Defending a penalty kick in soccer is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. That is not my opinion, that is a fact that is proven by a plethora of statistics including shot conversion rates, how much ground a goalkeeper has to cover, and the fraction of time they have in order to cover that ground.
Some say that stopping a penalty in soccer is the hardest thing to do in sports. There is no real penalty saving trick. The net is so large, the ball so small, and the shot is coming from such a close range that keepers must guess which way they are going to dive before the ball is hit to have a chance at saving it. Even if they dive in the correct direction it is unlikely they’ll be able to stop it. If they’re unlucky and dive the wrong direction, well, let’s just say that every keeper in the world has been left on the proverbial other side of the coin.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a senstational free kick goal today against Malmo in the Champions League. It was only his 3rd free kick goal in his last 99 attempts and his first in his last 20. But the Portuguesse star has now scored 70 goals in 69 gams for Real Madrid. It was Ronaldo's first direct FK goal in the Champions League since April of 2014. Ronaldo finished the match with 4 goals coming in a span of 20 minutes. He has set the record for most goals scored (11) in the a Champions League group stage. Here is another angle of the first goal:
Is there anything more dramatic in the sport of soccer than a direct free kick? The referee marching off the ten yards, exuberantly laying down the vanishing spray while the entire stadium holds its collective breath, anticipating the immaculate strike. Step forward the dead ball specialist.
But who is the best in the world? Who, after going through the melodrama of scrutinizing the stationary ball and plastering their facial features with the look of ingrained concentration, actually sticks the ball in the back of the net with some regularity?
Ask any soccer fan, and they will know about the Robeto Carlos free kick goal. It is considered by many as the best free kick ever taken, and has even gained haters along the way who contest that Carlos didn't mean to do it. We say that's some b.s, and think Carlos knew exactly what he was doing before he executed the most cold blooded free kick ever.
This Christen Eriksen goal for Tottenham is what Spurs fans were expecting from the Denmark international this season. The lad has had a slow start in the Premier League, but his two goal performance this weekend may be a sign for what's to come from the 23-year-old. Sitting in the middle of the tabe and coming off a 4-1 shalacking of first place Chelsea, Tottenham looked to steal three points from a solid Swansea team who hasn't won since their 2-1 victory over Manchester United back in August.
AC Siena was beating Internazionale Milan 3-2 in 2010. Inter would go on to win the treble that year; beating Barcelona along the way with one of the most classic “Mourinho parks the bus” defensive efforts of all time. Siena, on the other hand, would be relegated. An upset was on hand, but Wesley Sneijder was yet to have his final say.
Brazil has developed the highest scoring goal keeper
James Rodriguez mirrored virtual reality by scoring an identical free kick for Real Madrid to one he scored on his PlayStation as a teenager.
Bas van Velzen is a big guy, but that doesn’t stop him from showing off his sweet skills.