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Just reading this article on the Guardian website which lists the journalist's six favourite hat-tricks:
The Joy of Six: classiest hat-tricks
From Rivaldo to Platini via, er, Ronnie Rosenthal, we look at some of the greatest hat-tricks ever.
1) Rivaldo, Barcelona 3-2 Valencia, La Liga, June 17 2001
Few footballers since Diego Maradona have had the fusion of bronca and brilliance that can make for a one-man team: Steven Gerrard occasionally, Cristiano Ronaldo maybe, Rivaldo certainly. At times around the turn of the century he was impossible to play against, and never more so than here. The quality of the goals was outstanding, but the context made his performance legendary. On the last day of a dire season Barcelona needed a win to qualify for the Champions League, against Valencia, who needed a draw. That it had come to this for a club like Barça was an almighty affront to Rivaldo's pride, so he put things right with an almost vigilante single-mindedness.
His first goal was an unsaveable free-kick that swerved and dipped late before flying in off the post. Then, after Ruben Baraja had equalised, Rivaldo hit a low 25-yarder with such fury that it knocked him off his feet and brought the Nou Camp crowd to theirs. Baraja equalised again but then, with 90 seconds to go, came the crowning glory: a staggering overhead kick from the edge of the box. After just 18 months and 17 days, the book on the greatest hat-trick of the 21st century was already closed. Rob Smyth
2) Dennis Bergkamp, Leicester 3-3 Arsenal, Premiership, August 27 1997
Dennis Bergkamp hat-tricks were rarely anything less than majestic, but when one includes his finest goal in an Arsenal shirt you know it's going to be hard to top. Having seen his first two strikes cancelled out by Emile Heskey and Matt Elliott, Bergkamp responded with a moment of supreme elegance, controlling a 40-yard pass, juggling it past Spencer Prior and curling home in just four touches. For sheer skill, even that goal against Newcastle can't compare.
The other two weren't bad either - he was slightly fortunate to see the second drop in after it was half-blocked by Kasey Keller, but the first was vintage Bergkamp, opening up his body on the left of the box before whisking the ball into the far top corner. In fact the first and third goals finished second and first respectively in Match of the Day's Goal of the Month competition, combining with a third strike against Southampton to make Bergkamp the first ever player to finish first, second and third in a single month. Paolo Bandini
3) Ronaldo, Man Utd 4-3 Real Madrid, Champions League quarter-final, April 23 2003
Standing ovations for Ronaldo are the norm at Old Trafford these days, but this one came before anyone had heard of Cristiano. If the game itself is grossly overrated (for all the giddiness of the finale, there was never any danger of United overturning a 3-1 first-leg deficit from the moment they went 2-1 down just after half-time), Ronaldo's hat-trick deserves every plaudit.
For the first goal he raced onto a searching pass from Guti and surprised Fabien Barthez with an early, near-post bullet. The second was an open goal, but only after some gloriously galáctican football, a spell of 30 seconds in which Real's matadors had tormented, almost goaded, a wilting United. If Ronaldo needed a lot of help from his friends for that one, the third was all his own work: a booming 25-yarder that put Real 3-2 ahead and into the semi-finals. RS
4) Michel Platini, France 3-2 Yugoslavia, European Championships, June 19 1984
France's all-conquering team of 1998 and 2000 was largely an Italian product - the key figures (Deschamps, Thuram, Zidane, Desailly) had been schooled in Serie A, where they learned that the foundation of victory was solidity and focus. They were sometimes elegant, always effective. The generation of the 1980s pursued a more exotic vision. Thwarted by German artisans in Espana 82 and Mexico 86, their majestic artistry was rewarded at Euro 84.
Ironically, the chief conjurer in one of the most magical midfields of all time was the one Bleu who was based in Italy: Michel Platini. Even alongside Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana and Luis Fernandez, Platini was outstanding, his imaginative passing and ingenious finishing complementing an attacking instinct that made his unathletic frame irrelevant. Nine of his France-record 41 international goals came in the sensational summer of 1984. The first was a free-kick against Denmark, then he hit three (one a penalty) in the battering of Belgium; in the next game, he somehow surpassed that. The hosts started nervously against Yugoslavia and surprisingly found themselves trailing 1-0 at half-time. Then Platini took control - in 17 second-half minutes he hit a perfect hat-trick, turning home Jean-Marc Ferreri's cross with his left foot on 59 minutes, firing France in front with a spectacular diving header two minutes later, before sealing victory with a typically sweet, right-footed, free-kick on 76 minutes. A late Dragon Stojkovic penalty counted for nothing and, naturally, Platini went on to score in the semi-final and final. Paul Doyle
5) Wayne Rooney, Man Utd 6-2 Fenerbahçe, Champions League, September 28 2004
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Wayne Rooney didn't need one anyway after this extraordinary debut. A carpe diem philosophy suggests active go-getting, but Rooney did not so much seize the day as wait for it to the decent thing and surrender to his genius. Rarely has a footballer so obviously been in the zone. Rooney, usually a raging bull, was serene from the start, pitter-pattering across the turf to devastating effect. All three goals came from outside the box. The first was clipped in smoothly on the run, the second lashed across goal after a lovely feint, and the third lazily coaxed in from a free-kick. RS
6) Ronnie Rosenthal, Southampton 2-6 Spurs, FA Cup fifth-round replay, March 1 1995
The calendar said March 1 but experienced football-watchers thought it was a month behind, as this was a tale that even the most gullible soul would have put down as an elaborate April Fools' Day prank. Rightly or wrongly, Rosenthal was a watchword for uselessness after his infamous miss in 1992, and few people expected much when he came on just before half-time with Spurs lucky to be only 2-0 down and going out of the cup.
Then something extraordinary happened, as Rosenthal started to turn the game with a speed and decisiveness that was more like Ronnie O'Sullivan. He was potting them from all angles, sweeping in Nick Barmby's cross and then lashing an equaliser inside Bruce Grobbelaar's near post from miles out on the right. In extra-time came the best trick shot of all, a 25-yarder that started going one way and then swerved so violently as to completely wrongfoot Grobbelaar. Three further goals made it seem like a rout but the reality is that this was all Rosenthal's work. "I have never seen such an emphatic hat-trick," said his manager Gerry Francis. Few had ever seen one so unlikely. RS
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/09/11/the_joy_of_six_great_hattricks.html
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Rather than just critique this list, what are the best hat-tricks people here have seen?
My favourite that isn't on this list is Kanu's at Stamford Bridge, mostly because I was lucky enough to see it live. The first two goals weren't anything special, but the third was brilliant. I also liked the Romford Pele's hat-trick against Bremen in the UEFA cup a few years back, mostly because it was so unexpected.
So, what other good hat-tricks have people enjoyed?
The Joy of Six: classiest hat-tricks
From Rivaldo to Platini via, er, Ronnie Rosenthal, we look at some of the greatest hat-tricks ever.
1) Rivaldo, Barcelona 3-2 Valencia, La Liga, June 17 2001
Few footballers since Diego Maradona have had the fusion of bronca and brilliance that can make for a one-man team: Steven Gerrard occasionally, Cristiano Ronaldo maybe, Rivaldo certainly. At times around the turn of the century he was impossible to play against, and never more so than here. The quality of the goals was outstanding, but the context made his performance legendary. On the last day of a dire season Barcelona needed a win to qualify for the Champions League, against Valencia, who needed a draw. That it had come to this for a club like Barça was an almighty affront to Rivaldo's pride, so he put things right with an almost vigilante single-mindedness.
His first goal was an unsaveable free-kick that swerved and dipped late before flying in off the post. Then, after Ruben Baraja had equalised, Rivaldo hit a low 25-yarder with such fury that it knocked him off his feet and brought the Nou Camp crowd to theirs. Baraja equalised again but then, with 90 seconds to go, came the crowning glory: a staggering overhead kick from the edge of the box. After just 18 months and 17 days, the book on the greatest hat-trick of the 21st century was already closed. Rob Smyth
2) Dennis Bergkamp, Leicester 3-3 Arsenal, Premiership, August 27 1997
Dennis Bergkamp hat-tricks were rarely anything less than majestic, but when one includes his finest goal in an Arsenal shirt you know it's going to be hard to top. Having seen his first two strikes cancelled out by Emile Heskey and Matt Elliott, Bergkamp responded with a moment of supreme elegance, controlling a 40-yard pass, juggling it past Spencer Prior and curling home in just four touches. For sheer skill, even that goal against Newcastle can't compare.
The other two weren't bad either - he was slightly fortunate to see the second drop in after it was half-blocked by Kasey Keller, but the first was vintage Bergkamp, opening up his body on the left of the box before whisking the ball into the far top corner. In fact the first and third goals finished second and first respectively in Match of the Day's Goal of the Month competition, combining with a third strike against Southampton to make Bergkamp the first ever player to finish first, second and third in a single month. Paolo Bandini
3) Ronaldo, Man Utd 4-3 Real Madrid, Champions League quarter-final, April 23 2003
Standing ovations for Ronaldo are the norm at Old Trafford these days, but this one came before anyone had heard of Cristiano. If the game itself is grossly overrated (for all the giddiness of the finale, there was never any danger of United overturning a 3-1 first-leg deficit from the moment they went 2-1 down just after half-time), Ronaldo's hat-trick deserves every plaudit.
For the first goal he raced onto a searching pass from Guti and surprised Fabien Barthez with an early, near-post bullet. The second was an open goal, but only after some gloriously galáctican football, a spell of 30 seconds in which Real's matadors had tormented, almost goaded, a wilting United. If Ronaldo needed a lot of help from his friends for that one, the third was all his own work: a booming 25-yarder that put Real 3-2 ahead and into the semi-finals. RS
4) Michel Platini, France 3-2 Yugoslavia, European Championships, June 19 1984
France's all-conquering team of 1998 and 2000 was largely an Italian product - the key figures (Deschamps, Thuram, Zidane, Desailly) had been schooled in Serie A, where they learned that the foundation of victory was solidity and focus. They were sometimes elegant, always effective. The generation of the 1980s pursued a more exotic vision. Thwarted by German artisans in Espana 82 and Mexico 86, their majestic artistry was rewarded at Euro 84.
Ironically, the chief conjurer in one of the most magical midfields of all time was the one Bleu who was based in Italy: Michel Platini. Even alongside Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana and Luis Fernandez, Platini was outstanding, his imaginative passing and ingenious finishing complementing an attacking instinct that made his unathletic frame irrelevant. Nine of his France-record 41 international goals came in the sensational summer of 1984. The first was a free-kick against Denmark, then he hit three (one a penalty) in the battering of Belgium; in the next game, he somehow surpassed that. The hosts started nervously against Yugoslavia and surprisingly found themselves trailing 1-0 at half-time. Then Platini took control - in 17 second-half minutes he hit a perfect hat-trick, turning home Jean-Marc Ferreri's cross with his left foot on 59 minutes, firing France in front with a spectacular diving header two minutes later, before sealing victory with a typically sweet, right-footed, free-kick on 76 minutes. A late Dragon Stojkovic penalty counted for nothing and, naturally, Platini went on to score in the semi-final and final. Paul Doyle
5) Wayne Rooney, Man Utd 6-2 Fenerbahçe, Champions League, September 28 2004
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Wayne Rooney didn't need one anyway after this extraordinary debut. A carpe diem philosophy suggests active go-getting, but Rooney did not so much seize the day as wait for it to the decent thing and surrender to his genius. Rarely has a footballer so obviously been in the zone. Rooney, usually a raging bull, was serene from the start, pitter-pattering across the turf to devastating effect. All three goals came from outside the box. The first was clipped in smoothly on the run, the second lashed across goal after a lovely feint, and the third lazily coaxed in from a free-kick. RS
6) Ronnie Rosenthal, Southampton 2-6 Spurs, FA Cup fifth-round replay, March 1 1995
The calendar said March 1 but experienced football-watchers thought it was a month behind, as this was a tale that even the most gullible soul would have put down as an elaborate April Fools' Day prank. Rightly or wrongly, Rosenthal was a watchword for uselessness after his infamous miss in 1992, and few people expected much when he came on just before half-time with Spurs lucky to be only 2-0 down and going out of the cup.
Then something extraordinary happened, as Rosenthal started to turn the game with a speed and decisiveness that was more like Ronnie O'Sullivan. He was potting them from all angles, sweeping in Nick Barmby's cross and then lashing an equaliser inside Bruce Grobbelaar's near post from miles out on the right. In extra-time came the best trick shot of all, a 25-yarder that started going one way and then swerved so violently as to completely wrongfoot Grobbelaar. Three further goals made it seem like a rout but the reality is that this was all Rosenthal's work. "I have never seen such an emphatic hat-trick," said his manager Gerry Francis. Few had ever seen one so unlikely. RS
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/09/11/the_joy_of_six_great_hattricks.html
---------------
Rather than just critique this list, what are the best hat-tricks people here have seen?
My favourite that isn't on this list is Kanu's at Stamford Bridge, mostly because I was lucky enough to see it live. The first two goals weren't anything special, but the third was brilliant. I also liked the Romford Pele's hat-trick against Bremen in the UEFA cup a few years back, mostly because it was so unexpected.
So, what other good hat-tricks have people enjoyed?
