Who is/was the best free kick taker

kinaldo

Zico

Gary McCallister surely one of the Premier League's greatest too.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

You can still discuss it, and Gary McAllister, I would have Shearer, Henry and Pearce all ahead of him to be fair.

redout

Chilavert

eZe^ wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lLk-2_r-wE

Laughable to call Ronaldinho not prolific at free kicks. Impeccable technique.



Not sure how reliable wiki answers is, but it has Ronaldinho on 55 free kicks scored, and Beckham on 54 after the one against Genoa. And considering Ronnie is 5 years younger, I think we can rubbish the argument that Ronaldinho was anywhere NEAR as overhyped as Roberto fcuking Carlos from free kicks.

So does Ronaldo but he scores F ALL ! How can you of all people argue this ? You know he didnt score nearly half his goals from free-kicks. Baffling. Wiki is full of crap half the time. The Beckham video on youtube is reliable proof ffs ! Show me a Ronaldinho one or similar then I will believe you lot.

bUILDERtHEbOB

Nakamura

Rogerio Ceni, probably not the best but still, just for being a goal keeper.

kinaldo

Zico

eagle eye wrote: »

You can still discuss it, and Gary McAllister, I would have Shearer, Henry and Pearce all ahead of him to be fair.

Teddy Sheringham slightly ahead of Pearce.

I don't remember Henry scoring more than about 2 free kicks...

Shearer sure knew how to blast them! He could bend them like Becks as well though. Good shout.

Seaneh

Nakamura

Mihajlovic, scumbag, but what a left boot.

Mr.Nice Guy

Chilavert

Ian Harte ftw!

Nah in all honesty I'd say Becks. There's a great vid here of all his free-kicks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYgHunQEl0

Some of them are just gorgeous to watch. He had the best style of anyone I've seen.

Irwin was great at free-kicks too. I remember one against Liverpool in a 3-3 draw at Anfield. A lovely strike. I wish I could find that online to see again. He was unlucky he had the likes of Cantona, Giggs and later Becks ahead of him in the queue as I reckon he would have scored a few more.

Seaneh

Nakamura

Beckhams technique is impecible tbvfh.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

Just a few of Maradona's ones as he explains how he thought about them.

~Rebel~

Ronald Koeman

Juninho is the best of the current generation imo. He doesn't quite match Beckham on the closer ones around 10 yards outside of the box, but what tips it in Juninho's favour for me is that even distance ones are so so dangerous with the power and precision he gets on them. Every free inside the oppositions half has a decent chance of going in with him, be it direct or indirect.


Special mention too for Jay Jay Okocha. Scored some serious beauties.

glenjamin

Marcos Assuncao surely deserve a mention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOfTJOlf108

kryogen

Nakamura

case closed

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

Ok I'll make my case for Maradona.

I remember when he played for Napoli and everytime they got a free kick around the box you just fancied it was a goal. I would guess(cannot prove it) that he had a higher ratio of conversion than anybody else.

The only way that you can decide imo who is best of the best is by looking at all their free kicks. I put Maradona top not only for what I said above, but also the fact that he could go over the wall or around the wall at will. He had so many ways to score a free kick and he scored from many different angles, some very acute I might add.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

Here is a lot more of the great ones free kicks.

inforfun

Woan

Pierre van Hooijdonk without a doubt.
Season 2001/2002: 54 attempts at a free-kick: 18 goals.

Highlights at feyenoord

eZe^

Nakamura

kryogen wrote: »

case closed

Agreed ffs, if I could I would register another 10 accounts just to vote for the guy. He is DEFINITELY the best.

Mr. Presentable

He's not even in your poll:eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWcs4zjzGdQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNXJzkTgtWc

Nalz

Ronald Koeman

Juninho, Beckham, Nakamura, Koeman, Irwin, Mihajlovic.

In that order

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

Del Piero should have been in the poll, if the mods can put him in please do.

kinaldo

Zico

I noticed that Zola was left out the the poll :eek:

Djalminha anyone?

Laurent Robert was probably Newcastle's best ever.

Maradona played alongside Nobby Solano at Boca Juniors and used to describe our Nobby as ''the little magician'' for his free kick taking ability.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

kinaldo wrote: »

I noticed that Zola was left out the the poll :eek:

Djalminha anyone?

Laurent Robert was probably Newcastle's best ever.

Maradona played alongside Nobby Solano at Boca Juniors and used to describe our Nobby as ''the little magician'' for his free kick taking ability.

In all fairness these were all behind other players of their time. You cannot put everyone in, I tried to put in as many as possible and forgot Del Piero who definitely deserves to be in there.

kinaldo

Zico

Recoba is surely one of the best ever. I don't think Del Piero or Zola can strike a ball from such distance with such power into the corner. He can bend them in at a corner angle too. The best in Serie A since Mijhalovic.

edit thanks to youtube: Del Piero actually gets surprisng amount of power from distance, but still no Recoba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mvbRtDE4I0

kinaldo

Zico

We should all hang our heads in shame, for nobody has mentioned The Divine Ponytail yet! Baggio > Del Piero (free kicks, everything)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5fylZFTWVw

inforfun

Woan

Only way to pick out "The Best" is by stats.

I once read an interview with Ronald Koeman while at Barca.
In that interview he mentioned: "Ah sure, with Stoichkov an Romario i will get enough free kicks in a match that i can "waste" the first one by hitting it as hard as i can in the wall. Just to scare the opponents for the next free kick."

With enough attempts there will be succes at one point and it might make someone look good who actually is'nt that great.

Quint

Zidane

eagle eye wrote: »

Del Piero was also a magnificent free kick specialist but I don't think he has been as good as he was for quite some time.

Dude, Del Piero has something like 7 goals from free kicks this season!

kinaldo wrote: »

We should all hang our heads in shame, for nobody has mentioned The Divine Ponytail yet! Baggio > Del Piero (free kicks, everything)

Agreed, Baggio was a class free kick taker

redout

Chilavert

Hmm....after all the bull about Ronaldinho last night I see not one person out of the 58 so far has decided to vote for. Wonder why ? :rolleyes:

titan18

Nakamura

redout wrote: »

Hmm....after all the bull about Ronaldinho last night I see not one person out of the 58 so far has decided to vote for. Wonder why ? :rolleyes:

Maybe, its the same reason that only 1 voted for Koeman and no one for Platini, the people who voted not knowing how good they are/were.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

redout wrote: »

Hmm....after all the bull about Ronaldinho last night I see not one person out of the 58 so far has decided to vote for. Wonder why ? :rolleyes:

I was certain when I put it up that there was only going to be one winner. Sadly that was always going to be the case as most people here watch the EPL and not much else.

The fact that Maradona has only 3 shows that its all younger people as well.

kryogen

Nakamura

eagle eye wrote: »

I was certain when I put it up that there was only going to be one winner. Sadly that was always going to be the case as most people here watch the EPL and not much else.

The fact that Maradona has only 3 shows that its all younger people as well.

thats the things with polls and opinions, not everyone shares yours!

whats shocking is that Mihajlovic has only 8 votes! then again, maybe people didnt watch much Serie A....... Maradona was very good Eagle Eye, but i would rate Mihajlovic higher myself, I also agree that Becks warrants a place in a top 5......

Loomis

Ronald Koeman

I'd say Beckham or Juninho.
As limited as Beckham is as a player the technique he developed for free kicks and crossing is amazing. Very stylish too.
Juninho also has great style with his frees and scores a wide range; close range, long range, curl, dip. He also has a quite unique style. If not using his instep for curl he apparently uses the same technique as Ronaldo (but it actually works for him), where he places the ball down with the valve showing and tries to hit it. He's scored some amazing long range frees like this where he doesn't seem to have used a huge amount of power yet the ball seemed to keep gaining in speed until it bursts the net.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

kryogen wrote: »

thats the things with polls and opinions, not everyone shares yours!

whats shocking is that Mihajlovic has only 8 votes! then again, maybe people didnt watch much Serie A....... Maradona was very good Eagle Eye, but i would rate Mihajlovic higher myself, I also agree that Becks warrants a place in a top 5......

I was never expecting Maradona to win it due to the fact that he played in the 80's. And Mihajlovic was also fantastic in fairness. I'm just pointing out that the likleyhood is that there are very few here who remember Maradona and most of Mihajlovic's careers. Clearly opinions will differ but if they were all playing right now, the voting would be a lot different imo.

redout

Chilavert

titan18 wrote: »

Maybe, its the same reason that only 1 voted for Koeman and no one for Platini, the people who voted not knowing how good they are/were.

I say its because he is not prolific just like I said and has no reputation at scoring many free-kicks. He has a rep for scoring some crackers just like Ronaldo does but nothing more. I'll be honest with you brother, I watch Barca every week the past 3-4 years and I am telling you now he was not prolific at them and never was. If he was people on here would know about it especially playing for such a high profile club like Barcelona just like they do about Juninho for Lyon . The two you named are probably not getting recognition because most people on here dont remember them playing as they are too young.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

redout wrote: »

I say its because he is not prolific just like I said and has no reputation at scoring many free-kicks. He has a rep for scoring some crackers just like Ronaldo does but nothing more. I'll be honest with you brother, I watch Barca every week the past 3-4 years and I am telling you now he was not prolific at them and never was. If he was people on here would know about it especially playing for such a high profile club like Barcelona just like they do about Juninho for Lyon . The two you named are probably not getting recognition because most people on here dont remember them playing as they are too young.

Now thats just plain wrong. He scored a lot of free kicks over that period.

evil_seed

Nakamura

any player that can score a hat-trick in a game from only free-kick is the greatest. That being Mihajlovic. Althought he may have been one of the dirtiest players ever but thats a side note.

Also... why no mention of Zola? He had the record in Serie A for the number of free kicks scored in a season until beaten by the mighty left foot of Mihajlovic (IIRC)

redout

Chilavert

eagle eye wrote: »

Now thats just plain wrong. He scored a lot of free kicks over that period.

How is it wrong ? Did you watch him all the time. I would put my house on it you didnt. I said last night the guy most likely averaged 3-4 a season for Barca and nobody has proved otherwise as of yet. He scored about 90 goals for Barca in 5 seasons and I am telling you that he scored no more than about 15-20 free kicks at most which is admirable but considering his lack of goals and games he had before he moved to Barca this no way proves he has 50 something free kicks to his name.

beertons

Chilavert

Should Roberto Carlos not have made the list? Gave it to Beckham on account of his absence.

iregk

Mihajlovic

eagle eye wrote: »

I was never expecting Maradona to win it due to the fact that he played in the 80's. And Mihajlovic was also fantastic in fairness. I'm just pointing out that the likleyhood is that there are very few here who remember Maradona and most of Mihajlovic's careers. Clearly opinions will differ but if they were all playing right now, the voting would be a lot different imo.

Thats the key. Most on here wouldn't have seen Maradonna at his best nor would they have bothered with Serie A. If its not on Sky its not important! Personally I voted for Maradonna as he was by a mile the best I'd seen, didn't need to hit it that hard just had unreal technique that always found the target.

Beckham is some distance in my opinion behind both him and Mihajlovic but again people can only vote on what they see. Its obvious this form is a young premiership followers forum bar a few. They would have seen Beckham mostly and Juninho in the CL. You can't get annoyed at them its just what people have seen. You sit a load of people in their 30's and 40's down and ask them the same question and Maradonna will come out on top of that list.

eagle eye

Mihajlovic

redout wrote: »

How is it wrong ? Did you watch him all the time. I would put my house on it you didnt. I said last night the guy most likely averaged 3-4 a season for Barca and nobody has proved otherwise as of yet. He scored about 90 goals for Barca in 5 seasons and I am telling you that he scored no more than about 15-20 free kicks at most which is admirable but considering his lack of goals and games he had before he moved to Barca this no way proves he has 50 something free kicks to his name.

It appears we are at an impass, I cannot prove it, you cannot disprove it.

Daemos

No Christiano Ronaldo?

As much as I hate the *******, he's the best free-kick taker in the world at the moment.

(Now I'm off to binge drink for 3 days to forget that I said that)

Dubliner28

Le Tissier

No Ronaldo/Arteta/Gerrard/Roberto Carlos

Ian Woan ?????? Ian 888888 Woan ???

Are you taking the ????

I hope the person who voted is either a Forest fan or a serial joker

Xavi6

Lol at the suggestions that Ronaldo is the best free kick taker in the world. He's not. He has technique but his whole thing is based on power. Watch how often he hits the wall. Twice in the first half alone yesterday. The odd one or two go right and they look spectacular but for the large part his efforts are awful.

The exact same thing can be said for Carlos. A few good ones over shadow hundreds of horrors.

redout

Chilavert

DaPoolRulz wrote: »

No Christiano Ronaldo?

As much as I hate the *******, he's the best free-kick taker in the world at the moment.

(Now I'm off to binge drink for 3 days to forget that I said that)

Are you sure you were not already on the gargle before you wrote that ?

Quint

Zidane

On current form I'd go with Del Piero. Of all time, I'd go with Zico.

How did roberto carlos get to take so many for madrid? They had Raul, Zidane, Figo and Hierro, all good free kick takers! fair enough give him 40 yarders, but surely close in Zidane, Figo and Raul are better.

Daemos

redout wrote: »

Are you sure you were not already on the gargle before you wrote that ?

EE muust av been,, yah

K4t

Chilavert

It's between Beckham and Juninho in my opinion. They are untouchable when it comes to free kicks. Beckham did it week in week out in the top league in the world under pressure situations (for both club and country). Absolutely in a class of his own with Juninho.

Nobody can bend it like Beckham in fairness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYgHunQEl0

Bounty Hunter

Chilavert

K4t wrote: »

Nobody can bend it like Beckham in fairness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYgHunQEl0

OT but

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TTSYcgprW0

redout

Chilavert

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

OT but

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TTSYcgprW0

You know that was a pure fluke right ?

Bounty Hunter

Chilavert

redout wrote: »

You know that was a pure fluke right ?

yeah but after watching that randomly recentley i couldent pass up someone saying nobody can bend it like beckham in fairness, the pundit/statitician even finishes by saying it shouldent be bend it like beckham it should be bend it like Carlos. :pac:

dfx-

nipplenuts wrote: »

He's not even in your poll:eek:

Ah that would explain why my gast was well and truly flabbered when I saw I was the only Del Piero voter. No hesitation

smackbunnybaby

Nakamura

evil_seed wrote: »

any player that can score a hat-trick in a game from only free-kick is the greatest. That being Mihajlovic. Althought he may have been one of the dirtiest players ever but thats a side note.

it has to be Mihajlović - i remember every time he got a free kick it was as good as a penalty. The guy was just unreal.

If you check his free kicks in that youtube link they are powerful and accurate and he gets some ridiculous dip on them.