My Greatest Leicester Goal: Muzzy Izzet’s magic moment at Grimsby (November 2002)

Rather than ‘could they do it on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke?’, in 2002 the question was whether Leicester City could do it on a drab November night at Grimsby in the pouring rain.

Muzzy Izzet made sure it was a resounding yes and then some, by grabbing all of the headlines with an audacious overhead kick.

Picture a young, hopeful but naïve 13-year-old me attending school in Grimsby. The only Leicester City fan, and for years, the only girl who liked football amongst the often smug Leeds, Manchester United and Arsenal fans.

There were a few who claimed to be dual supporters of their big team plus Grimsby, and then there were the handful of actual, die-hard Mariners. They and I had something in common; a general lack of bragging rights for our team, used to being sarcastically asked how they’d fared that weekend, or jibes about our financial woes.

Imagine, then, how happy I was to finally have something on a Monday morning to really smile about. Thank you, Muzzy Izzet! Not just the shortest trip of the 2002/03 for our family, but a 2-1 win and a stunning overhead kick sealing the three points. Oddly, fewer people than usual wanted to talk football with me… very confusing. It’s a shame social media wasn’t a thing then, else I would have been playing that goal over and over. 

Admittedly, despite how often I name it when asked about favourite goals, it had been a while before writing this since I’d last watched it. I wondered whether my personal connection or our circumstances that year had made me regard it even more fondly. The 2002 Leicester City were a club in administration, pushing for promotion to the Premier League. Izzet was a luxury player at that stage – easily one of our highest earners but worth every penny. The goal is still every bit as good as I remembered too, biased or not. 

Considering his reputation for impressive goals, perhaps it says even more that this stunned everybody. We knew he was capable of wonder strikes, but this was something else. It’s technically as perfect an overhead kick as you’ll find, but outside of the Foxes fanbase it’s always felt like a goal that’s never been given enough attention. The perils of it coming in such an old-school stadium like Blundell Park, I suppose. 

Every angle, every replay only serves to make it seem more impossible. From a cross sent in near the corner flag that seemed unlikely, to the instant decision Izzet makes to go for it. No defender or goalkeeper could have anticipated it – something so difficult has rarely looked so simple. Scoring that in the pouring rain with the Foxes down to 10 men only added to the mythology around it.

Izzet’s bicycle kick is the goal he’s best remembered for, and rightly so. I’d never seen a goal like that scored by a Leicester player in my time. Twenty years on, and there have been some incredible goals, key goals… but this one never diminishes.