Football is a game of passion, skill and strategy. A professional footballer can turn the fate of the match with just one perfect shot. The football history has seen numerous match-turning free kicks so far. Today’s we will talk about the top 10 best free kicks of all time in the football history. Let’s dive into the original discussion without further delay.
Top 10 Best Free kicks in Football History
- Sinisa Mihajlovic vs Sampdoria, 1998
Sinisa Mihjalovic, the Serbian defender is renowned for his magical free-kick of 1998 against Sampdoria. He scored a hat-trick of free kick in that game. The final goal is considered one of the deadliest free-kicks of all time. He shot that strong whipped free-kick from 30 yards away and then it flew past a hapless Fabrizio Ferron to mark success.
- Juninho Pernambucano, Lyon vs Bayern Munich, 2003
Juninho Pernambucano is one of the most well-known footballer of all time. He is famous for his mastery of distance and accuracy. In 2008, he shot the history creating free-kick in the match Lyon vs Bayern Munich. He scored from 40 yards away against Oliver Kahn who is another greatest goalkeeper of all time. When Juninho shot the ball with a slight curve, it flew over the wall and dropped into the bottom corner.
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United vs Arsenal, 2009
There is no single football fan in the world who is not aware of Cristiano Ronaldo’s excellency in the football field. Apart from his numerous records of football career, he is also a great freekick taker of football history. On 5th May, 2009, he hit a marvelous free kick against Arsenal in the Champions League. In that match, Manchester United took a one-goal lead into the second leg of the semi-final tie. When Manchester United got a free-kick, Ronaldo showed his trademark knuckleball technique and shot the goal with utmost accuracy.
- Dimitri Payet, West Ham United vs Crystal Palace, 2016
Dimitri Payet hit a sensational free kick in the Premier League against Crystal Palace on Saturday, 2 April 2016. It was just four minutes before half-time. The match score card said West Ham United was drawing with 1-1 against Crystal Palace. At that moment, Dimitri Payet showed his magic and curled a free-kick over the seven-man defensive wall. It seemed like the ball was flying high over Wayne Hennessey’s goal. Suddenly, it dipped late and clipped the underside of the crossbar flying into the top right-hand corner. So, it was an inch perfect free-kick of Dimitri Payet’s football career. He looped the ball fifteen feet over the crossbar and brought it down just in time to find the top corner. The shot found its target at the last moment.
- David Beckham, England vs Greece, 2001
David Beckham is a part of history now for this free-kick. In the match England vs Greece in 2001, England needed one goal in the last minute of injury time to reach the 2002 World Cup. At that moment, David Beckham curled a perfect shot into the top corner from 30 yards out. In this way, he saved England that year through his trademark Beckham technique.
- Lionel Messi, Barcelona vs Liverpool, 2019
There is no doubt that Lionel Messi has different kind of expertise in cracking free-kick goals. In 2019, in the match between Barcelona and Liverpool, he showed his skill by curling the ball with sublime accuracy and powering it into the top corner. He shot this spectacular goal from 30 yards out against Liverpool, in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
- Alvaro Recoba, Inter Milan vs Bologna, 2003
Alvaro Recoba undertook this excellent freekick from 35 yards out with his phenomenal left foot. It seemed like a rocket flew past the goalkeeper and dipped into the top corner. It was an impressive scene to witness for the football fans there.
- Mikael Nilsson, Göteborg vs PSV Eindhoven, 1993
Mikael Nilsson scored is famous for his mind boggling free-kick for IFK Goteborg in 1993. He lined up a set piece from 30 metres out and the ball took a fierce right-to-left turn around the PSV wall before hitting net. This free-kick showed the evidence of Mikael’s technical skill and power of delivering amazing shots.
- Mohd Faiz Subri, 2016
In 2016, Mohd Faiz Subri scored one of the wildest free-kicks of his football career. He undertook the free-kick with a freakish mid-flight movement. The ball flew past the goalkeeper making him helpless and amazed at the same time.
- Roberto Carlos, 1997
Roberto Carlos hit this free-kick from 40 yards away from goal and put his name on the top best free-kick takers of all time. He used his vintage long run-up to deliver this shot. This free-kick headed into touch and suddenly swerved beyond the goalkeeper and rifled into the net. France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez stood there baffled when he witnessed this shot.
FAQs
Who has the best free-kick in history?
Juninho Pernambucano is regarded as the best free-kick taker in football history. Juninho, the former Brazil international was a ball-striking specialist of his time. He has succeeded in undertaking 77 free kicks through his wide array of different shots. Also, he was a cult hero for the football enthusiasts. He was called the free-kick king in football for his amazing free-kick-taking ability.
Who has the most free-kick goals?
Juninho Pernambucano has 77 goals from free kicks on his record. He is also known as the Magnificent 7 for his extraordinary skill on the football field. This former Olympique Lyonnais had scored 77 goals from set-pieces. Also, he introduced the football world to his unique knuckle-ball technique shoots.
Final words
Football is a game where the players can show their technical skills with minute details on the field. Especially, the free-kick takers can turn the fate of the match with their unique delivery. This article mentioned some of such history-making free-kicks of all time. Hopefully, it was informative enough to quench the thirst of your football-enthusiastic mind.
