rogerio ceni scored more goals and still counting

darn right! that's why i only look up to youtube for the videos of ol' school players.
no disrespect here, am a true red devils myself but i felt that c.ronaldo's ability in free kick is nothing to shout about. on par with giggs, perhaps. guess we missed beckham's crossing and dead ball.

yeppp chilavert ftw

Gotta be Becks.
Every pro can curve, but his curve is precise and has great timing.
Its like the ball took a huge spin and suddenly curls away from the keeper

As much as I hate Becks, but I must admit he really is the best free kick taker ever in the world footballing scene.

Still remember Iker disgusted face after Becks scored a free-kick against him. Man Utd VS Real Madrid Good times..

C. Ronaldo is good though, but not as good as Becks.

Fair enough that some people vote for Beckham but I really do think the thread title should be "best free kick taker you've seen". Football gets a whole lot more coverage now especially English football so it's natural to go with someone more current especially if he has played in England.

Just as a note Mihajlovic being a defender had a better goal to game ratio than Beckham did at Real Madrid or LA Galaxy. During the earlier part of their careers, Sinisa's goal average was only slightly less than Beckham's at Man Utd and one must remember he is a defender. I just felt that this was a very poignant point. Also, we are considering free kicks and not goals or crosses from open play. Midfielders will generally score or have more assists from open play as compared to defenders, especially centrebacks which is another reason Mihajlovic stands out.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 7 2009, 11:33 AM

Ian Harte used to take mean freekicks as well. His freekick goal against Arsenal few years back was peach.

Voted for Juninho. Watched some of his free kicks videos and I knew straight away the best is him.

Best free kick taker to score would be Juninho. He can score from ANYWHERE.

Best free kick taker to assist? or pass or whatever would be Beckham. That bloke can put the ball anywhere he wants. Not enough power in it though.

Juninho is the man for me....although didnt get the watch the frence league but he already prove it in the CL.....just CL only he already score many freekick....

juninho!!!!! c'mon la, no fight at all

i always rate Branco as the best free kick taker i ever seen in my life.

Its a suprise to me, his name not in above list

This post has been edited by king_kenny: Jan 7 2009, 02:30 PM

as far as i know, Branco is sort of like Roberto carlos, power based kick without much curve. So the chances of hitting the back of the net is not that high i reckon.

yes , but his conversion rate from freekick is far bette than RC.
plus his technique better than RC

Accuracy wise, lack...

Hit the bar quite frequently

All I know is I won't want to be in the wall when he hits one.

hehehe

i guess is subjective,,

current player, i think juninho pernambucano is the best...

before him, i think chilavert.

right now, i don't get it, a lot of team, if free kick around the box, they tap it first, then blast it.. (ala risse FK)

which i dont like very much..its not a indirect freekick,,then y must they tap it first,, just bend it into the top corner,,after that we discuss other option.

This post has been edited by king_kenny: Jan 8 2009, 01:06 AM

Well blasting it in the wall does have some merit. We've seen on occasions where goals have been scored via deflections off the wall. A Branco blast full on would definitely send someone to the ICU man

Ronny from Sporting Club de Portugal scored the most powerful goal ever in footballing history. His left-footed free-kick was measured at about 210km/h.

For the icing on the cake, his goal was an 89th minute winner.

hardi jaafar..heheh

for me, CR (when he gets it right), juninho, beck and pirlo..

I would rate a "good" free kick and hence a good free kick taker by 1) accuracy 2) consistency 3) variety.

My vote will go to the great Maradona. I also agree Sinisa's and Becks are good freek kick taker but lacks variety at times and are predictable, though hard to defend against due to their accuracy.

However, I think free kicks are more to just directing it blindly into goal. A creative play would be where the ball is passed to unsuspecting players, or curled towards a "blind" spot or, the more difficult one, the "expected" spot and still beating the keeper due to accuracy and power. Zola is also one FK taker i admire.

For Zola and Maradona, when they go up to take a FK, opposing players cant just adjust the wall and wait to block their shots. They have to be weary of the potential passes, and you will not be sure whether to order the wall to jump or not, as they have scored FKs under the wall or even through the wall before. And Maradona in one instance, from a FK taken on the right side of the pitch nearer to the corner flag than the goal, manage to deceive everyone by scoring when it seemed easier to curl a cross.

Just my 2 cents.

I am also a big fan of Baggio in this respect.