X-Nico

unusual facts about free kick


Free kick

Fair catch kick, a field goal attempted freely from the spot of a fair catch


Luis Aragonés

In 1964, Aragonés was signed by Atlético de Madrid where he acquired the nickname Zapatones, meaning big boots and he was known as a free kick specialist.


see also

1884 FA Cup Final

The work of Inglis and Sowerbutts saw Rovers take control of the match briefly, but Queen's Park were awarded an indirect free kick for handball inside the Blackburn half.

1968 Intercontinental Cup

Estudiantes then surprised the crowd with a seventh-minute goal from Juan Ramón Verón; the goal came from the second free kick of the match, as Raúl Madero crossed for Verón to head the ball in Alex Stepney's net, silencing the crowd.

1971 FA Cup Final

The best opportunities to break the deadlock came late in the half, with Ray Clemence forced to make a reflex save of a header from George Armstrong in the 41st minute, followed in the 44th minute by a similarly fine diving save by Bob Wilson from Alec Lindsay, the result of a free kick.

1988 FA Cup Final

Wimbledon took the lead shortly before half-time, when Lawrie Sanchez's looping header, from a Dennis Wise free kick on the left, went across goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar and into the net.

1990–91 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

Gascoigne had earlier scored a tremendous free-kick in the 3–1 win against Arsenal in the semi-final (Gary Lineker scored Tottenham's other goals, with Arsenal's Alan Smith scoring Arsenal's goal).

1998 in England

26 June - England qualify for the next stage of the World Cup by beating Colombia 2-0 in Lens, with David Beckham scoring the first with a trademark 30 yard free kick, with Darren Anderton the 2nd.

2004–05 Dundee United F.C. season

Alan Thompson's 9th-minute deflected free-kick ultimately won it for Celtic, with Chris Sutton missing a late penalty before Alan Archibald's injury-time drive nearly securing extra-time.

2008 Football League Cup Final

Three minutes into extra time, Jonathan Woodgate headed a Jermaine Jenas free kick onto Petr Čech, who in turn pushed it straight back onto Woodgate's head to score the winning goal.

2009–10 Grimsby Town F.C. season

They started off strong in pre-season with a one-nil win against Belgian side R.R.F.C. Montegnée, with a late free kick from Jamie Clarke.

Alex Raphael Meschini

Alex made his debut for the club, where he made his first start and played 90 minutes, in a 1–1 draw against Zenit Saint Petersburg on the opening game of the season and two weeks after the opening game of the season, Alex scored his first goal in a 2–0 win over Spartak Nalchik when he scored in a free-kick.

Ali Abbas Al-Hilfi

In the opening game of the NSW Premier League season, Abbas scored a stunning curling free-kick for the Marconi in his first game for the club in their 2–0 victory over Penrith Nepean United at Marconi Stadium.

Batalha dos Aflitos

Taking advantage of an apparent lack of organization of Náutico's defense, Marcelo Costa played the free kick to Anderson, who passed two defenders and the keeper to score the goal that would define the match, the promotion for Grêmio, and the title, 72 seconds after Náutico's second missed penalty of the match.

Bill Asprey

In a training session at Highfield Road he came up with the idea of the famous donkey-kick free-kick routine that was executed by Willie Carr and scored by Ernie Hunt in a league game against Everton in October 1970.

Bruno Fernandes de Souza

Bruno scored his first professional goal on 23 April 2008, from a free kick, which led the way for a crucial 2–0 victory over Coronel Bolognesi in the Copa Libertadores.

Con Boutsianis

Prior to the 2008 Olympics, Boutsianis was hired to work with the US Women's Olympic soccer team as a specialist coach for free-kick specialist Carli Lloyd.

Corey Gameiro

On 3 January 2014, Gameiro scored his debut goal for Sydney FC, scoring against Adelaide United with a header from a Nikola Petković free kick.

Darcy Dolce Neto

He is the first short free-kick taker for Aris, and he has scored five free kicks is his 4 year spell with the Thessalonican side.

Dermott Brereton

This incident was in retaliation to a free kick paid against Brereton for kissing Essendon's Billy Duckworth while Jason Dunstall lined up for goal.

Geovanni Deiberson Maurício

The following weekend, Geovanni scored a 30 yard free kick in a 1–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Ibrahim Juma

Juma's most important contribution to Cray Wanderers was winning the free kick which was scored by Simon Osborn which resulted in Cray Wanderers winning the play offs and therefore getting promoted.

Ján Popluhár

"I met Pelé several times, the first occasion in Chile and then in various international and club games. He was undoubtedly the best, but there were not many one-to-one situations he won and also not many Slovakian players who scored in the famous Maracana stadium. I belong to this lucky group after I scored with a free kick against Brazil in June 1966", he remembers.

Joël Bats

However, he uncharacteristically let a free-kick from Andreas Brehme slip through his hands in the semi-final against West Germany, which France lost 2–0.

Karl Allgöwer

In 1989 the powerful free-kick specialist was part of the Stuttgart XI with Guido Buchwald and Jürgen Klinsmann that got defeated by Diego Maradona's SSC Napoli in the UEFA Cup final.

Kim Yong-Dae

On 21 August 2013, Kim brilliantly denied Brazilian Bruno César of Al-Alhi, during the start of the second half, from a free-kick spot from the middle of their half when he dove to save ball which many fans declared it as a "super save."

Leighton Baines

In September 2012, he scored his first international goal against Moldova in a 2014 World Cup Qualification match, a deflected free kick which was the last of England's goals in a 5–0 win.

Leonardo Abelenda

He is well known for Danubio fans for scoring a wonderful free-kick goal in the 2008 Copa Libertadores against Lanús.

Maurice Edu

On June 18, against Slovenia, he volleyed in a free kick from Landon Donovan in the 85th minute with the game tied at 2–2, but referee Koman Coulibaly disallowed the goal.

Randy Edwini-Bonsu

In minute 79, Edwini-Bonsu was fouled which lead to the final result by a directly converted free-kick from Nico Zimmermann.

Rocky Mountain Cup

RSL forward Alvaro Saborio scored twice in stoppage time – first on a blocked clearance from Colorado keeper Matt Pickens in the 91st minute, and second on a penalty in the 95th minute after Drew Moor pulled RSL defender Jamison Olave down in the box on an RSL free kick.

Scott McLaren

This was as a result of a controversially paid free kick against Henry Slattery awarded to Lance Franklin for a deliberate rushed behind during the match.

Steve Mildenhall

Mildenhall played 91 games for the Magpies, scoring one goal (a free-kick against Mansfield Town in a League Cup tie) which later appeared as a 'What happened next' slot on an episode of A Question of Sport.