a drawing. Turned the drawing into reality. Ensured reality entered history.

Such great designs didn't just follow what went before, nor were they obviously fashionable at the time. But in the second decade of the new century, when everybody's got box goalnets and everything looks the same, we'd like readers to remember that football can look different to how it looks today, and difference can be beauty in itself.

Brazil - Sport Club do Recife

Nautico's biggest rivals - the derby between the two Pernambuco sides dates back to the early 20th century and is known as the Classico dos Classiscos - Sport Recife kick between two classic L-support structures at the Estadio Ilha do Retiro.



The same stadium hosted the Chile v USA group game at the 1950 World Cup.

Spy the fledgling L-supports at that game.

Brazil - Clube Náutico Capibaribe

Nautico have played at the Estadio dos Alfitos since 1939 and today shoot into a pair of classic South American L-supports with fancy red and white nets.



Nautico are due to move to the purposely-built Arena Pernambuco after the 2014 World Cup.

Odds-on they won't be taking their quaint L-supports with them.

We should enjoy them while we can.

Return to Echo Beach - Brazil 2014

As Euro 2012 disappears in the rear-view mirror, and the eyes of the International game turn to the 2014 World Cup, The History of Goalnets re-boots it's Brazil series which highlights and celebrates the diversity of goal nets design that can still be seen in the country many think of as the game's spiritual home.

To remind you the premise of the Brazil series, let's go back to the start, and the original Echo Beach post.

I know it's out of fashion, and a trifle uncool.
But I can't help it, I'm a romantic fool.



From nine till five I have to spend my time at work.
From nine till five I watch football on Youtube.
My job is very boring, I'm an office clerk.
It's very boring, all I see is box goalnets.
The only thing that helps me pass the time away.
Is knowing I'll be back at Echo Beach some day.
Is knowing there must be a blue-blooded member of the football Royal family who haven't installed box goalnets across the board.

Brazil.



Echo Beach, far away in time...

Off the stanchions at Wembley - Kenny Hibbitt

Kenny Hibbitt's sliced half-volley in the 1974 League Cup final is a study in geometry - or is it physics?

Check out the strange deadening effect the Wembley stanchion has on the ball, which must've been spinning like a top.