One of the most important components for a sport such as football is the strength and accuracy of the strike. Without this, it is impossible to achieve the main goal - goals scored. Each player, especially popular, creates for himself his own unique manner of its implementation. For example, the owner of the last “Golden Ball” Cristiano Ronaldo widely spreads his legs before the take-off, one of the most famous football players in history - David Beckham - flexes his body in a special way, and Roberto Carlos is remembered for all his fast-moving seed-kicks. In fact, measuring how hard a blow was delivered is not so simple. Moreover, such information is not always collected and systematized. However, such skills of different players will be further analyzed.
Roberto Carlos
Brazilian Roberto Carlos entered football history not only as a good defender, but also as the owner of an incredible blow from long and medium distances. Despite the low growth (160 centimeters), he managed to hit the gates of his opponents, speaking for a variety of teams: Palmeiras, Inter, Real and others. At the same time, do not forget about the national Brazilian team.
The so-called visiting card of this football player was his free-kicks. According to statistics, during the appearances for Real Madrid, almost half of these “shots” ended with a goal. Roberto Carlos delivered such a strong blow that the ball flew along an unpredictable path, so blaming the goalkeepers for goals conceded made no sense. The brand name was the run of the player, during which he greatly minced his legs. It should be noted that the legendary Brazilian managed to hit equally well both from the bottom and through the air.
The phenomenon of Carlos from the point of view of scientists
Many researchers have repeatedly tried to explain such strong kicks in football from a scientific point of view. Most of them agreed that in order to repeat this, it is necessary to give the necessary torque and the corresponding energy to the ball. Moreover, a football player striving to hit like that must even take into account such nuances as air turbulence and gravity. At the same time, the incredible flight path of the ball occurs purely according to the laws of increasing curvature. In other words, if it weren’t for the net, in many cases the football would spin further. As for the ball’s flight speed, this player had an average of about 136 km / h.
Lukas Podolski
It’s not a secret to anyone that it was Roberto Carlos who for a long time held the title of “football player with the strongest blow”. However, in 2010 he was replaced by a German of Polish descent Lukasz Podolski. It should be noted that he did not immediately discover such a skill. Previously, his main skill was considered good technique and high speed. During the World Cup match between the national teams of Germany and Australia, he sent the ball into the opponent’s goal at a speed of 201 km / h. In this case, the shell accelerated to a record level at a distance of only sixteen meters. Currently, the football player with the strongest blow appears in the London Arsenal.
Guardian Rating
As already noted above, official statistics on impact strength are not particularly maintained. Moreover, under a thorough review of extras, football came only at the beginning of this century, when special computers appeared, which calculate various indicators during matches. The well-known British publication “Guardian” compiled a rating of players, which is now considered to be as close as possible to reality. Its main drawback can be called narrow-profile, because the list includes only those players with a strong blow who play in British clubs.
David beckham
During his professional appearances, David Beckham has become one of the most popular players in the world. He is the only footballer to have been featured on Guardian twice. His signature trick was branded free kicks. As a rule, he performed them for accuracy. However, if necessary, the English midfielder easily punched so powerfully that the goalkeeper of the opponent had practically no chance to avoid an own goal. David Beckham delivered his strongest blow in 1997. Then the ball flew at a speed of 156 km / h and was at the gate of London Chelsea.
Ritchie John Hamrace
Another British representative of the ranking of football players who had a strong blow was Ritchie John Hamrace. Throughout almost his entire career, he played for his native club - Sheffield Wensday. It is an interesting fact that he struck a blow that went down in history against Aston Villa from Birmingham in his debut match in the Premier League. Then, before hitting the net, the ball flew at a speed of 154 km / h.
Alan Shearer
The legendary footballer of Newcastle and England team Alan Shearer was also remembered by millions of fans with his powerful “shot”. This happened on the 77th minute of his team's duel against Leicester City. Then he shot from a distance of 23 meters, after which the ball stuck into the opponent’s goal at a speed of 136 km / h.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese winger of Madrid Real Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the best football players of our time. A vivid confirmation of this is the Golden Ball obtained at the end of 2013, which four years before this went to Lionel Messi. He has not only phenomenal technology and high speed, but also boasts a powerful blow.
There is currently no clear information regarding the power of his strike. Along with this, it is reliably known that, starting from a young age, he worked out all the important components of a good hit, which include strength, aiming, take-off and the trajectory of a football projectile. Due to this, the player successfully breaks through both free kicks and during the game. Moreover, Ronaldo needs only two to three seconds to process the ball, which often confuses the goalkeeper and the defenders of the opposing team.
Current rating
One of the last ratings of players who have the strongest blow in football includes ten players. It looks like this: Lukas Podolski (Germany), Roberto Carlos (Brazil), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Wayne Rooney (England), Paul Scholes (England), Alex (Brazil), David Beckham (England), Stephen Gerrard (England) ), Jon Arne Riise (Norway), Hamit Altıntop (Turkey). This list can be continued for a long time, because there are many representatives of different countries and clubs who are remembered by the fans for their incredible, powerful blows.
Practice strong blow
Many young players are interested in the question of how to make the blow stronger. In fact, it has long been proven that a number of factors influence this. First of all, this is the take-off speed. Studies show that the larger it is, the faster the ball will fly. Another important aspect is the swing of the kicking leg. This is due to the fact that the farther away from the ball it is retracted, the stronger the blow. The next parameter, which has its effect, is the rigidity and hardness of the impact surface. In this case, first of all, shoes are meant. In addition, from hard ground the ball will fly much faster than from loose and soft ground. Well, the last important factor is the elasticity of the football projectile itself. The fact is that the surface of the ball is deformed when it is hit. In the case when it is elastic and hard, the speed of the rebound increases, and therefore - the flight. However, if the ball is pumped, it is very difficult to accept.