The year is 2010. Bolton Wanderers, currently staring League Two in the face, were in the Premier League and boasted a star-studded side.
Amongst the very best of that side was Swedish striker Johan Elmander, who had joined for a fee of around £10m. He had spells with NAC Breda, Feyenoord and Toulouse before turning up at the Reebok and despite his ability, his success in the north-west was moderate. With just 18 goals in almost 100 appearances, he was never prolific, but he did show an insane amount of skill on his day.
One game, in 2010/11 against Wolves, he scored a sensational goal en route to a 3-2 victory at Molineux. Showing acute awareness, he jinxed past three Wolves players before slotting the ball home with consummate ease. It reeked of Dennis Bergkamp’s effort for Arsenal which gets replayed over and over, but Elmander’s strike is rarely seen.
He went on to score ten in the Premier League before a move to Galatasaray, where he was a two-time Super Liga winner. He returned to the UK with a loan at Norwich, but couldn’t replicate that form. He finished his career with second spells at Brondby in Denmark, and finally Orgryte in his homeland.
That goal against Wolves has been replayed on social media this week, with Bolton’s official site tweeting that they believed ‘if Dennis Bergkamp had scored this, the whole world would know about it’. That’s drawn plenty of response from supporters, eager to discuss the virtues of two strikes; Elmander’s and Bergkamp’s against Newcastle. We’ve got clips of both for you below, with reaction following on.
https://twitter.com/FootyAccums/status/1264528358026686464
https://twitter.com/goal/status/1234416599538569216
https://twitter.com/PhilEames3/status/1265222963915370498
https://twitter.com/Big_Sharps/status/1265199674052489220
https://twitter.com/ColmBeakey79/status/1265251099310788608
https://twitter.com/BrianMzobe2/status/1265223178193903617
https://twitter.com/Jam13Simmo/status/1265228630206054400
https://twitter.com/Deano87823822/status/1265235960087838720
https://twitter.com/femirewaju/status/1265236909464444928
https://twitter.com/BorussiaMagpie/status/1265251574143688705
