PHOTOS

How Lionel Messi became the best freekick shooter in the world! What a player!

photo: picture alliance/augenklick

To achieve this goal it took hard work and practice and also the help from
another football hero.

2005: short video clips were taken in Barcas Youth Academy La Masia.
All players should show their talent in taking free kicks. They needed several attempts, only tiny Messi scored immediately!
Everybody was impressed about Leo’s huge talent in executing dead balls!

Today, he is the Best Freekick shooter worldwide!
During the last 10 years he has scored 27 goals from free kicks, Cristiano Ronaldo 20 and Miralem Pjanic 15.

Training of standards was only rarely coached in La Masia.
They did not pay so much attention to it.
Only Barca-B-coach Guillermo Hoyos advised:“Place the ball with the valve down, so it will come down easier.”

February 2009: Argentina’s National team trained under coach Diego Maradona in the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. Messi – executing free kicks without success – was frustrated. But Maradona took him aside and explained:“Let your foot slide
and do not stop immediately after kicking. In that case the ball does not know
what you want to do with it!“
Maradona scored with this technology and big-eyed Messi did the same!

In the mean time Messi has developed his own style of taking free kicks.
Practice, practice and more practice … this is the way to success!
And Lionel Messi is a permanent danger to any team in the world!

Juninho Pernambucano:
the world‘s most successful freekick specialist!

photo: picture alliance / Robert Ghement

75 freekick goals during his career for Brazil’s Selecao and his clubs:
44 for Olympique Lyon! Here he became a legend: leading the club to
seven consecutive Championship titles in France!

Many stars – Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Didier Drogba –
failed to copy his unique technique. Italy’s Superstar Andrea Pirlo, also a
fantastic freekick taker, studied for years Juninho’s shooting skills and
came to the conclusion:“This man hit the ball in such a precise way to bring
goalkeepers with such dangerous shots to the verge of despair.“

This lavish praise covers everything about the most successful freekick taker
on the planet!

full name: Antonio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Junior
nickname: Juninho Pernambucano, Little King of Sao Januario

position: offensive midfielder

date of birth:            January 30, 1975
place of birth:          Recife/Brazil
nationality:               Brazilian
height:                         178 cm
preferred foot:       right

career as a player:
1991-1994: Sport Recife/Brazil                       24 matches, 2 goals
1995-2001: Vasco da Gama/Brazil              111 matches, 26 goals
2001-2009: Olympique Lyon/France          248 matches, 75 goals
2009-2011: Al-Gharafa/Qatar                          40 matches, 15 goals
2011-2012: Vasco da Gama/Brazil                 50 matches, 11 goals
2013:               New York Red Bulls/USA         13 matches,
Vasco da Gama/Brazil               21 matches, 2 goals

honours:
40 caps, 6 goals for Brazil
International debut in Seoul:
28.03.1999: South Korea vs Brazil 1:0

2x Brazilian Champion with Vasco da Gama 1997, 2000
1998: Copa Libertadores Champion with Vasco da Gama
2000: Copa Mercosur Champion with Vasco da Gama
7x French Champion with Lyon 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
6x French Supercup Winner with Lyon 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
2005: FIFA Confed Cup Winner with Brazil
2008: French Cup Winner with Lyon
2009: Qatari Stars Cup with Al-Gharafa
2010: Qatari Champion with Al-Gharafa
2x Qatari Crowne Prince Cup Winner with Al-Gharafa 2010, 2011

individual awards:
2000: Placar Bola de Prata in Brazil
2006: Player of The Year in France
2010: Player of The Year in Qatar

extra:
Noted for his bending free kicks. Considered to be the
greatest dead-ball specialist of all time!
Holds the record
for the highest number of goals scored through free kicks with 75,
ahead of David Beckham who scored 65.

Rogerio Ceni:
as goalkeeper a redoubtable scorer

photo: picture alliance / Brainpix

A living legend at FC Sao Paulo:
25 years goalkeeper with this prominent Brazilian club.
This is a statement of what has been accomplished:
1240 matches, 131 goals!
These goals came exclusively from freekicks and penalties!
Unique all over the world!

full name: Rogerio Mücke Ceni

position: coach
club: EC Bahia/Brazil

date of birth:            January 22, 1973
place of birth:          Pato Branca-Parana / Brazil
nationality:               Brazilian with Italian Passport (also german descent)
height:                         188 cm
preferred foot:       right

career as a player:  goalkeeper
1987-1990:     Sinop/Brazil
1990-2015:     Sao Paulo FC/Brazil 1240 m, 131 g (freekicks and penalties)

honours:
16 caps for Brazil
International debut in Riyadh/Saudi Arabia, FIFA Confed Cup:
16.12.1997: Brazil vs Mexico 3:2

1990: Campeonato Mato Grosso Champion with Sinop
1993: Supercopa Sudamericana Champion
2x Recopa Sudamericana Champion 1993, 1994
2x Copa Libertadores Champion 1993, 2005
2x FIFA Club World Cup Champion 1993, 2005
1994: Copa Conmebol Champion
1997: FIFA Confederation Cup Winner
3x Campeonato Paulista Champion 1998, 2000, 2005
2001: Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo Champion
2002: FIFA World Cup Champion
3x Brazilian Champion 2006, 2007, 2008

individual awards:
2005: Best Player Copa Libertadores
Golden Ball FIFA Club World Cup
2x Brazilian Footballer of The Year 2006, 2007
07.09.2011: Sao Paulo FC vs Atletico MG 2:1 (1000. Match!)
131 goals via free-kicks and penalties

–

coaching career:

2017: São Paulo FC/Brazil

2017-2019: Fortaleza EC/Brazil

2019: Cruzeiro/Brazil

2019-2020: Fortaleza EC/Brazil

2020-2021: Flamengo RJ/Brazil

2021-2023: São Paulo FC/Brazil

2023- EC Bahia/Brazil

–

honours:

2018: Champion in Brazil’s Serie B with Fortaleza

2x Ceara Champion with Fortaleza 2019, 2020

2019: Copa do Nordeste Winner with Fortaleza

2020: Brazilian Champion with Flamengo

2021: Carioca Champion with Flamengo

Brazilian Supercup Winner with Flamengo

–

individual awards:

2019: Best Coach in Ceara Championship

Jochen Abel:

the most effective penalty shooter in Germany’s Bundesliga history!

22x penalty for Jochen Abel, 22x: goal!
A perfect record!

1. Bundesliga: 16 penalties, goals!
2. Bundesliga: 6 penalties, goals!

photo: VfL Bochum

full name: Hans-Joachim Abel
nickname: Jochen

date of birth:            June 25, 1952
place of birth:          Düsseldorf/Germany
nationality:               German
height:                         180 cm
preferred foot:       right and also a strong left

career as a player: striker
1972-1974: Fortuna Düsseldorf        6 matches, 1 goals
1974-1977: Westfalia Herne         102 matches, 63 goals
1977-1982: VfL Bochum                   143 matches, 60 goals
1982-1984: FC Schalke 04                 63 matches, 23 goals
1985-1987: VfR Baumholder

All time Topscorer at VfL Bochum: 144 matches, 60 goals

coaching career:
1985-1987: VfR Baumholder,/Germany, youth coach
1987-1991: FC Balzers/Liechtenstein
1991-1992: FC Schaan/Liechtenstein
1992-1995: FC Vaduz/Liechtenstein
1996-1999: FC Schaan/Liechtenstein
2004-2006: FC Triesenberg/Liechtenstein

honours:
1989: Promotion into Division 1 with FC Balzers
2x Promotion into Division 2 with FC Schaan 1992, 1996
1993: Promotion into Divison 1 with FC Vaduz