The Run of Play is a blog about
the wonder and terror of soccer.

We left the window open during a match in October 2007 and a strange wind blew into the room.

Now we walk the forgotten byways of football with a lonely tread, searching for the beautiful, the bewildering, the haunting, and the absurd.

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Nelinho Pulls One Out of the Bag at the 1978 World Cup

Had this shot passed through a wheat field, the wheat would have fallen in its wake. It’s a long, slow, sickening curve, this goal, and following the flight of the ball too closely can give you a sensation of vertigo. But what a beautiful scythe it made. This is Nelinho, in the third-place match between Brazil and Italy, scoring one of the greatest goals in a tournament full of them, and this is your Historical Goal of the Week.