Friday Top 10: Free-Kick Goals

The Friday top 10 is back with a bang, quite a literal bang as look at what I consider the top 10 direct free-kick goals ever scored. We look at the masters of the art of dead ball taking. An art which many consider just as beautiful and painting, music and drama. A free-kick done well is a moment when boot meets ball and ball meets back of the net. Some of the best dead-ball artists of all time feature in a list filled with blasts, curls and just absolute thunderbolts, prepare to have your mind quite literally blown...

Fabio ROCHEMBACK vs Man City Premier League 2007/2008

In that season many great free kicks were scored and it did win goal of the month for May. It has everything:  power, pace, dip, swerve and amazing accuracy. You couldn't walk up to the goal and place it in the better spot, an absolute blast from the Brazilian. And yes the score board does read 5/6-0 (in fact it finished 8-1) and perhaps you could blame Middlesbrough for convincing Sheikh Zayed to by the Citizens...  

You can see why #17 doing that...

Cristiano RONALDO vs Portsmouth Premier League 2007/2008
Another from that season, Ronaldo one of the best dead-ball artists in the world shows us just what we can do, the best goal from his record equalling (no. of goals in a season I mean) season. This free-kick really summed-up Ronaldo. It isn't only the power and the accuracy it's the fact he get's the ball up and down so quickly that's amazing (like Andy Gray said)...

We surrender...

Jon Arne RIISE vs Man U Premier League 2001/2002

Almost certainly the greatest Norwegian to lace up a pair of football boots, this goal really endeared him to the Liverpool faithful. This isn't a shot this is Thor the Norse god of Thunder hitting a football with a hammer, a shot so powerful I'm surprised it didn't break the crossbar, rip through the net and achieve lift-off into space. Probably the best goal ever scored by a ginger...

Sinisa MIHAJLOVIC vs Benfica

The Serbian Mihajlovic seemed to be able to bend the ball in from anywhere in the opposition half, even scoring a hat-trick of dead-balls in one game. He still manages to bend this into the top corner from a distance most would struggle to hammer it from...

Paul GASCOIGNE vs Arsenal FA Cup semi-final 1991

In our last trip to English football, this classic smash from Gazza at the peak of his mad Geordie powers. Possibly the best goal in the North London derby (though I think Danny Rose would have something to say about that) An amazing shot from 35 yards that finds the top corner, you still can't blame the keeper for it despite him being basically under it, it's that good...

A genius, mad but a genius...

Roberto CARLOS vs France Tournoi de France 1997

The Holy Grail of free-kicks from the Brazilian master, he somehow manages to bend it away from him then make it bend back into the far corner, the seemingly impossible...

I don't think there is a world for impossible in Brazilian Portuguese though...

Oleksandr ALIYEV vs Turkey U-21 2006 UEFA European U-21 Championships

I thought this was goal scored on a PlayStation when I first saw it. But no it's real. And incredible shot, with all the accuracy and power of a Soviet ICBM and from about the same distance, this 50 yard rocket cannon's off the crossbar and despite the distance the keeper doesn't even move, it's from so far out they don't even put up a wall, not that it would have helped even people would volunteer to put themselves between the goal and a shot that could be considered a weapon of mass destruction...

ALEX vs Arsenal Premier League 2010/2011

I'm sorry, I lied we're back to English football I thought I had to include this goal. In case you didn't get the word Martin Tyler screamed as the ball screamed into the net it was "A PILEDRIVER!!!!!" which you could consider a bit of an understatement, it looks like the ball teleported from his boot to the top corner. It probably hit the back of the net before you heard it leave his boot. Despite what Andy Gray says you wouldn't just need Almunia with Fabianski, you'd need Szczesny, Lehmann and Seaman at least to get just fingertips to this shot. 

Ref "Shooting that hard should be made illigal, he could bloody kill someone..."

INCA vs Olimpia 2010

I still don't know how he does this, from inside the centre-circle he fires a shot you'd expect to see from another 30 yards closer to the goal, yet he gets incredible accuracy that most couldn't get from just outside the  penalty area. Just amazing, you can't blame the keeper. 

JUNINHO vs Bayern Munich Champions League 2003/2004

You couldn't have top 10 free-kick list without including the undisputed best free-kick taker of all time. Juninho is often over looked but could seemed to be able to do anything with a football from a dead-ball situation. He basically invented the knuckle-ball technique which makes the ball move unpredictably in the air. It's dips in off the inside of the post, about as close to the top corner as you can get...

He scored over 40 goals from set pieces almost half his overall tally for Lyon...

The art of free-kick taking is perfectly demonstrated here with every type of free-kick possible shown. But now we have to rank them. It really was difficult but the ten greatest free-kicks of all time in order are.

10. Sinisa MIHAJLOVIC vs Benfica 

9. Cristiano RONALDO vs Portsmouth

8. Paul GASCOIGNE vs Arsenal

7. ALEX vs Arsenal

6. JUNINHO vs Bayern Munich

5. Fabio ROCHEMBACK vs Man City

4. Jon Arne RIISE vs Man U

3. INCA vs Olimpia

2. Roberto CARLOS vs France

1. Oleksandr ALIYEV vs Turkey U-21

Thank you for (hopefully) reading another Friday Top 10, as we have successfully completed a month of Football: The Global Game tomorrows post will be all on the number 29 as tomorrows will be post #29. If you disagree with the ranking or can think of another free-kick that deserves a place on the list please comment.