There are few things in football better than seeing your team score an unbelievable free kick. Football FanCast delves into the world of football’s best free kicks, this list explores the artistry and precision behind ten of the best free kicks in the sport’s rich history.
For the order of this list, we’ve considered the difficulty of the strike, the significance of the goal and the overall beauty of the free kicks.
10 Mikael Nilsson IFK Goteborg vs PSV, 1993
There is only one reason that this free kick is tenth on this list, and that’s because on first viewing, it doesn’t look great. You have to wait for the second angle to really appreciate the amount of curl Nilsson put on this.
In 1993, Swedish side IFK Goteborg faced PSV in the Champions League as the underdogs. Little did they know defender Nilsson would score one of the best free kicks in the tournament’s history. He must have been around 35 yards from goal, he had no right to even hit it from there, but he did.
The amount of curl completely caught the goalkeeper out. It looked like it was destined for the bottom right-hand corner, but somehow ended in the left. Nilsson ran off, both hands pointing to the air before doing the kind of cartwheel only a footballer from the 90s could do.
9 Hakan Calhanoglu Hamburg vs Borussia Dortmund, 2014
Renowned for his set-piece expertise, Turkish midfielder Calhanoglu showed the world just what he was capable of with an exceptional strike in 2014. Despite the almost ridiculous distance of 45 yards from ball to net, the former Hamburg player delivered a ferocious shot that surged toward the goal and executed a dramatic leftward swerve at the last moment.
This would be higher on the list if the Borussia Dortmund defence actually tried to do anything about it. Perhaps they were simply too astounded by the pure audacity of trying it from there in the first place. Calhanoglu no longer plays in Germany, but he’s still banging them in when he can at Inter.
8 Lionel Messi Barcelona vs Liverpool, 2019
Lionel Messi’s free kick in Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final tie against Liverpool should have been enough to see them through to the final in 2019, and if it wasn’t for Divock Origi and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quickly taken corner, it could have been. This one was so good, that even the little Argentine looked impressed with himself.
It could not have been any sweeter. Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson tried his best, but he never stood a chance. The Liverpool wall might as well not have even been there, they were essentially training dummies, and Messi was having a laugh with his teammates after a long day at La Masia.
The Camp Nou crowd was so impressed, they forgot to make much noise, either that or the ground has become such a tourist hotspot that local fans have been priced out. Jurgen Klopp had a smile on his face, astounded by what he had just seen from arguably the greatest player of all time.
Maybe it was over-confidence (or a lack of confidence), but Barcelona bottled the second leg and Liverpool would go on to win the Champions League.
7 Paul Gascoigne Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur, 1991
Back in the early 90s, big clubs still took the FA Cup seriously, and it didn’t get much bigger than a north London derby in the semi-final. Paul Gascoigne and his Tottenham Hotspur side faced off against heavy favourites (and would-be champions) in Arsenal, knowing that it would take a special performance to get to the final.
Spurs won a free kick from 30-plus yards out and Gazza placed it down with determination. Arsenal’s two-and-a-half-man wall didn’t think anything of it – that was their first mistake. He struck it and it ended up in the top right-hand corner. Not for the last time in his career, David Seaman was caught out by a free kick.
Manager Terry Venables stood up and applauded with a huge smile on his face, while Gazza ran off and celebrated with his teammates. Spurs would go on to with the game 3-1, securing their place in the final, which they would eventually win.
6 Alvaro Recoba Bologna vs Inter, 2003
Alvaro Recoba may be one of the most underrated players of his era. He joined Inter in the summer of 1997, the same time as Ronaldo. They even made their debut at the same time, with Recoba out-shining the great Brazilian on the day, scoring two goals in the last ten minutes against Brescia.
Another free kick with a ridiculous amount of curl, it looked like it would end up just wide of the mark before coming back to nestle in the back of the net. The Bologna wall and the goalkeeper’s futile efforts to stop it meant absolutely nothing.
5 Juninho Pernambucano Bayern Munich vs Lyon, 2003
It wouldn’t be a best free kicks list without potentially the greatest free kick taker of them all, Juninho Pernambucano. It was simply an issue of picking which one of his efforts would make it. We finally settled on his goal against Bayern Munich in 2003.
When he hits it, it looks like it’s about to soar over the crossbar before sharply coming down, fooling the great Oliver Kahn, who smacked his head on the post attempting to keep it out of the Bayern Munich goal. It’s made even better by the fact it comes off the right-hand post before hitting the back of the net.
Juninho celebrates like he did this all the time, which, to be fair, he did.
4 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United vs Portsmouth, 2008
Back in 2007/08, Cristiano Ronaldo was still good at free kicks, and he was truly unstoppable for Manchester United. The club were locked in a battle with Arsenal and Chelsea for Premier League and Champions League supremacy, and United needed a win against Portsmouth to return to the summit.
Ronaldo picked up the ball and placed it down at around 30 yards from the Portsmouth goal. He takes his time before striking it, taking in multiple deep breaths to compose himself. He then hits it with such venom, the ball dipping and leaving poor David James stranded in the Pompey goal.
The ball hits the back of the net and the Portuguese lets out a tribal scream as his teammates surround him. “That without doubt must be the best [I’ve seen in the Premier League],” Sir Alex Ferguson said after the game. “From that distance, he’s going to hit them. No ‘keeper in the world would save that.”
3 Sinisa Mihajlovic Lazio vs Sampdoria, 1998
A hat-trick is one thing, but a hat-trick of free kicks? That’s almost unheard of. Sinisa Mihajlovic, a profoundly good free kick taker, is one of the very few to have achieved just that. It’s not like any of them are lucky, either; each of them is better than the last.
The first two come in the first half, both from relatively similar distances. Mihajlovic dispatches them with ease, casually celebrating by turning away and smiling, shaking his fist. The third one is in the second half, from a greater distance than the first two.
The third one was from around 35 yards, so it needed a bit more of a whack, and that’s exactly what he gave it. It was so perfect, the opposing goalkeeper didn’t stand a chance. He couldn’t help but celebrate this time with his teammates jumping all over him.
2 Roberto Carlos France vs Brazil, 1997
Despite popular opinion, Roberto Carlos wasn’t much of a free kick taker. The stout little left-back was more likely to find a member of the crowd than the top corner – perhaps that’s what helps make this goal as incredible as it was.
This is the free kick you think of when you close your eyes. From a purely scientific point of view, it shouldn’t be possible. His run-up is pretty much half of the pitch. Roberto Carlos then hits it incredibly hard with the outside of his boot, giving it so much curl, we’re fairly certain he breaks the laws of physics.
Fabien Barthez in the France goal is left bewildered; he didn’t even try to save it. After the ball hits the net, he just stands there with his hands on his hips and shakes his head. He’s disappointed with himself, as if he’d have had a chance if he’d tried.
1 David Beckham England vs Greece, 2001
Many may disagree with this being at number one – yes, we know that Roberto Carlos’ free kick is technically the best, but we had to put this one at the top, simply due to the occasion. For a while in the early 2000s, England were not very good at football, despite having an incredible wealth of talent.
It got so bad, that they needed to at least draw against Greece to get to the World Cup, and they were struggling to do that. England were awarded a free kick in the last minute of the game, and up stepped captain David Beckham, knowing that he had to score this if they had any hope of avoiding the play-offs.
The free kick was almost as good-looking as the man himself. It was perfectly struck from around 30 yards, right into the top left corner. The stadium erupted with the yells of incredibly relieved England fans. Beckham had saved the country.