Charlie Adam has revealed that Michael Owen never apologised for dismissing the Scot's famous halfway-line goal against Chelsea. Adam's strike in 2015 was played down by pundit Owen, who questioned its quality.
Long-range goals became a talking point on Sunday after Brighton's Diego Gomez scored from 51 metres out against Crystal Palace. Just seven minutes into the game, the Paraguayan spotted Palace keeper Walter Benitez off his line and produced a goal-of-the-season contender with a precise strike, helping his side to a 5-0 win.
Adam's Record-Breaking Strike
Clips of the goal circulated online, along with videos of previous long-distance efforts, including Adam's. In April 2015, the midfielder's Stoke City travelled to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and found themselves 1-0 down after an Eden Hazard penalty. But in the 44th minute, Adam attempted an audacious lob from almost 64 metres, beating Thibaut Courtois. It remains the longest goal scored by an outfield player in Premier League history. Stoke lost the match 2-1.
Post-match, while some considered the strike worthy of Goal of the Season, Owen disagreed. On live television, he downplayed it as bad goalkeeping rather than individual brilliance, instead championing Jermain Defoe's Tyne-Wear derby volley from the same weekend.
Owen's Criticism and Adam's Response
"There's a lot of skill in it, but goal of the season? Do me a favour," Owen said on BT Sport. "It's just one long kick. That wasn't even the best goal of the weekend, I didn't think."
Speaking on the In The Mixer podcast, Adam said: "No, he never apologised. Michael Owen is a world-class player, obviously a Ballon d'Or winner and that but it was actually quite funny when he said it."
Adam added: "A lot of people physically can't kick the ball that far. It's not easy. A lot of people messaged me and you get tagged in things [after Gomez's goal]. It brings back memories. It's always nice to be shown in that and people don't forget that you actually were a football player!"
Preparation and Aftermath
Adam explained the work behind the strike: "It's very hard. How hard is it to pass the ball 20 or 30 yards? But think about 50 or 60 yards straight, even though it's an open goal. Unless you've got a really good technique, it is difficult."
He continued: "So it just shows the level of quality. Going back to mine, it was more about work I used to do off the pitch with my own goalkeeping coach at the time. We'd actually sit down and watch videos and we'd discuss that if that was on, maybe try it. There were a lot of times I tried it and failed, but there was that one moment you do try it and obviously it still comes around."
"At that time, I knew Courtois was a goalkeeper who wanted to come and play out of his box. He wanted to control that area. I was just fortunate enough that it went in and I'm fortunate enough to see it back again. It's nice."
That year, the BBC Goal of the Season was decided by an online vote and awarded to Jack Wilshere for his volley against West Brom, with Arsenal fans influencing the result. Many believed Adam should have won, including Alan Shearer, who claimed the midfielder was robbed of the award.
