Baggio scored some great ones when he was with Juve and Brescia. When it came to bending shots in open play, Baggio was great at those too. Even at Fiorentina, he was scoring some real beauties, from free-kicks and open play.
At 50's and fat plus the myth of the new ball in Jabulanle i (as many claimed faulty) Maradona made ridiculous of the Argie youngsters during training of FREEKICK: he scored every shot [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhS7AuE0dww&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube- Maradona freekicks as coaching[/ame][/QUOTE]
He would certainly be on my list. I remember in the 1980s watching great free kick goals from Michel, Zico and Maradona in Serie A on an almost weekly basis.
In no particular order 80's Maradona Zico Platini Branco Eder 90's Baggio Zola Koeman Mihalovic Stoikoff Beckham Van Hoidong 00's-present There've been many great freekick takers Juninho Nakamura C. Ronaldo etc (sorry for wrong spelling) Here is Maradona's compilation [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlVfzOb_w9s"]YouTube- Diego Maradona - Greatest freekick specialist[/ame]
23 years? I hope you are joking comparing Zico with Rogerio Ceni. Rogerio Ceni played only 8 years on his career? im sure he doesnt...you should compare matches not years.
Seen with my eyes: Nicest: Platini Zico Maradona step down Baggio Zola Dirceu Rivelinho Power: R.Koeman Mihajilovic R.Carlos Eder
I don't know much before the 90's, but I think it's : 1) Mihajlovic 2) Juninho 3) Platini 4) Del Piero 5) Beckham 6) Koeman 7) Hagi 8) Totti 9) Riquelme 10) Ronaldinho I think Ronaldo and Drogba today may be the best.
Ian Harte during his Leeds days was pretty good and always first choice. There used to be a Genoa player in the 90's, think he was from Uruguay. He would wear boots two sizes too small as he thought it gave him more power on the shot. Carlos something... remember he killed liverpool in a uefa cup match... My pick was always Mihaljovic. Never liked Koemans as they were really all about power and nothing else. Having said that he did score barcas winner against samps in the old euro cup...
riquelme is bad ass too, anyone seen that game where he scored 2 goals from free kicks... now thats awsome.
Maradona Platini Pele Zico Eder Beckham Hagi Ronaldinho He deserves mention, if only for having arguably the most powerful shot ever. His accuracy was on point as well (many people use his 1997 goal against France to somehow prove the wind was a factor.) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v6s9dThfcI"]Roberto Carlos Fre kick world cup 2002[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0Bo8yTmHek"]Roberto Carlos scores a magnificient free kick[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtZF5Tho0c4"]REAL MADRID VS BARCELONA Roberto Carlos AMAZING freekick[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i49_CtzK9Oc"]Roberto Carlos Freekick !![/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVRqW74JHJA"]roberto carlos cool freekick[/ame]
Claudio Branco. Brazilian. One of the best FK specialists of the time. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WT_2SkiGhw&feature=related"]YouTube- Genoa - Liverpool punizione di Branco‎[/ame]
Not updated but the stats to 2007 Players with the most career direct Free Kick Goals in the Regular Season EPL since the league began in 1992 to the end of the 2007 season Players___________________Gp___FK__Goals David_Beckham____________264___19____62 Matthew_Le_Tissier_______270___16___100 Alan_Shearer_____________441___13___260 Gianfranco_Zola__________224___12____59 Thierry_Henry____________254___12___174 Laurent_Robert___________146___11____23 Ian_Harte________________213___10____28 Gary_McAllister__________324____9____50 Jamie_Redknapp___________295____9____34 Nolberto_Solano__________278____8____45 Patrik_Berger____________221____7____38 Jimmy_Hasselbaink________258____7___117 Morten_Pedersen___________89____6____19 Stuart_Pearce____________183____6____19 Danny_Murphy_____________250____6____34 Source: EPLinfo.com Same Period for the MLS 1996-2007 Players___________________Gp___Free_Kick_Goals Jason_Kreis______________305_________16 Marco_Etcheverry_________191_________12 Preki____________________242_________10 Christian_Gomez___________97__________6 Joe-Max_Moore_____________96__________5 Robert_Warzycha__________160__________5 Mauricio_Cienfuegos______206__________4 Brad_Davis_______________142__________4 Ante_Razov_______________240__________4 Steve_Ralston____________337__________4 Roberto_Donadoni__________49__________3 Amado_Guevara____________107__________3 Ronald_Cerritos__________221__________3 Mo_Johnston______________149__________3 Eddie_Lewis______________115__________3 Martin_Vasquez____________87__________3 Clint_Mathis_____________210__________3 Jovan_Kirovski___________109__________3 Jeff_Agoos_______________244__________3 Ross_Paule_______________192__________3
he deserves mention for spectacular free kick taker, not best. if he was "accurate" , platini and zico were beyong godly.
Did anyone see AMAZING David Jones free kick on match Wolves - Stoke City? It's similliar to one goal from 1970.. unbelivable! Here are both free kicks... http://www.realfuff.com/sport/286-david-jones-repeated-free-kick-from-year-1970.html
He was accurate with his swerving outstep [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb2qykj6_ZU"]Roberto Carlos Freekick Against France HQ[/ame] 0:19 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZM9OFVpqC4"]Roberto Carlos top 10 sensational goals[/ame] something few players could do. People who claimed he was just using the wind didn't see how many times he did it.
RC was not an accurate FK taker. He admitted himself in the past that when taking FKs he just tries to hit it as hard as he can and hopes that it goes on target.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZkRziiLq8I"]Roberto Carlos impossible angle[/ame] Maybe he's higher on the power than the accuracy, but it's hard to believe he scored goals like this without aiming.
I don't understand what you are trying to say. Aiming is different than being accurate. Every player aims for the goal when shooting. This goal doesn't prove he was an accurate shooter. It was a freak goal ... albeit incredible. RCs free kick style doesn't lend itself to accuracy. Players who use the inside of their foot in FKs will always be more accurate than ones that hit it with the outside as RC does.
Players are taught to shoot with their head down. They may aim towards the goal and hope one goes in, but not all place it in a specific corner, and even fewer can swerve it into a specific corner. The thing is Roberto Carlos scored several incredible goals and it seems you and others consider most of them accidents. I don't doubt some were, but most is a stretch. All high-level players can shoot with both their instep and outstep, but only a select few could swerve it just as well with both. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8UkwirffjQ"]Nelinho - 78[/ame] 0:09 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5xH-wiyxPI"]Brazil Argentina World Cup 82[/ame] 0:08 [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtN_ru-JCKY"]Brazil v Romania 1970 World Cup[/ame] These aren't freak goals or luck. They're exceptional goals by highly skillful and creative players. It's like saying those who don't toe-punt the ball will always shoot more accurately than those that do, but there were a few who practiced it (Romario, Cubillas, etc.) and could do both.