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In One Shot: World champion who ripped off her shirt in joy


Photo: Robert Beck

Photo: YouTube

Photo: CNN.com

Photo: twitter.com


FIFA Women’s World Cup continues in France.While teams continue to compete for the title of the winner, this edition of Mediamax Sport’s In One Shot features an interesting photo, taken at the same tournament about 20 years ago.

The final of World Cup 1999 between U.S. and China took place at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. The match gathered 90 000 fans, still an unreachable result in women’s football.

The teams drew with no goal in the final so the winner was decided in a penalty shootout.
 
American Brandi Chastain was the one to score the decisive goal. She ripped off her shirt and kneeled down after the victory. The footballer’s picture became popular around the world immediately. It was featured on covers of Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated magazines.

The most popular of those photos was the one taken by Robert Beck, which decorated Sports Illustrated cover. In 2014 the photo took the 2nd place among the magazine’s most iconic covers of all times, according to the readers’ voting.

“When Brandi scored the goal and ripped off her shirt, I knew that something extraordinary was going to happen. I took the picture that no one else would have succeeded to take, since I was the one to stand right behind the gate,” Beck told.

Two-times World and Olympic champion Chastain, who played for the American national team for 16 years, remembers the moment: “I only had one thought at that time: this is the best moment in my football career.”

Now she is 50 years old; she worked as a football commentator for a while and was selected into Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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