It may be the most unlikely injury in the history of football and maybe even sport…
Do you know the story of Chic Brodie? We are in 1970, a time when TV was not in color, when George Pompidou was the President of France and where, therefore, Chic Brodie will see his career shattered with an improbable incident. The man is a soccer player playing as a goalkeeper. He began his career at Manchester City and was even a member of the Scottish selection’s junior team.
After spending time with several clubs, Chic Brodie left Northampton in 1963 to go to Brentford, in the English third division. But on November 27, 1970, this already honorable career came to a sudden halt. During a meeting between Brentford and Colchester, a dog, attracted by the ball on the lawn, will burst onto the field and try to intercept the ball several times. Very lively, the latter even goes faster than the players and crosses the field at lightning speed, including during long crosses.
Problem, no one expected this dog to charge at the players. During a back pass from a Brentford defender to Chic Brodie, the latter rushes into the goalkeeper’s legs. In the vintage footage, the Brentford goalkeeper is seen collapsing immediately, refusing to let go of the ball. The patella actually dropped instantly. If the dog left as quickly as it came, the unfortunate doorman will remain on the ground for many minutes, as can be seen on the vintage video.
Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, the injury will be far too serious with several affected knee ligaments which will force him to end his career. Chic Brodie, who died in 2000, was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame of his club Brentford in 2015. With more than 220 appearances with the English, he will remain a key figure in the club of the 70s, despite this terrible end to his career.