Been a while since one of these has gone in...

[Withdean Wanderer]

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(you might want to fast forward the first minute)

Beckham free kicks are something of a footballing art really. Ignoring all the ludicrous hype around the bloke, it will be a great shame when he finally chucks it in.


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Genius.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Agreed completely. ALthough I'd rather see an Elliott Bennett one fly in on Saturday.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Agreed completely. ALthough I'd rather see an Elliott Bennett one fly in on Saturday.

I think we all would!

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

that was real neat offence!

 

[Reinelt12]

Whatever people think about Beckham, I don't think there is anyone else in the world I would want standing 20-30 yds out to take a free kick past or present...

People used to rave about Roberto Carlos taking free kicks (when in reality he only really took one incredible one, and didnt score many) - whereas Beckham consistently scored for club and country from dead ball situations.

Best free kick taker ever - you better believe it...

 

[Simster]

I can't see YT from work, so I presume that's the one he scored against Chivas this weekend?

Quality free kick too. I never understood how Beckham could be so dangerous from 25 yards but invariably look like he was going to miss from 12.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Whatever people think about Beckham, I don't think there is anyone else in the world I would want standing 20-30 yds out to take a free kick past or present...

People used to rave about Roberto Carlos taking free kicks (when in reality he only really took one incredible one, and didnt score many) - whereas Beckham consistently scored for club and country from dead ball situations.

Best free kick taker ever - you better believe it...

Absolutely and the one against Greece a few years back was the best ( technically it might not have been but for importance it probably was ).

 

[stevedx]

Would love Becks to come to falmer!

 

[cjwoolven]

Whatever people think about Beckham, I don't think there is anyone else in the world I would want standing 20-30 yds out to take a free kick past or present...

Best free kick taker ever - you better believe it...

This. A true dead ball specialist.

 

[tonymgc]

Best free kick taker ever, Agreed.

There is a skill & art to the way he takes his & at the moment in football there's no one better or equal to him.

 

[Mellotron]

I'm not trying to start a binfest or anything, but he really scored very, very, very few free kicks for England considering how many he took. About 11 or 12 in 117 games? In an average game we would have, say, 3 free kick chances, so that's about 12 goals out of 360-odd free kicks.

Because he scored a couple that were memorable people seem to remember (wrongly) that he would usually score them.

 

[Acker79]

I'm not trying to start a binfest or anything, but he really scored very, very, very few free kicks for England considering how many he took. About 11 or 12 in 117 games? In an average game we would have, say, 3 free kick chances, so that's about 12 goals out of 360-odd free kicks.

Because he scored a couple that were memorable people seem to remember (wrongly) that he would usually score them.

I have a recollection that the one he scored v greece was something like his 11th attempt in that game alone. I might be out on that, but he definitely needed a lot of goes to get just one in that game.

 

[Biscuit]

OK then. Who is more prolific from set pieces?

He may have only scored 11 or 12 in 117 games but not all of them would have been shots on goal. His all round distribution is so good he will often take a free kick that is only intended as a pass from say 50 yards or so.

Who on earth is better?

 

[Mellotron]

I reckon if Gerrard has taken 300 free kicks for Liverpool, he will have scored more than 11.

I'm not having a go, my point is people seem to remember him "always" scoring when the bare facts show this is miles off.

 

[Finch]

Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Ronaldinho wasn't too bad either.

 

[Reinelt12]

I have a recollection that the one he scored v greece was something like his 11th attempt in that game alone. I might be out on that, but he definitely needed a lot of goes to get just one in that game.

It was also his free kick who set up Sheringham for the first in that game...

 

[Mellotron]

Did a quick look up, looks like Del Piero, Juninho and Mihaijlovic are a long way ahead of him. And Pirlo.

Del Piero's ratio over 8 years is 1 goal for every 3 free kicks shots, compared to roughly 1 in every 15 for Beckham.

Juninho's ratio while playing for Lyon was 50%, Beckham's would be less than 10%.

 

[Common as Mook]

Ronald Koeman had an amazing ratio too although can't be bothered to look it up.

 

[HP Seagull]

Best set-piece taker of all time, without a shadow of a doubt. Facts can be so easily distorted, and made up (I'm not sure Melletron's stat of three goalscoring opportunities a game are that accurate). Looking at how many free kicks he took for England, and how many he scored, only tells a very small part of the story. For a start they don't take into account the position of the free kick, how easy the chance was, or even if he attempted to score.

Funny to see Chris Birchall celebrating with him, by the way. I wonder whether he'd rather be back at the Withdean?!

 

[Sheebo]

Genius - Best in the world. Unreal technique.