Who had or has the hardest shot?

blue blue

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A little infantile I'll admit but who in your opinion has ever kicked the ball the hardest?

Going vintage it was often said that Jimmy Case had a hard shot. Personally I'd like to think that Micky Droy hit it harder, albeit less frequently, but nobody will have heard of him.

It will be just about impossible to make true comparisons over the years because the ball has changed so much so maybe everyone should get a vintage and a contemporary choice. I'll go Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. (even that's a bit vintage)
 

jeff_goldblum

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As you say, the ball has changed so much that it's difficult to judge but Bobby Charlton was notable for it. Watching some of the footage of him smashing them in from 25-30 yard it's difficult to picture the force required to do that with the balls they used as the time.

Shearer and Batistuta are a couple that come to mind from the pre-knuckleball era.
 

Grylte

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Koeman has to be up there.

Didn't he put a Scot to sleep twice in the same match in some WC or Euro, on freekicks?
 

Champ

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No one mentioned Hulk yet?
The guy was insane, his shots used to break goals.
 

Sylar

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Will always remember Julian Dicks penalty against us.

Always seemed liked left footers had more of a rocket on them
 

sangria

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According to a sportszion article that I can't link to:

#1 Ronny Heberson (211km/h)
#2 Arjen Robben (190km/h)
#3 Steven Reid (189km/h, PL record)
#4 Ronald Koeman (188km/h)
#5 David Hirst (183km/h)
#6 David Beckham (158km/h)
#7 Ritchie Humphreys (154km/h)
#8 Tony Yeboah (154km/h)
#9 David Trezeguet (154km/h)
#10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (150km/h)

These are presumably ones for which the author could find records.
 

Adam-Utd

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Brazilian Hulk used to blast it pretty well, but i'd say Roberto Carlos. The movement he used to get on the ball from sheer power was just insane.
 

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When I think of individual goals of recent times, 2 come straight to mind, both linked to Spurs... Obiang vs. them at Wembley a few years ago, and Wanyama's vs. Liverpool
 

Rado_N

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Some of Ronaldo’s freekick rockets must be up there.

Scholes had a few ridiculously powerful volleys (vs Barca being an obvious example)
 

Cheimoon

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Koeman has to be up there.

Didn't he put a Scot to sleep twice in the same match in some WC or Euro, on freekicks?
I think Koeman's approach to free kicks was to launch the first one at full force straight into the wall - just so he could count on a little flexibility from the wall at his subsequent attempts. :cool:
 

ROFLUTION

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How fast was Nani's long distance goals in some of his first seasons? From memory they seemed quite fast
 

IrishMcD

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The 6ft 10inch monster that was "Hotshot" Hamis Balfour, obviously. He was some signing for Princes Park. You'd have to give credit to Ian McWhacker who spotted him while on a trip to the Hebrides. Himself and Kevin "Mighty" Mouse were a fantastic partnership.
 

Zlatan 7

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Will always remember Julian Dicks penalty against us.

Always seemed liked left footers had more of a rocket on them
I was going to say Julian dicks, I’m sure I remember him having a thumper of a shot
 

TwoSheds

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Darron Gibson is one of Utd's hardest. Complete guess as I'm not old enough to say but:

Charlton
Edwards
Rooney
Scholes
Gibson

Top 5? Maybe Hughes instead, I dunno? What about Law? Ronaldo probably hit a few screamers too - that Porto one was travelling in the CL. Also that ludicrous header against Roma must be as fast as any football has ever gone! Would Cantona or Robson be in with a shout?
 

Bubz27

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Brazilian Hulk used to blast it pretty well, but i'd say Roberto Carlos. The movement he used to get on the ball from sheer power was just insane.
As oppose to the Avengers Hulk, who could kick shite out of a ball but only if he was angry.