By Matthew Roscoe • Published: 09 Dec 2021 • 14:12
DEBATE – Who is the best Supersub in football history?
Following Divock Origi’s recent super-sub antics for Liverpool, Euro Weekly News takes a look at five of the greats to make an impact from the substitutes bench.
Jurgen Klopp hailed super-sub Divock Origi “one of the best finishers” he had ever seen after the Belgium registered another last gasp winner against Wolves on Saturday, December 4.
Among the 26-year-old’s dramatic late goal-scoring highlights, Origi scored a brace in the 2019 UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona which took the Merseyside club through to the final. In the final, the super-sub struck again, scoring the second goal against Tottenham Hotspur as the Reds lifted the cup.
To cement his legacy among Liverpool supporters, Origi has also scored a last-gasp winner against Merseyside rivals Everton.
David Fairclough started just 92 games in an eight-year Liverpool career yet his standing as one of the most famous goalscorers in the club’s illustrious history is without question.
Fairclough is Liverpool’s most renowned super-sup – although Origi is fast on his heels – scoring 55 goals in 154 career appearances for the Reds, 18 of which came from 62 appearances off the bench.
Fairclough was his most deadly in the last half hour of any match with 35 goals scored from the 60th minute on.
Current AC Milan striker, Olivier Giroud, was a super-sub for both Arsenal and Chelsea during his near 10-year stay in England.
The Frenchman signed for the Gunners from Montpellier in 2012 and scored 105 goals in all competitions over a five-and-a-half-year period, including 73 Premier League goals in just 119 starts for the north London side.
Having moved across the capital in January 2018, Giroud scored 17 goals in 75 games for Chelsea with most coming after being introduced from the bench.
Giroud left the Premier League for Italy this summer having scored 20 goals as a substitute – the second-highest tally in the division’s history behind only Defoe.
Jermaine Defoe was regarded as being a great super-sub for both clubs and country throughout his career.
The former England international spent a lot of his career as a back-up striker at Tottenham and before that at West Ham United, for whom he scored 10 goals in his debut season whilst making 21 substitute appearances.
Only a handful of players have scored more goals in total than the former West Ham and Tottenham forward, who has hit 162 Premier League goals over a career taking in spells at five top-flight clubs.
Defoe scored 24 goals in 149 appearances off the bench.
His best sub appearance, though, may have been for England against the Netherlands in 2009 when he came off the bench to strike twice and rescue a draw for the Three Lions.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signed for Manchester United in 1996 from an unknown club in Norway for a transfer fee of £1.5m – which turned out to be money well spent.
Nicknamed the “Baby Faced Assassin,” the former Manchester United manager, is regarded as the greatest super-sub of all time. The Norwegian winger was prolific for United scoring a total of 126 goals in 336 career appearances for the club.
He was the Red Devils saviour time and again as he scored a total of 28 goals off the bench during his time at Old Trafford.
His most iconic introduction came later in the 1999 Champions League final when he came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner against Bayern Munich which won United the Champions League and completed a historic treble-winning season.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.