Imagine being a footballer that has been sent out on loan by their parent club, and who then finds him or herself playing against their employer for their temporary team. The motivation to play well and showcase their ability must be off the chart, and that is reflected in the number of players that have scored against their parent clubs.
The latest member of that unique band is Silas Katompa Mvumpa, who normally goes by the single soubriquet of Silas. He is owned by Stuttgart, but has been loaned out to Red Star Belgrade for the 2024/25 season. Well, you can probably guess the rest. When the two sides met in the Champions League in November, Stuttgart took the lead early on through Ermedin Demirovic.
But Red Star were brought level thanks to a wonder goal by Silas, who turned a number of his ‘teammates’ inside out before slamming home. The Serbian outfit went on to win 5-1, with Silas no doubt left wondering whether to laugh or cry as he shook hands with the Stuttgart players after the game.
That awkward moment when you score a goal in the Champions League but it’s against your own club while out on loan. 🙃
Silas scored the first for Red Star Belgrade vs. Stuttgart.#UCL #FKCZVfB pic.twitter.com/rrM2ptLsnq
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) November 27, 2024
If it’s any crumb of comfort to the Congo international, he’s not the only loan player to have scored against their parent club.
The Haunting of James Rodriguez
It’s one thing scoring against your parent club, but quite another to do it in a Champions League semi final. James Rodriguez, the Colombian international, was fed up at how little game time he was getting at Real Madrid back in 2017. He persuaded head coach, Zinedine Zidane, to loan him out to Bayern Munich. The two sides battled their way through the Champions League to the semi finals, where they were paired together by the draw.
There was no clause in Rodriguez’s loan contract that prevented him from playing against Real, and so the Colombian took the pitch for his temporary employer in both legs of the contest. Madrid won the first leg 2-1 win in Munich, but Bayern knew they were still in the hunt at the Bernabeu, especially when Rodriguez fired home to make it 2-2 on the night and 3-4 on aggregate. The Colombian, as is the way in these matters, did not celebrate, but he was left slumped on the Bernabeu turf when Real clung on to progress to the final.
The Goal Machine
In the early 2000s, Real Madrid were making good on their Galacticos nickname, bringing in as many big name signings as possible. That was bad news for Fernando Morientes, who despite being a household name in his own right found himself behind the likes of Ronaldo and Raul in the queue for a starting berth. So the Spaniard was loaned out to Monaco, where he set about showing Real what they were missing – he ended up top goalscorer in the Champions League in 2003/04.
Two of those goals came against, you guessed it, Real Madrid. In the end, Morientes effectively knocked his parent club out of the competition. The first leg of the quarter-final finished 4-2 to Real, with Morientes netting what at the time seemed to be a consolation goal. But the French side were in fine fettle in the second leg on home soil, demolishing Real 3-1 – with Morientes again on the scoresheet – to cap an away goals triumph for Monaco.
Playing for Keeps
If they’re not scoring crucial goals against their parent club, on loan players are keeping them out. Thibaut Courtois was signed by Chelsea from Belgian side Genk in 2011, at which point the goalkeeper was immediately loaned out to Atletico Madrid. The Belgian matured in a three-year stint in Madrid, so by the time that Atleti were drawn against Chelsea in the 2013/14 Champions League, Courtois was established as one of the best keepers in Europe.
And boy, was he determined to show it against his parent club… Courtois kept a clean sheet in the first leg, before making a string of fine saves in the second – enabling Atletico to dump Chelsea out of the competition.
So Good They Named Him Twice
It’s all well and good scoring goals that knock your parent club out of the Champions League. But how about notching one that changes the Premier League rulebook forever? Before 2004, EPL clubs could loan players to one another and allow them to play in meetings between the sides. But then Lomano Lua Lua, who swapped Newcastle for Portsmouth, came along and spoiled everything.
Pompey hosted the Magpies in February 2004; a time when they were staring relegation full in the face. Newcastle, meanwhile, had a top-four finish in their sights, and they took the lead as expected through Craig Bellamy. The scriptwriter had just finished typing up their prose as Lua Lua found space from a corner and volleyed home.
The goal sparked scenes of wild celebration, with Lua Lua even tearing off his shirt in rapture. The equaliser severely dented Newcastle’s Champions League aspirations, and the striker was forced to apologise. “I apologise to the Newcastle supporters because they’ve been so brilliant to me, but I’m glad I came to a club where someone wants me,” he said. “The Portsmouth fans are lifting me up. I’m here to impress. I’m fighting to get a contract.”
Having a Ball
On loan striker, David Nielsen, struck a double-blow when he found the net for temporary employer Norwich City against parent club Wimbledon in December 2001. The Dane scored the opener at Carrow Road with a flying header, before setting off on a mazy run and winning a penalty for the Canaries.
So incensed was Wimbledon goalkeeper, Kelvin Davies, by what was unfolding, he threw the ball at Nielsen’s head, which in turn saw him sent off! You won’t be surprised to learn that Nielsen never played for Wimbledon again.
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