A stunning 40-yard goal that broke Arsenal’s hearts in 1995 - The story behind Real Zaragoza’s last minute shot

Many younger football fans might not be familiar with him - Mohamed Alí Amar, or Nayim as he was more commonly known, is someone whose name doesn’t crop up that often when talk turns to players who have scored winning goals in European finals. But his strike to help Zaragoza lift the 1994-95 European Cup Winners’ Cup - the modest Spanish club’s first and only international triumph, stands as one of the greatest , most astonishing moments the game has ever seen.

Real Zaragoza have never won the Spanish league and up until 1994 had only appeared in two European finals - the 1963–64 and 1965–66 Fairs Cup.

Coached by Víctor Fernández, Los Maños qualified for the 1994-95 European Cup Winners’ Cup after winning the 1994 Copa del Rey - the club’s fourth title. Arsenal, who had finished the previous season out of the top three, qualified for the first round as the holders alongside Chelsea, the FA Cup runners-up (meanwhile Manchester United, who completed the double, headed to the Champions League).

Arsenal the defending champions

Like the old European Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup was a straight knockout tournament, featuring two-legged ties up to the final. Zaragoza got there by beating Gloria Bistrița, Tatran Presov, Feyenoord and Chelsea. Arsenal meanwhile brushed past Omonia, Brøndby, Auxerre and Sampdoria.

When both arrived at the final, held in Parc des Prince on May 10, there was no question about who were the favorites. Arsenal boasted a team full of England internationals: David Seaman, Ian Wright, Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Martin Keown, Lee Dixon... household names who were far more experienced than their rivals.

Less was known about their Spanish opponents - former Real Madrid player and team captain Miguel Pardeza and South Americans Juan Esnáider and Guy Poyet were perhaps the only players fans outside of Spain might have heard of.

It was Esnáider who opened the scoring in what turned out to be a very cagey final. His snap shot from the edge of the box caught Seaman completely offguard. John Hartson pulled the Gunners back level just minutes later.

It remained 1-1 when 90 minutes were up so for the sixth time in the tournament’s history, the final went to extra-time.

Both teams had chances to nick it after play resumed. Seaman turned a Xavi Aguado header onto the post while Esnáider was a constant threat.

Seconds left on the clock...

After 119 minutes, just when the game appeared to be destined to be settled via a shootout, the unthinkable happened. Attempting to clear the ball a few meters from the center circle, Andy Linighan’s header landed straight in the path of Nayim, around 40 yards from goal.

Spotting Seaman off his line, the Zaragoza No.5 chested the ball down, let it bounce a couple of times, then sent the ball high into the night sky. A thunderous half volley which Arsenal’s keeper saw hurtling towards him, spinning so violently that it was impossible to gauge its trajectory.

Panicking, Seaman backtracked and managed to get a hand to the ball, but couldn’t stop it from entering. It stands as the most audacious goal ever to have been scored in any European final. And just to rub extra salt into the wounds of Arsenal fans, it came from the boot of a former Tottenham player...

For Nayim, the idea came from a split-second flashback which entered his subconscious just as the ball bobbed up in front of him. He had scored a couple of similar goals as a young player back home in Ceuta, when he was starting out. So he tried it again.

Nayim, from the halfway line

Spurs fans were elated - changing the lyrics of a popular Arsenal chant to wind up their neighbors. “Nayim, from the halfway line”, sang to the tune of Village People’s ‘Go West’ would ring out from the terraces, without fail, every time the Gunners were in town.

Now working as a football analyst, Nayim still gets asked about that goal. “It wasn’t just the moment — it was how it happened," he told AS. “It was a completely unusual shot, from a distance you almost never see, and it came at the most dramatic possible time: the final second of a European final. Everything lined up in a way no one could’ve predicted.

“There were so many factors,” he concluded. “That’s why people still remember it. It was something totally unexpected for so many fans, and even with all the time that’s gone by, it stays with them.”

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