Tricks

It’s been entirely too long since a footballer pretended to be seal out on the pitch, but thanks to Corinthians’ Angel Romero, a 25-year-old winger from Paraguay, we now have another seal-inspired tekkers video to watch for the next 12 years.

That’s how long it’s been since the original gangster seal footballer Kerlon established himself as one of YouTube’s first viral sensations. Then playing for Cruzeiro and the Brazilian U-17 side, Kerlon was impossibly talented at flicking the ball onto his own head before running at the defense. 

Usual purveyors of the Marseille Turn, players like Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, Isco and Paul Pogba, have dazzled spectators with their uncanny ability to escape pressure and change their available passing lanes with the most graceful skill in the game.

However, it’s incredibly rare that you see the roulette skill lead directly to a goalscoring opportunity. The turn is more typically associated with the war being waged in midfield rather than the attacking third. 

Lionel Messi missed Barcelona’s 2-0 victory over Malaga at the weekend because of the birth of his third child, Ciro. Ciro joins Thiago, age 5, and Mateo, age 2, as nearly 30% of the Messi children needed to field an entire XI of Messi children.