Bale's Free-kicks

[Dembele'Disciple]

The control he has of the ball is remarkable. He's now figured out how to do different things with the free kick. He either gives it more flight or he gives it power, but the dip is always vicious. Plus hes got so much control he always tests the keeper at the very least. Unlike his hero Ronaldo who most of his free kicks end up in the stands. You know with him that if the strike evades the wall then the keeper is in trouble. IMO he's the best free kick taker in the world. I mean, the first one he took against lyon he hit it like how golfers hit the ball and then the second one he knuckled it.

 

[tooey]

Unlike his hero Ronaldo who most of his free kicks end up in the stands. You know with him that if the strike evades the wall then the keeper is in trouble. IMO he's the best free kick taker in the world. I mean, the first one he took against lyon he hit it like how golfers hit the ball and then the second one he knuckled it.

Don't be ridiculous. He's scored a few this season but he isn't anywhere close to being the best in the world. Top 20 maybe, top 50 yes.

 

[Super Tottenham]

I think I make it 4 for Spurs and 1 for Wales this season, I can't imagine many players having scored more than that this season. I do think people are jumping the gun though, lets see if he keeps banging them in.

 

[NEVILLEB]

He used to score them for Wales and Southampton so I'm glad he's finally putting them in for us.

The boy is GOOD!

 

[Dembele'Disciple]

Don't be ridiculous. He's scored a few this season but he isn't anywhere close to being the best in the world. Top 20 maybe, top 50 yes.

Who's better? he's scored more free kicks in a week than ronaldo has this season. The legendary free kick takers are barely playing any football(del piero, juninho, becks, dinho) and messi, while is getting better at them still isn't anything special. Reus is the only one we could actually have a serious debate about.

You're nuts if you think you can find 19 better free kick takers than him in the world, absolutely nuts.

Top free kick takers don't go around scoring 10 of them a season. That's only in Fifa, they only score around 5 or so and that's in a good season.

 

[Harry_Snatch]

Who's better? he's scored more free kicks in a week than ronaldo has this season. The legendary free kick takers are barely playing any football(del piero, juninho, becks, dinho) and messi, while is getting better at them still isn't anything special. Reus is the only one we could actually have a serious debate about.

You're nuts if you think you can find 19 better free kick takers than him in the world, absolutely nuts.

Top free kick takers don't go around scoring 10 of them a season. That's only in Fifa, they only score around 5 or so and that's in a good season.

I actually think you are probably going to be proved right mate but he's only been hitting them that well for about 5 mins. Bit premature to be going best in the world no?

 

[ItsBoris]

I think the last Spurs player to score a direct free-kick before Bale was Pav, in a European game last season.

Can't remember the last time a Spurs player scored more than two free kicks in a season, let alone one game.

Didn't Walker score a pretty damn good one toward the end of last season? VDV let him take it surprisingly iirc.

 

[kazzah9]

Who's better? he's scored more free kicks in a week than ronaldo has this season. The legendary free kick takers are barely playing any football(del piero, juninho, becks, dinho) and messi, while is getting better at them still isn't anything special. Reus is the only one we could actually have a serious debate about.

You're nuts if you think you can find 19 better free kick takers than him in the world, absolutely nuts.

Top free kick takers don't go around scoring 10 of them a season. That's only in Fifa, they only score around 5 or so and that's in a good season.

LOL. Troll confirmed.

 

[Dembele'Disciple]

LOL. Troll confirmed.

You think messi is a lights out free kick taker? You must start watching more football 'cause that's ridiculous.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Juninho was absolutely incredible at it. You have to wonder why keepers don't put a player on the line and then just gamble the other way because if they have to guess which way it is going to swerve and dip after the wall they have no chance.

I do think we'll see more Bale freekicks before the season is out. With him going through the middle more he is going to get brought down in shooting positions.

 

[Locotoro]

So basically its a toe punt

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

So basically its a toe punt

Think he is connecting with the top of the toes rather than the end of the toes. Still has to get the upward motion to get it high over the wall.

 

[cozzo]

Didn't Walker score a pretty damn good one toward the end of last season? VDV let him take it surprisingly iirc.

That was deflected

 

[Reece]

Walker's free kick against Blackburn was a beauty. Bale is definitely not the best in the world though, but only because he has only just really started banging them in. Give it another season and another 10 free kicks fly in and then he'll be seriously up there. At the moment it's a bit like having a hot streak of finishing (Defoe?) and then saying he's one of the best finishers in the world.

 

[HotspurFC1950]

Juninho was absolutely incredible at it. You have to wonder why keepers don't put a player on the line and then just gamble the other way because if they have to guess which way it is going to swerve and dip after the wall they have no chance.

I do think we'll see more Bale freekicks before the season is out. With him going through the middle more he is going to get brought down in shooting positions.

Putting an outfield player on the line plays all opposition players onside and allows the latter all manner of advantages.

One has to question the Lyon keeper's weird positioning last Thursday btw. Was he in on 'something'.

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Oh yeh I know it plays them all onside but just the ridiculous amount of freekick goals he's scored without anyone ever trying it. Even the old start on the 6 yard line and run back to the post as juninho was running up might have worked.

 

[Mikegold]

Oh yeh I know it plays them all onside but just the ridiculous amount of freekick goals he's scored without anyone ever trying it. Even the old start on the 6 yard line and run back to the post as juninho was running up might have worked.

Pretty sure I've seen Walker do that for us a few times.

 

[aliyid]

It's the way he's able to get the ball up and down so quickly that is now seing the goals fly in. Lets hope he gets to take a few more now rather than the old Kaboul smashing it against the wall option we normally go for

Don't know how to embed this but here's a link to my dropbox for a view of the second free kick from the East stand
http://db.tt/LfiOzzfD

 

[Tryph]

I'm so glad an article has been written about this - as the knuckleball style free kick is something I have said to my friends for a while, and particularly with respect to Ronaldo's free kicks. Ronaldo even hits the ball at the point where the pump needle goes in to minimise spin.

Like a knuckleball, the lack of spin makes the ball do crazy things, dipping swerving and even going upwards. Makes it impossible for a keeper to guess the flight of the ball, best seen in Bale's 2nd free kick vs Lyon.

Last year in baseball, the NY Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey won the Cy Young Award (pitcher of the year) - the first ever knuckleballer to win the aware. The knuckleball was seen as a gimmick, but he perfected the art. His pitches were crazy, and batters admitted to just swinging their bat because they had no idea what the ball was going to do.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[nicdic]

It's a stupid article though. It's basically saying he toe punts it and it's fluke, and clearly it's neither of those things.