KINKY BOOTS

Like all the great goals, it started with Steve Lomas. The Northern Ireland international arguably did the easy bit: a square pass near the halfway line, to a diminutive left-footer on the right flank. From there, magic happened.

A quick drop of the shoulder, and a dart inside Simon Charlton. A swerve past David Hughes, as the penalty area drew closer. A touch that defeated Ken Monkou, then another one to befuddle Hughes for a second time. The path to goal had been opened up. What followed was a brilliant stutter to put Dave Beasant off balance, then a lavish dink over the helpless goalkeeper into the net.

In the long history of the Premier League, no goal has been quite so similar to Lionel Messi at his finest, yet the Argentine was just eight years old at the time. Long before Manchester City were linked with ‘The Atomic Flea’, came Georgi Kinkladze.

“It was unforgettable,” beams the Georgian to FourFourTwo, as he reflects on that goal against Southampton at Maine Road in 1996. “I didn’t even realise it was 25 years – I think I dribbled past 25 people!”

It says much about the standard of iconic moments during the mid-90s that Kinkladze didn’t even win the BBC’s Goal of the Season – that went to Tony Yeboah. But in the space of 10 seconds, the ball seemingly glued to his left foot, he’d produced one of the most famous goals in Manchester City’s history... and secured hero status for life.

BALLET TO BUENOS AIRES

Given the parallels in playing style with another pint-sized Argentine left-footer who had a tendency for solo strikes, it’s no surprise that Kinkladze’s idol was Diego Maradona. For a brief period, the 5ft 8in playmaker even shared a dressing room with Diego, during an unlikely loan spell at Boca Juniors.

The route from Tbilisi to Buenos Aires was far from conventional. Kinkladze had grown up in Georgia while it was part of the Soviet Union – if his football skills later became balletic, it owed something to his childhood, when he took up . “It was traditional Georgian dance, which you could argue has a lot to do with both gymnastics and ballet,” he explains. “It gave me fleet feet, quick reactions and a sense of rhythm, as well as making my ankles very strong. I was actually considered something of a talent, but then my dad took me to a local