When Messi is about to take a free kick, everyone watches in awe as his magic unfolds on the field. Former Barcelona player Ivan Rakitic stated that When Messi goes to take a free-kick, we are already thinking about the celebration. Interestingly, most goalkeepers are aware of which side the ball will go, but they remain helpless to stop it. So welcome to the football shift. Today we are going to explore why Messi is so good at free kicks.
In October 2008, Messi scored his first free-kick goal for Barca against Atletico Madrid, marking the beginning of his reputation as one of the world's best free kick takers in football. Over the years, Messi's proficiency in scoring free-kicks from various positions on the field has become legendary. With unwavering dedication, he honed his technique, perfecting it day in and day out. Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets attests to Messi's consistency in both training and games, saying, “Even in training, he keeps on scoring that high percentage of free-kicks. You can't compare him to any player. He's just the best.”Interestingly, during his early seasons with Barcelona, Messi did not take free kicks. Do you know There is an interesting story behind that?
Former Barcelona manager Juan Carlos Unzue revealed the story. “When Messi came into the first team, there were players like Ronaldinho, Deco and Rafa Márquez, who were excellent free-kick takers and stayed after training to practice. But Messi would sit on a ball, just watching them practice," Unzue explained, as quoted by Barca Universal on Twitter."So I asked Messi 'Why don't you practice? I've seen you score free-kick goals at La Masia'. Messi replied, 'This is not my moment, this is Ronaldinho's, Deco's, and Marquez's moment'... At 16, Messi respected the hierarchies," he added. Since around 2008, Messi has been consistently taking free kicks, and his conversion rate has shown significant improvement over the years. In four separate seasons, his free kick efficiency surpassed the 10% mark. Recently, his match-winning free kick against Dallas increased his total goal tally from set pieces to 64. This translates to Messi scoring a goal from a free kick every 16.1 matches played.
Sources:
m.allfootballapp.com/news/Dep...
bleacherreport.com/articles/2...
osgamers.com/frequently-asked...
www.besoccer.com/new/messi-ca...
m.allfootballapp.com/news/La-...
www.sportskeeda.com/football/...
www.marca.com/en/football/bar...
barcauniversal.com/how-lionel...
revamp-en.sport360.com/articl...
#InterMiami #MLS #MajorLeagueSoccer #Messi #LionelMessi #Freekicks #CharlotteFC #leaguescup #Highlights #Miami #Goal #Highlight #Philadelphia #PhiladelphiaUnion
btw, when people says Messi is "only" good cause of his natural talent/gift is not totally true, he improved his free-kicks by practicing thousands of shots
Can't agree more 🙌
You are a genius
😢😢So why not any one practice his way to GOATNESS😢😢
Lots of people assume he's only good because of his natural talent but fail to see that Messi is a very diligent and disciplined professional athlete and trains really intensely, too.
At least not yet
Messi is the best dribbler, top 3 best passer of all time, top 5 best free kick taker of all time, best goal scorer of all time, best playmaker of all time, best assister of all time, goat
💪🙌
You are really right, it's just too amazing to be true. Even if I always feel a need to name Maradona in greatest dribbling and playmaking category aswell, but Messi fr tops him over his career in that category tbh, it's how god would play, if he made himself a human.
not top 3 he is the best passer literally with the most assists record
even hes losing his speed for dribble at old age, he still can do pretty much everything else
Curious, who do you have ahead of him in passing? Xavi and Cruyff?
Messi: It’s just a free kick. Scientist: That was my PhD thesis.
Some ppl say he's not among the greatest free kick takers of all time. Why is that ? Nobody has scored as many free kicks as messi since 2014..
hrishikesh : His haters have so many things to say. Just ignore what They say.
he is not the best but one of the best, or does he have the most goals scored through free kick, just google it-its got nothing to do with haters its a fect. Juninho is the player with most free kick goals and he stopped playing few years back, hence messi might be the best since 2014. Your logic is flawed, you take what happened since 6/7 years back and compared it to forever, there were other greats before Messi, so some areas as good as Messi is, there were those who came before him who are still considered the best in those particular area...Messi is special because he is great in many areas( 1st or top 2 or 3)...scoring, dribbling, passing, free kicks and that is what is rare and unique about him, a total package hence he is the best. Pele had more goals than any other proffesional player, Andrea Pirlo the italian in his prime was a great passer and considered the best by some/ Clearance Seerdof the dutch player was a marvel to watch as a passer of a football in the miedfield. Ronaldinho is a magical wonder when it comes to dribbling, Chritiano Ronaldo is a deadly striker infront of the goals, Juninho is the number one freekick goal scorer ever...BUT Messi posseses all those qualities and would give you all of them in a single match in his prime...he wins Man of the Match trophies without scoring a goal ....go watch Barcelona vs Madrid (5-0). Hope this helps
There is a Brazilian who scored a lot of free kicks Juninho
@@shoaibovic3191 ik bro . I said messi should be considered among the top free kick takers . I didn't say he's the greatest
@@shoaibovic3191if Messi took freekicks since earlier he would have had a similar amount
"Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard." Apart from being gifted with the ball at his feet, he does work hard enough and practice a lot to becoming more perfect at whatever he is doing either free kicks, the mind blowing passes or the crazy dribbles he does. Talent + Hard Work = Messi🐐🔥
Very well said!
there is no science behind the free kicks.... it is either you got it or not... this guy messi got it much less than maradona... he is a good free kicker but not even close to diego maradona... i would give him 4/10 on free kicks in comparison to diego maradona and 2/10 overall
@@michelleper5065😂😂😂😂😂
@@steeg03 2/10 on diego maradona scale..... and this is me being nice
The crazy thing is that. He makes it look so effortless 😮
Agreed. I use Messi's technique when shooting fks, and I gotta tell ya, i scored somw beatiful goals, but the technique is NOT easy to master 😅
He will be. Its his destiny
Hopefully
14 goal to break the record isn’t impossible specially after his recent free kick accuracy. He already scored 2 freekick goals in MLS in 4 games. If he can continue scoring freekick in every 5 games, 14 isn’t that far.
12, not 14
Yesterday against Ecuador minus 1
The most accurate science behind his free kick accuracy is his mindset, as an expert I can say it, he doesn’t feel pressure and he doesn’t think that he is playing a match, he thinks he is kicking in a free net targeting a particular point of the goalpost as we do in a ground practice, that’s makes it more accurate as playing under pressure distracts your free and calm mind and concentration, if I have to shoot in a free goal post in a practice I will surely shoot with accuracy but if I play under pressure in a match then I will not under my comfort zone
this makes sense 🙌
He’s the architect the musician and the mathematician.
Messi can beat that free-kick mark without breaking a sweat!
I feel as confident about Messi taking freekick shot as I feel about Ronaldo taking pens.😂😂 m not kiddin
Reason he's penaldo
messi and ronaldo both are very low on diego maradona scale ... messi a little better than ronaldo but both of them barely get 2/10 on maradona scale...
He’ll be on top of that list soon !!!!
💪🙌
I think you're underestimating how much 13 freekick goals is
He takes free kicks with either foot...and scores. That is astonishing. I don't there are many, if any besides Messi, in the history of football who can pull this off. He is simply a rare generational talent.
No, he only kicks with the left foot. Sone videos are mirrored, that’s why it looks like he is using his right foot.
i dont want to ruin it for you but some of the footages are mirrored
you go check maradona free kicks.. he makes messi irrelevant like with everything else
@@michelleper5065 tried but nah
@@NishanT_ACM try again... goalies fell back into the net... he was not of this world... he was divine
He may not be the best free kick taker of all time, but he certainly is the most efficient free kick scorer!
can't agree more 🙌
Praveenvm: For us, He is the greatest free kick taker of all time. For his haters is not.
Yet, not the best free kicker of all time, yet
@@renatodogliotti4277Maybe never will, even if he tops Juninhos numbers, but to be the best in nearly all categorys, and then being able to train a category you werent, to finally be in the top 5 ever level, shows the hardworking side of messi, thats often forgotten
What is the difference if u don't mind me asking?
Personally, I think Messi just mastered the free kick after the friendly match with Panama after the world cup. After that game, goals from free kicks is much higher than in the past
It’s true now he has that mastery level of a Goat
Dude,where were u in 2019 when Messi was scoring free kicks fr fun with Barca??
@@desmondachocky537 His free kick back then efficiency is completely different from now. Are you implying his skill never improved overtime?
@@pingukutepro His best free kick period was around 2016-2019 Surely you have been sleeping Messi already mastered FKs back in 2016
Please don’t ever describe him as one of the best players in history ever again that’s such an insult 😠 He’s the absolute G.O.A.T 🐐 He’s the greatest sportsman ever in terms of his ability and personality. All hail the KING 👑
Scoring 13 more is even difficult in 2 seasons... hope he does
There is Copacabana America next year, usually he does a few thereand e promised us to do one more World cup, so he will def make it to the top.
Alfio Basile in Arg National team once told him: "Look at Riquelme, Kid.....look how he realeses the foot after touching the ball"
Riquelme was gold ❤️
What does he mean by that? Sorry English isn't my first language so it's hard to grasp it at times Can I get a little explanation in detail?
@@thomasanderson2384It's a praise on Riquelme's flair, with that he always played the beautiful game. Even as a young german kid, I somehow loved Riquelme cause of some games I watched, he was a magician like Zidane, Iniesta or Bergkamp, wonderful to watch
@@thomasanderson2384 The coach Basile meant that Messi had to practice his technique watching how Riquelme used to take the freekicks. "soltá el pie" (the original expresion Basile used) is not exactly to release the foot after kicking the ball, but to not have the foot too rigid in the moment of kicking it. Messi later said that it took him a lot of practice to find a way that works well most of times, he realized that previously he used much more strength than needed.
@@MsLucy4ever - oh, appreciate the explanation. Thanks. I am very new to watching football.
he's not one of the best. he's THE. BEST
“Most Definitely & Without A Doubt.”
Amazing info❤
He is even go to break that record and place it at a higher point where the record would be unbreakable ❤
He doesn't care about records. He do it only to help his side win.
Whatever the motive he still makes and breaks records.@@rajsajeev5562
You can say that again!
Great video, you'll have more subscriber
Assuming he will play for 3 years tops . It's difficult to break Juninho's record of 77 free kicks. Do you think he can score 4 free kicks every year ??
2 in 5 games so far at Inter Miami. At this rate, he might. Fingers crossed 🤞
@@FootballShift man i want him to break the record looks difficult but not impossible 🤞.
Yes, he can.
Well he did score 10 in 2018, so who knows.
@@borismuca9643 that was messi at the absolute peak of his powers .. free kick playmaking everything... So i doubt if he can repeat those 10 free kicks again
Good content
He will break the record
💪
Yes he will
You forgot to mention that Leonel is able to kick the FREE KICK with both the left and right legs ! Not many players are able to take free kicks with the left foot !
Image is flipped bro
1: Messi freekicks were 8-1 a few years back. Then it dropped to 16-1 but now it has increased again. So the conclusion is that he will make another 15 goals until the end of his career. I think now he will score every 3rd.
I hope so...thanks for lesson
❤
Yes❤
I can see him reaching #2 on the all time list behind Juninho.
Considering Messi already scored 2 in 4 MLS games, I think he can definitely at least reach 3rd place
💪
He is currently 5th, level with David Beckham, and is only 5 free-kicks away from catching Pele in 2nd, which I think won't be too long from now. At that point he will be left with 7 to catch Juninho, so 1st is still very feasible. Nothing is too hard for Messi.
Now they won the title 😂
I'm a messi fan but Juninho was another level when it came to freekicks..
How can you not mention the "under the wall" free kicks..... he literately changed how teams set walls up nowadays with an extra defender lying on the ground. No, he is not the first to do it but Yes, he is the first first to do it so consistently
I can't agreed more
even if he doesn't he still the goat of freekicks but I still know he will.
the conversation rate for top 5 takers , career total , total on target / saves would have been a good addition to the end statistics ….
agree, should have done that 🙌
Yes He will...
Holy cow Messi's mastered Tsubasa drive shot for free kicks!
YES he can do it, because he's the best and still active
Best at the moment. Beauty wise there have been . Also he only hits those close to goal. He doesnt knuckle them
Yes
thanks your video was helpful because of you i will be better than my friends
Yes...
2:06 right-footed Messi 🤣
All time best free kicks taker soon, just celebrate the G.OA.T
💪
The 🤓magna effect will come to play he'll definitely do it ... I think he wants this as well love Messi 💯
❤️
We got another one calling him "one of" the best lol get real bud he's reached the highest peak of any human endeavor.
Seems like an insult just an saying he is good by freekicks, he is the best dribbler, passer and scorer of all time. the free kick it just a secondary talent.
I’m absolutely confident he will get to at least 70 to tie Pele but to pass Juninho will be tough …. I put nothing past the goat 🐐 if anybody will then surely Messi can.
It’s a tough ask. But with Messi, we never know 💪
I'll make sure to come here every time messi surpasses another freekick legend
@@shouma9 that you should do 😉
I think he will match or exceed Pele's tally but I'm not sure about Juninho depends on how many years he plays.
Till 26 at least
Yes if he continues to play freekicks
Lionel Messi 🐐 August 27, 2023
Messi with the right foot😂
Messi is dangerous when surrounded with good people. Like busquest, dinho kaka neymar and Zlatan. And the Barca frontiers family. Sad to say PSG forgot to give these things to Messi because of political issues and mbappe. But anyway its past and Im happy to see Messi get Loved in Miami on His Senior Rival before. (Beckham) .. La Familia❤
There s no Magic but hardwork
Hard work beats everything 🙌💪
I'm not a professional but I've been playing, coaching, n training players for many years now. I know the science n can do all the kicks with my right n left leg. I can bend it, chip it, hit it straight like a lazer n knuckle it, n even shoot the long range shot like Roberto Carlos except I have my own technique. I can place it n put it on frame almost all the time. I'm older n have bad knees so some of the shots are more difficult now to do. One thing people always tell u is to lean forward but it's not necessary. Your foot is a wedge n what u do at the point of contact is what makes the ball go up. U have to make the proper adjustments with your foot n u have to push forward when u make contact. The slightest adjustments u make with your foot can place the ball at the knees or head height. I can get some people to shoot like a pro in 2 seconds but I have to train n correct u so u can make the proper adjustments to do what u want with the ball. Even though you'll be able to see how good your shot is immediately, it still takes time for u to master it because I have to fine tune u like a guitar.
Thanks for watching and commenting ❤ this is insightful!
technique wise there are FK takers that are better than him imo(Juninho, Zico, Mihajlovic) but his control is so sublime that he didn't really need a lot of tricks and power to score a lot from set piece.
Messi is the 🐐 no debates
The video was posted 10 days ago, by now, Messi is already ahead of Beckham and at par with Ronaldinho
5:53 this is why Beckham cried when Messi scored from a FK against Cruz Azul - he was watching his top 5 all-time FK scorer record start to vanish before his very eyes.
The video kinda misses that he hasn't been the primary freekick taker in the first half of his career and only later achieved true mastery of the skill
Look at Barcelona now, not able to score single good freekick since messi left.
The first thing you need to fix is the misrepresentation of the video which implies that Messi is right-footed. He has been left-footed since he started playing soccer and he scored with his left foot during the match with Dallas...
Messixwill surpass everybody with free kick with in a year or 2 years. That is it.
Hopefully. Thanks for watching 🙌
@@landyapandu7903 It will be tough. Agree with you 🙌. But with Messi, we never know.
@landyapandu7903 : Did He tell you that He has got only 2 years to play this game? What are 14 free kicks for Messi ? My uncle himself can score 14 free kicks. Are you kidding me? 🙄
@@landyapandu7903 : Have you been a free kick time keeper? You gunk stop this nonsense. Stop harassing us.
Messi is a lefty. Your video shows Messi taking free kicks with right leg. Major blunder.
Lateral inverted to Avoid copyright claims
He is not amongst the best free kick takers???look who are on the chart..he is just few goals away to become the best.yes the best..
Its either this explanations, or my captain is just from a planet where they perfected the beautiful game and he just an average player there. . The one and only. The greatest of all time. 🔵⬜🔵
Messi is so good at free kicks because he wasn't. His dribbling and technique are certainly natural, but his free kicks were definetly a matter of practice.
If I am not wrong, doesn't Messi have the best conversion rate?
Atleast among modern footballers, yes. However, we could not find a lot of proper stats before 2014, unfortunately.
american love for is more than love for his entire carrier at europe..wow iam impressed and at the same time stunned how the hell is this possible? i know he G.O.A.T but he is in his downfall but still americans showed why world love america...
I bet you, by now messi himself is not aware of all these angles and descriptions 🎉. Yet it happens. I believe in talent and hard work
He’s so good because Maradona took him aside and taught him. It’s on record
YOU MISS THE BEST PART OF THE STORY: MARADONA TRAINED HIM SPECIFICALLY ON THIS AFTER WATCHING MESSI MAKING MISTAKES POST TRAININGS (WHEN MESSI WOULD STAY BEHIND TO TRAIN FURTHER THIS SPICIFIC SKILL). THIS HAPPENED DURING MARADONA'S PERIOD AS THE NATIONAL COACH FOR ARGENTINA.
100%
Coco Basile told him, Blue label, es un elixir, y el otro es un whisky, uno se toma y otro se saborea
Yes Messi will score..
🙌💪
I think he can realistically catch pele as second all time but idk about #1 before retirement probably 2 seasons away
Easily 13 free kick 😊😊
Messi is going to score more than 13 free kick goals to overtake his leader in history , he’s a genius
Scored 1 more today 💪
Cr7's knuckle left the chat😂😂
No science can explain leo messi
Great video. There was also other analysis done where they say Messi almost "dislocates" his planted foot. It bends so hard when he kicks it almost looks like it's breaking
He is so aware of the limits of his body, he plays with the perfect physical effort. C. Ronaldo for example, with incredible low injury rate too, understood that much later, his freekicks and long distance screamers were astounding, but you cant shoot with that intensity for long, without risking your fitness. Thats why messi dribbled a lot less since 2013, and ronaldo understood it too in like 2014, after that, he became that consistent monster, but with lack of crazyness.
@@thegoalfather9922 its remarkable how well they've taken care of their bodies but Messi was still the top dribbler well after 2013. He was still #1 in dribbling up until he left.
@@grinchoi1 No doubt about that, but he calmed down the crazyness of his movements a lot imo, younger Messi had like flexible bones, he could do everything. I think Messis game against Mailand in 12/13, where they won 4 0 was the last game with Messi prime dribbling, where he topped the limits, after it he was smart enough to chill a bit
@@thegoalfather9922 i think it was due to his speed. He also started to run around less on the pitch. But his dribbling was so effective. The goal he scored in the 2015 Copa Del Rey final was insane
@@grinchoi1 Yes, he made some of his best dribbles after it, but I think he just became even more effektive, young Messi would literally balance on his toes, he felt, he had to change some things about his dribbling and he did perfect
I think he might get over Pele, but beating Juninho seem really difficult
Why not?
Free kicks are really not easy ..Messi makes it look easy
absolutely
so Messi may surpass Devid Beckham while playing in his team
As Messi said it's not my time, had he taken the free kicks instead of Ronaldinho, etc his score would be higher imo.
You absolutely don't know about juninho🤷🏻
30
Definitely, he can surpass 77 and hit 80
Well then his good in free kick he try to confuse the goalkeeper messi for instance facing to the right assuming the direction is going to the right but actually is in left the direction thats why he try to confuse the goal keeper,and also his body is like elastic what is important is you move your body from foot going upper part freely then bum!goal
He is the best dribbler, best passer, and is one of the top 3 freekick takers💙🤍💙🤍
As per the video, Messi scores a goal from a free-kick every 16.1 matches. This means he will have to play 209 more matches to score 13 goals from free-kicks and break Junihnio’s record.
But Messi started taking free kicks later in his career which is why it's 16.1...
at barca he had teammates who were good at free kick, in miami not so much, so he will take more free kicks and score more often. unless he lets other take them for practice when the game is already decided
Wait until the casuals find out about Juninho's free kicks.
Messi is better than them 💯🙏😇🇦🇷🇦🇷
Because he learn from Roman Riquelme. Un elisir
🫡
Fun Fact, he was actually terrible at it the same way Ronaldo was terrible at heading look at how both later perfected the art...Hard work, practice and determination always pays off cause when you're bad at something you have to work twice as hard as a descent person, chances of you being far better than the descent person becomes higher.
isn't it true that he doesn't have the best technique though? another video about freekicks claims he doesn't apply top spin to the ball, neither can he do knuckleball, so he won't ever be half as good as Juninho.