Sometimes an idea comes to you on the pitch and you just gotta go with it. Great players all over the world will tell of how certain plays they make come down to muscle memory, or that they weren’t really sure how they knew what they were doing was the right thing at the time they were doing it. Of course, they know what they are doing the vast majority of the time, but they do sometimes act completely out of instinct. The following video is the perfect example of this; it is the most instinctual play we have seen all season.
There is no way this guy went into that slide tackle thinking, “Ok, after I win the ball, I’m going to leg lifted over the defenders head to my buddy behind me.” You don’t practice that. There is no standard technique for a “leg lift back pass.” This dude just saw an opportunity and went for it; that’s instinct. This time, it comes off absolutely brilliantly.
For those interested, that was Jonas Svensson of Norway’s Rosenborg BK. His unique display of skill came during Rosenborg’s Europa League against St. Etienne. Seeing it makes me wish that the Champions League would get a little wacky with it as well. As much as we love seeing Lionel Messi destroy the souls of defenders, we also enjoy the occasional WTF-did-I-just-see moment as well.
For example, a player thinking it’s OK to body slam an opponent after they are fouled.
Or another player bringing a live bear to his son’s birthday party (only in Russia).
We have even seen a referee signal a foul and break a player’s nose in one motion. You can’t teach that.
Step your game up, Champions League.
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