Juninho isn't a hipster choice. Juninho is an obvious choice. Anyone saying it is not Juninho is a hipster.
Tifo IRL: Who is actually the best free-kick taker of all time?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Marcelinho was lethal from free kicks. I think there are plenty of Brazilians. I mean while Zico may not have had range as Juninho but for shorter distance free kicks, I don't think anyone is better than Zico. Platini is another monster in this regard.
I dont know why but i find those free kicks taken with technique and skills really unsatisfactory. I prefer someone like Roberto Carlos who would just blast the ball and the keeper into the net.
Post just one where he blasts the keeper into the net.
I once wrote the best top 10 FK takers (my personal choice)
Only remember the top 3 (Juninho, Mihajlovic, Beckham), the rest 7 don't remember, Ceni, van Hooijdonk, Chilavert, Pirlo or Del Piero or both, Nakamura, Recoba and M. Assuncao (probably).
Only remember the top 3 (Juninho, Mihajlovic, Beckham), the rest 7 don't remember, Ceni, van Hooijdonk, Chilavert, Pirlo or Del Piero or both, Nakamura, Recoba and M. Assuncao (probably).
There are compilations of all the free kicks scored by these guys on Youtube. I was thinking Juninho was overrated but watching all of them I think he's number 1. He had great variety, outside of the boot, inside, power and placement. Rogerio Ceni was also excellent.
How come Juninho never made it further than Lyon? He was the standout player for them for many years. Won 7 league titles in a row with them and stood out in the CL too.
Lyon were a good team and he was paid well.
Not disputing that. Just wondering if there were reasons why one of the big guns never went for him.
Maradona
Koeman
Roberto Carlos
Beckham
Juninho
Ronaldinho
Pirlo
CR
Messi
Koeman
Roberto Carlos
Beckham
Juninho
Ronaldinho
Pirlo
CR
Messi
Back in the days when I watched the highlights of the dutch league on EuroGoals there was a dude called van Hoydonk who was banging in freekicks almost every week. Was about the same time Juninho peaked at Lyon
Pierre van Hooijdonk is a decent shout. Played for Celtic and Forest in the 90s as well. Fairly similar technique and run up angle to Beckham for a lot of them.
Mihajlovic was actually the best fk and set piece taker in terms of efficiency. He needed less atempts to score or to create havoc that lead to a goal.
Are you aware about a concept known as "figure of speech"?
To be fair, your point isn't even that strange. The "technical" free kicks look too easy, people immediately question the goalkeeper. It's a bit like a heavy hitter in boxing versus a technician and precision striker, people tend to be more excited by the former.
I dont know the statistics, but i suspect is less efficient to hit the ball like Roberto Carlos. I remember a CB named Alex, who played for PSG and Chelsea. He had a powerful free kick. He would miss the vast majority, but when he scored it was beautiful.
Zico should enter any top 10 compilation, no? Mind you I haven't watched football in the past 5 years.
It wasn't beautiful, there was nothing beautiful about Alex's free kicks.
It was much more satisfatory. Even when the ball just explode in the barIt wasn't beautiful, there was nothing beautiful about Alex's free kicks.
He almost single handedly won us the UEFA cup in 2002 with his free kicks.
He's now a prominent (albeit shite) pundit.
Agree
In 20-25 meters, no one comes close to Zico. He was a free-kick machine at this range. His free-kick relied more on techniques( curve shot) and accuracy more than pure power.
Zico is generally regarded as the best by purists tbh.
Yeah his technique is similar to Messi(or Messi's technique is like him). Messi must have to be most improved player when it comes to free kicks though. His earlier free kicks were horrendous.
What's a knuckle ball? l o l
In what way does that resembles a knuckle, or is it just another one of those anti-descriptive Americanism's that means nothing?
I'm sure half the people reading this thread had never even heard of the term until they saw it here.
What?
What does it have to do with America, I strictly heard the term by using mostly European centered forum and media.
Here's its description from Wikipedia
In association football (soccer), the method of striking the ball so that it produces almost no spinning motion during its flight has been colloquially described as "knuckleballing" by commentators, due to the ball's motion that resembles a baseball thrown with a knuckleball pitch. This shooting technique is frequently used by players for long-range shots and free kicks. A successful knuckleball shot will move, dip, or wobble in the air unpredictably, making it difficult for the goalkeeper to save.[31] This technique has also been described as the "dry leaf" or "dead leaf" ("folha seca" in Portuguese),[32] the "tomahawk",[33] or even "the accursed" ("maledetta" in Italian).[34]
One of the main proponents of this shooting technique was Brazilian playmaker Juninho Pernambucano, who popularised it in particular during his time with Lyon in the mid 2000s;[35] however, it is commonly thought to have been invented by compatriot Didi,[32][36][37] although Italian forward Giuseppe Meazza before him is also credited with using the technique.[38][39][40][41][42] This technique has also been used and even adapted by several other players, such as Andrea Pirlo,[43][34] Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo,[44] Didier Drogba,[44] and Gareth Bale.[33]
One of the main proponents of this shooting technique was Brazilian playmaker Juninho Pernambucano, who popularised it in particular during his time with Lyon in the mid 2000s;[35] however, it is commonly thought to have been invented by compatriot Didi,[32][36][37] although Italian forward Giuseppe Meazza before him is also credited with using the technique.[38][39][40][41][42] This technique has also been used and even adapted by several other players, such as Andrea Pirlo,[43][34] Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo,[44] Didier Drogba,[44] and Gareth Bale.[33]
Even if it originated from America, folk didn't hesitate to pick it up.
@Sassy Colin is there a term that you are familiar with that describes the same movement?
I'm thinking "HOLY feck
", or something.To be fair the "HOLY feckI'm thinking "HOLY feck
" technique has a nice ring to it.Okay but that doesn't help me understand what you saw, so why would you have a problem with the use of a term that makes sense for people when explained. Whether it originates from the US or Zimbabwe shouldn't matter as long as it is useful.I'm thinking "HOLY feck
Is Zimbabwe known for baseball?
He was brilliant.
I always thought they were called knuckleballs due to being hit with the "knuckle" part of the foot
Don’t tell me it’s the first time you’ve heard of the term “knuckleball”….
You too then?
Juninho isn't really a surprise though, is it?
Not the best taker of all time but Gareth Bale has (surprise surprise) scored a fair amount for Wales.
So where did Beckham, Koeman and Mihajlovic come in TIFO's ranking?