Can you believe that one of Christiano Ronaldo's Manchester
United team-mates wanted to take that free-kick at Sunderland? It
was a short debate. "No, leave it to me. Watch this . . . top
corner," he replied. And that's where it ended up.
It is pure theatre watching Ronaldo. He is on top of his game,
oozing confidence and when he prepares to take a free-kick, there
is a buzz of expectation around the stadium you can just see the
fear in the opposition defenders and goalkeeper. They know what's
coming, what they don't know is how to stop it.
When Ronaldo prepares to strike for goal, he stands back a bit
like Jonny Wilkinson preparing to take aim from a rugby penalty. He
opens his legs, rocks from side to side as he shifts his weight and
focuses on the target. Then he clumps the ball, whacks the plastic
off it, punts it, stuns it with force and power and control and
aim. The end result, more often than not, is another spectacular
goal.
How does he do it? When he strikes the ball, he runs straight and
also connects with the front of his foot, uses his laces and gets
the ball to dip and whip. And he's mastered the art, too.
Try it yourself and you'll see how difficult it is. I heard
that he used to strike the valve, which compresses the ball and
makes it move and swerve as it changes shape in the air. I'm not
sure if he has the same technique now, we'll have to watch and see.
I hear that he might just have modified his method to better the
end result.
Craig Gordon couldn't tell you how it happens. The Sunderland
goalkeeper barely saw the ball, such was the speed and the movement
as the shot flashed past him on the way to Manchester United's 4-0
win and a place back at the top of the Barclays Premier
League.
Let's not forget the accuracy, too.
Ronaldo put the ball exactly where he meant to and, as someone who
liked taking free-kicks, I can tell you that's not always so easy;
I saw plenty sailing over the bar. Ronaldo will practise that skill
every day after training, possibly for half an hour, hitting 30 or
40 shots. Like an outstanding golfer, repetition will be the
key.
When I took a free-kick, I would try to hit the ball cleanly and
put my foot through it. I couldn't take them like Ronaldo, but the
ball has changed now. It's easier to deceive the goalkeeper. That's
my excuse anyway. I remember scoring an important free-kick against
Blackburn on the last day of the season for Liverpool at Anfield.
We won the game, but they won the title.
David Beckham was the standard bearer, but his technique was
different from the current Manchester United No 7's. Beckham would
approach a ball from the side and then wrap his foot around to curl
the ball with pace and bend. We all remember his last minute goal
for England against Greece at Old Trafford. In club games when he
was taking aim, you would always think: 'Oh no . . .'
Gianfranco Zola had a great talent for getting the ball up and over
the defensive wall quickly and then back down as the ball spun and
gathered pace on its way towards the goal. He didn't have the same
power as Ronaldo, although he carried similar menace. Ruud Gullit
was another former Chelsea player who would make you regret
conceding the free-kick. He was a great technician with the ball,
you would instantly dread the outcome and stand there expecting
trouble.
Another favourite of mine, a brilliant free-kick taker, was my
former Liverpool team-mate Gary McAllister, who could also take a
fantastic corner. He would stroke the ball, hit it in a delicate
way and float his shot away from the goalkeeper. Accuracy, more
than power, was his weapon.
Rocket man
Having a dead-ball specialist carries such a threat in the
modern game. The Manchester United versus Liverpool game and the
Arsenal versus Chelsea game were both decided by goals from set
plays.
Every team needs one specialist and United have the best. Didier
Drogba smashes the ball for Chelsea and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard
can also finish from long range and has scored some spectacular
goals himself. He, too, is different from Ronaldo and likes the
ball slipped to the side to give him the angle as he runs on to a
moving ball.
Ronaldo had a slow start to this season. He was sent off at
Portsmouth, it took him until the end of September before he scored
his first League goal and he didn't come flying out of the blocks.
I had him in my Fantasy League team and after three or four games,
I thought I'd made a mistake.
Now he is the top scorer in the top flight, he has scored 17 goals
in all competitions and is on course to beat last season's haul of
25 goals. Looking at the records for last season, he is already
five ahead. On current form, the Footballer of the Year is again
the best player in the country. Don't simply take my word for it,
look at the records. In his last 13 games he has scored 15
goals.
The next time they win a free-kick in the danger area, it might be
wise for his United team-mates simply to let him have the
ball.
