Best and worst football farewells as Cech ends in tears but Hazard wins Chelsea a trophy
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PETR CECH hung up his gloves after a disastrous night in the Europa League final in what must go down as one of football's sourest farewells.
And the goalkeeper's tears were in sharp contrast to the other goodbye taking place in Baku.
Eden Hazard's imminent move to Real Madrid made his brace the perfect send off as Chelsea hammered Arsenal 4-1.
Here, SunSport runs through football's best and worst farewells.
BEST - Eden Hazard
Destined for a £115million switch to La Liga, Hazard signed off in some style with a brace en route to lifting his fifth trophy in seven years at Chelsea.
The Blues approached the game without much pressure and that suited the Belgian as he sealed the 4-1 demolition of Arsenal in Baku.
WORST - Petr Cech
On the other end of Hazard's good fortune was Cech, who announced his decision to retire weeks ahead of the final.
Despite making a couple of good stops, the former Chelsea man couldn't hold off his old team and was effectively powerless as his defence crumbled before him.
BEST - Alan Shearer
Newcastle United legend Shearer had plenty of history on his mind when slotting away a penalty at Sunderland in 2006.
Having famously missed from the spot against his biggest rivals six years earlier, the revenge strike came in a 4-1 win that turned out to be his last appearance for the club.
Later in the same game, the 35-year-old injured his medial knee ligament and was forced to call it a day.
"To go out in Sunderland, score and get the best result in 50 years wasn't a bad way to go," he said when announcing his retirement.
WORST - Steven Gerrard
The final year of Gerrard's Liverpool career played out in the shadow of the club's huge missed opportunity in the season before's title race.
Sent off less than a minute after coming on in his last derby against Manchester United, his farewell to Anfield finished 3-1 to Crystal Palace.
On the final weekend of the season, the Reds travelled to Stoke City and were thumped 6-1.
Gerrard did notch his side's consolation but it was a humiliating afternoon that simply wasn't worthy of the midfielder's Liverpool career.
BEST - Zinedine Zidane
No one thought it was his farewell, but Zidane signed off as Real Madrid coach in the perfect way 12 months ago.
In each of his two-and-a-half seasons, the Frenchman won the Champions League and the astounding Gareth Bale-led win over Liverpool capped the lot.
Madrid had struggled domestically and Zidane felt he had taken the team as far as he could, resigning five days later.
"This is a team that should keep on winning and it needs a change for that," he said. Nine months, two coaches, and not many wins later, he was back.
WORST - Zinedine Zidane
Contrastingly, Zidane's exit as a player was signposted and acrimonious. France reached the 2006 World Cup final with the star midifielder's exit announced well in advance - and it started so well.
After just seven minutes, his Panenka penalty chip bounced an inch over the line and Les Bleus were headed for glory.
Fast forward to extra-time and Marco Materazzi wound up Zidane sufficiently enough to earn a headbutt to the chest.
The France captain was sent off and trudged down the tunnel, leaving his team to lose the penalty shootout.
BEST - Lukas Podolski
In his 130th and final cap for Germany, World Cup winner Podolski was shown all the love his country had to offer before his international retirement.
The March 2017 friendly with England was staged as a hero's farewell for the nation's third-highest scorer of all-time.
In a packed Signal Iduna Park, the Three Lions arrived as the foils until Podolski launched a stunning long-range winner.
The home fans gave him a standing ovation when he was substituted shortly afterwards in what was surely the perfect ending.
WORST - Sir Alex Ferguson
The first warning sign of the trouble that Manchester United were in for in the post-Fergie era came in the fearsome Scot's final game.
With the title in the bag, the Red Devils headed to Hawthorns and seemed to be doing the boss justice when going 5-2 up after the hour mark.
However a Romelu Lukaku hat-trick led West Brom on a wonderful comeback and the game finished 5-5.
Cue Ferguson forcing a smile as he made his way over to the away end for a final wave goodbye.
BEST - Xavi Hernandez
The Barcelona side that beat Juventus in the 2015 Champions League final was so impressive it didn't even have Xavi in the starting line-up.
At the age of 35, the playmaker was introduced for the final 12 minutes with a 2-1 lead to protect.
Barcelona went on to double their advantage and gave Xavi the honour of lifting the cup, completing his second treble at the Camp Nou.
His final farewell from playing came four years later in Qatar, where his Al Sadd side couldn't match the Catalans' goodbye and slipped to a 4-1 defeat in the Emir Cup final.
WORST - Paolo Maldini
Seen by many as the greatest defender to ever grace a football pitch, Maldini called time on a 24-year career in 2009.
Only ever an AC Milan player, his final San Siro appearance saw fans give him a standing ovation despite a 3-2 loss to Roma.
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And yet, a significant section of the club's 'Brigate Rossonere' ultras unfurled a banner and sang chants unfavourably comparing Maldini to iconic ex-captain Franco Baresi.
Whether the ultras were remembering a falling out with the Italian after their Champions League final loss to Liverpool in 2005 or targeting the club more generally, it was a sour moment to end a great career.