The motivation for this post comes from a subscriber named Branden whose email reads:

Thank you very much for the book, its already helped me. My elastico is improving drastically. Do you have any tips on how to take amazing free kicks like Ronaldinho?

I’m going to assume he doesn’t mean the kind of free kick Ronaldinho took against Werder Bremen. That truly was a sneaky way to score a free kick and the fact that he had the balls to do it makes it even more special. He is the best in the world after all. For those that have not seen this particular free kick that he took, I have taken the liberty of supplying the video of this great goal underneath.

Now, I’m going to give you the tips and trick, even some secrets on how to take the perfect free kick, to send it over the wall and into the corner, just like Ronaldinho. Here we go. The most important thing you want to be doing is trying to get the ball over the wall because most of the time, the goalkeeper is manning the other post. He will be keeping his eye on you and the ball to see where it goes. So your best bet is the top left hand corner or the bottom left hand corner. An example of the typical, timelessly executed free kick that we are talking about can be found below, and Ronaldinho shows us how its done.

Things to take note of here is the fact that he is 20-25 metres out and this is a great example of how to take the free kick when closer to the goal. When taking a free kick, take 2 steps away from the ball and stand in a position that you will be nearly approaching the ball side on. This way you create a better position for you to get you foot around the ball to create swerve on it, to fly into the corner. Now, the part of the foot you want to be using is (right foot) the top-left part of the boot. This will also add to the aerodynamics of the ball and how it flies. With all these points checked, it’s now time to get out onto the park to try the kicks out. Now, power plays a big deal when taking a free kick and where you are situated when taking makes all the difference as to the amount of power you put on the ball. Above, Ronaldinho doesn’t put a lot of power on it, he concentrates on placement much more than power here. This can only be perfected on the park. Try different places on the field around the box and test the varying powers you need to get the ball where you want it.

Practice, practice and more practice. That’s the only way you are going to be able to take precision free kicks like Ronaldinho. Not to mention many other great takers like Beckham and Roberto Carlos, who both have their own style, but we like Ronaldinho’s style much more dont we? Let me know how you go