₦airaland Forum

devvy44:
You’re just too daft for my liking, he started most games for barce, he even scored in el Classico, yet you stupidly bring up “second fiddle”? He played 456/540 minutes at 2007 copa yet you’re still shouting second fidddle?

Omo try get sense, you too dumb

This guy na lamb aswear.

If you be woman you for be correct ashawo aswear.
Na so you go dey deviate from d to d.

You have completely deviated from what you were yapping about.

FirstbornWds:
What happened to Cristiano Ronaldo's freekicking abilities?


This may be slightly controversial, but he was never exceptionally good at free kicks. Ronaldo is similar to Roberto Carlos: they don't always go in but when they do it's something special.

TL;Dr Cristiano hits the ball to make it move unpredictably. This can beat the goalkeeper, but also produces numerous misses.


That being said, he definitely has gone down in recent years. As other answers have pointed out, age has affected his power; and power is a vital component of the knuckleball technique (see below). Also, he spends less time in training free kicks these days.

But for me the biggest reason is his technique itself. Cristiano Ronaldo strikes the ball with the top of his toes (a “knuckleball”) and with great power. This gives the ball very little spin and makes it swerve in flight. That's bad for goalkeepers attempting to save it, but it's equally bad for aiming accuracy. In his younger days, Cristiano perfected this shot, but it's a very exact science. As his power has reduced, he can't compensate by tweaking his shooting style. Old dog, new tricks.

I've never been a fan of this style, as I grew up watching the great David Beckham. Beckham's specialty was extreme accuracy, which he achieved by striking the ball with the inside of the foot and following through to add power and direction. He knew exactly where he was aiming it, and the keeper couldn't get there fast enough even if he also knew.


Becks could bend the ball around or over the wall with ease. Messi, Rashford, and Juninho (I may be mistaken about him) also favour accuracy.

So, there you have it. His technique is unreliable and he's too old to retrain. But good luck taking the ball off him!


#Copied

The person that made this quote started with a very wrong intro. Ronaldo was phenomenal at free kicks, you don't score 56 free kicks by mistake.
However, you now worsened it by adding Rashford's name beside Juninho. Rashford? Like you are comparing Rashford with Juninho? The greatest free kick taker of all time and Rashford?! Whoever or wherever you copied this article from, don't ever visit that person or site again.

Jokerman:
If Higuain, Aguero are to take blames, Mess I then should take blames as well coz he's the captain.. In fact, he's the one to shoulder all the blames.

Eder was just lucky to get that goal, eder was the 1 millionth person that anyone would believe could score such a goal... Ronaldo was actually Portugal's main man along with Nani, and assuming Portugal didn't win the Euros, who would have gotten the blame?

However we can't always blame Higuain

But he took that chance, even when the Ronaldo wasn't on the pitch. UNL final, Ronaldo wasn't at his best there but Bernado and Guedes stepped up to help them win. Teams win trophies and when that special player isn't at his best then the other ten have to step up too.

I saw it and decide to share... And yes, the Rashford part was the greatest nonsense. I wanted a debate on it but obviously no one was interested

IKON360:
The person that made this quote started with a very wrong intro. Ronaldo was phenomenal at free kicks, you don't score 56 free kicks by mistake.
However, you now worsened it by adding Rashford's name beside Juninho. Rashford? Like you are comparing Rashford with Juninho? The greatest free kick taker of all time and Rashford?! Whoever or wherever you copied this article from, don't ever visit that person or site again.

FirstbornWds:
I saw it and decide to share... And yes, the Rashford part was the greatest nonsense. I wanted a debate on it but obviously no one was interested

Rashford is a thrashy FK taker. The best FK taker in EPL is Ward Prowse and then maybe between Trent Arnold and De Bryune not freaking Rashford.
In fact I will take Savic of Lazio ahead of De Bryune and Trent Arnold.
Who dash Rashford free kicks? If Mata was in the first team, he would even take free kicks ahead of Fernandes.

IKON360:
Rashford is a thrashy FK taker. The best FK taker in EPL is Ward Prowse and then maybe between Trent Arnold and De Bryune not freaking Rashford.
In fact I will take Savic of Lazio ahead of De Bryune and Trent Arnold.
Who dash Rashford free kicks? If Mata was in the first team, he would even take free kicks ahead of Fernandes.

Leroy sane is also a very good freekicks taker(similar technique to Ronaldo though),my current best freekick taker is Messi,of all time it has to be zico(although maradona,platini were also specialist).
Ronaldo (2008-2013) was a good freekick specialist,but he lacked variety to his freekick Arsenal, something other legendary freekick taker had in their lockers.

Santiago123:
Nani scored exactly the same number of goals that Ronaldo did at that tournament,the vital goal against Iceland,Hungary and Wales, you could even argue his goal contribution was even more evenly spread out than Ronaldo that tournament.

Do well not to misunderstand me. I am not saying he was irrelevant. But then, you made it a bit too obvious by saying he had more spread-out goals than Ronaldo. He scored 1 goal against each of the countries mentioned...

Now I am not even talking about goals or assist but involvement in plays. Take away those ( I am not downplaying them) and you'll see that he probably wasn't involved with the team that much. I could argue they were sitters but then, it took them somewhere. My point exactly is that Nani wasn't the second best thing after Ronaldo in that Portuguese team during that competition. The likes of Pepe, Quaresma( mostly a sub tho), Renato ( during the knockouts stages) were more actively involved with the game than he was.

IKON360:
Rashford is a thrashy FK taker. The best FK taker in EPL is Ward Prowse and then maybe between Trent Arnold and De Bryune not freaking Rashford.
In fact I will take Savic of Lazio ahead of De Bryune and Trent Arnold.
Who dash Rashford free kicks? If Mata was in the first team, he would even take free kicks ahead of Fernandes.

No doubt. But let's get back to what about the freaking debate about Ronaldo not been great at free kicks.


The writer explicitly said he was good but wasn't the unique freekick taker. He's very much the kind of a taker that depended on power than style. And if you have watched the best freekick takers of all time, not many of them... In fact, I can say up to 90% don't go for power.

Now, let's dive back to how badly he has become in taking them. Obviously, the power and speed he relied so much on isn't the same as it used to be. These days, you'll rarely see his kicks hitting the target or even getting close, that's to tell us that he definitely wasn't that exceptional to begin with. He was good at it, no doubt but not anymore.. And I could further buttress my point by arguing that the best deadball takers grew better with age since they technically grew brighter to understanding wall placement and all sorts. That's exactly what Cr7 hasn't got.

FirstbornWds:
Do well not to misunderstand me. I am not saying he was irrelevant. But then, you made it a bit too obvious by saying he had more spread-out goals than Ronaldo. He scored 1 goal against each of the countries mentioned...

Now I am not even talking about goals or assist but involvement in plays. Take away those ( I am not downplaying them) and you'll see that he probably wasn't involved with the team that much. I could argue they were sitters but then, it took them somewhere. My point exactly is that Nani wasn't the second best thing after Ronaldo in that Portuguese team during that competition. The likes of Pepe, Quaresma( mostly a sub tho), Renato ( during the knockouts stages) were more actively involved with the game than he was.

I get your point but let's reason together
Nani was Portugal highest rated player against Iceland,against Wales and Hungary he was their second highest rated player(behind Ronaldo),his performance was evenly spread,Renato Santos had his best game against poland,quaresma best was against Croatia,pepe(MOTM in the final against France),it was a pure collective effort,I think Nani just pips it for me,his performance was evenly spread,his all-round game was pretty good too,and his link up with Ronaldo was brilliant.
In ur opinion who was Portugal second best player?

FirstbornWds:
No doubt. But let's get back to what about the freaking debate about Ronaldo not been great at free kicks.


The writer explicitly said he was good but wasn't the unique freekick taker. He's very much the kind of a taker that depended on power than style. And if you have watched the best freekick takers of all time, not many of them... In fact, I can say up to 90% don't go for power.

Now, let's dive back to how badly he has become in taking them. Obviously, the power and speed he relied so much on isn't the same as it used to be. These days, you'll rarely see his kicks hitting the target or even getting close, that's to tell us that he definitely wasn't that exceptional to begin with. He was good at it, no doubt but not anymore.. And I could further buttress my point by arguing that the best deadball takers grew better with age since they technically grew brighter to understanding wall placement and all sorts. That's exactly what Cr7 hasn't got.

The brazilian didi was the master of the falling leaf freekick technique(similar to knuckle ball),it was said that the unorthodox technique affected his knee later in his career.
I remember Mancini saying in 2010 that Ronaldo style of freekick will affect his knee later in the future,so it perhaps is no coincidence that Ronaldo freekick detoriated when he had that serious knee injury(/tendolosis) in 2014,since then you could argue he has never been the same(both his dribbling ability),i i believe Ronaldo unorthodox style of taking freekicks(since it was dependent on knee power) affected him later on,in his career.

FirstbornWds:
No doubt. But let's get back to what about the freaking debate about Ronaldo not been great at free kicks.


The writer explicitly said he was good but wasn't the unique freekick taker. He's very much the kind of a taker that depended on power than style. And if you have watched the best freekick takers of all time, not many of them... In fact, I can say up to 90% don't go for power.

Now, let's dive back to how badly he has become in taking them. Obviously, the power and speed he relied so much on isn't the same as it used to be. These days, you'll rarely see his kicks hitting the target or even getting close, that's to tell us that he definitely wasn't that exceptional to begin with. He was good at it, no doubt but not anymore.. And I could further buttress my point by arguing that the best deadball takers grew better with age since they technically grew brighter to understanding wall placement and all sorts. That's exactly what Cr7 hasn't got.

Ronaldo simply stopped practicing his free kicks, even Messi still practises his free kicks and Ronaldo was good at free kicks, his technique was the same knuckle ball technique that Juninho, Pirlo used. Rashford tried it against Chelsea and that was his best free kick. Ronaldo was using it frequently and it worked for him. But he has stopped practicing and I think he is now betting for holes in the wall to score his more recent attempts and most walls are braver now and so he would score less and less.
And using his age as basis to criticize his FK taking ability is off for me cos firstly the dead ball technique of free kicks achieved by using the knuckles to hit the ball is harder to execute than using the instep of the foot to hit the ball for either a straight shot or a curl. It's not about age or power but practice and accurate execution. Pirlo at 35 was still scoring free kicks and even Ronaldo's FK goal against Spain in 2018 was a well hit curl so he scored a curved ball. But Ronaldo has just stopped practicing as regularly as he should.

IKON360:
Ronaldo simply stopped practicing his free kicks, even Messi still practises his free kicks and Ronaldo was good at free kicks, his technique was the same knuckle ball technique that Juninho, Pirlo used. Rashford tried it against Chelsea and that was his best free kick. Ronaldo was using it frequently and it worked for him. But he has stopped practicing and I think he is now betting for holes in the wall to score his more recent attempts and most walls are braver now and so he would score less and less.
And using his age as basis to criticize his FK taking ability is off for me cos firstly the dead ball technique of free kicks achieved by using the knuckles to hit the ball is harder to execute than using the instep of the foot to hit the ball for either a straight shot or a curl. It's not about age or power but practice and accurate execution. Pirlo at 35 was still scoring free kicks and even Ronaldo's FK goal against Spain in 2018 was a well hit curl so he scored a curved ball. But Ronaldo has just stopped practicing as regularly as he should.

Ronaldo stopped being a good freekick taker as far back as 2014,there is no way it is lack of practice that made him not to be good.

IKON360:
Ronaldo simply stopped practicing his free kicks, even Messi still practises his free kicks and Ronaldo was good at free kicks, his technique was the same knuckle ball technique that Juninho, Pirlo used. Rashford tried it against Chelsea and that was his best free kick. Ronaldo was using it frequently and it worked for him. But he has stopped practicing and I think he is now betting for holes in the wall to score his more recent attempts and most walls are braver now and so he would score less and less.
And using his age as basis to criticize his FK taking ability is off for me cos firstly the dead ball technique of free kicks achieved by using the knuckles to hit the ball is harder to execute than using the instep of the foot to hit the ball for either a straight shot or a curl. It's not about age or power but practice and accurate execution. Pirlo at 35 was still scoring free kicks and even Ronaldo's FK goal against Spain in 2018 was a well hit curl so he scored a curved ball. But Ronaldo has just stopped practicing as regularly as he should.

Age has got to do with it brother.. This man analyzed it all with complete details.

Santiago123:
The brazilian didi was the master of the falling leaf freekick technique(similar to knuckle ball),it was said that the unorthodox technique affected his knee later in his career.
I remember Mancini saying in 2010 that Ronaldo style of freekick will affect his knee later in the future,so it perhaps is no coincidence that Ronaldo freekick detoriated when he had that serious knee injury(/tendolosis) in 2014,since then you could argue he has never been the same(both his dribbling ability),i i believe Ronaldo unorthodox style of taking freekicks(since it was dependent on knee power) affected him later on,in his career.

He stopped practicing obviously because age caught with him and continually practicing that would mean more damage.

Juninho and Pirlo didn't always use the knuckle style. It was all dependent on the placement of the ball and wall height.

Santiago123:
Ronaldo stopped being a good freekick taker as far back as 2014,there is no way it is lack of practice that made him not to be good.

Exactly.

Santiago123:
I get your point but let's reason together
Nani was Portugal highest rated player against Iceland,against Wales and Hungary he was their second highest rated player(behind Ronaldo),his performance was evenly spread,Renato Santos had his best game against poland,quaresma best was against Croatia,pepe(MOTM in the final against France),it was a pure collective effort,I think Nani just pips it for me,his performance was evenly spread,his all-round game was pretty good too,and his link up with Ronaldo was brilliant.
In ur opinion who was Portugal second best player?

Honestly, I don't know who to rate better than Pepe. Man was solid for a long time after the flaw against Hungary. Yes, Nani was good but I don't know why I still want to refuse that he wasn't exceptionally a star of the competition. Well, maybe third since Renato wasn't all solid until the knockout stages.


My reason doesn't go beyond that he wasn't actively involved with the team play except in front of goals, even though he only scored 3. There is a reason why I don't use the Euro 2016 as a banter point against Ronaldo... Even though he scored only 3, it was impossible not to see how much threat he posed especially when he refused to go beyond the opposition midfield while still maintaining still staying onside. Nani on the other hand was one of the few forwards that lost possession more, and had the fullbacks scampering each time to defend counter press. Take the Poland game for example.

FirstbornWds:
Exactly.

You could well argue that both his freekick and dribbling ability declined in that 2014,he became more of a poacher than an all round wide forward.

FirstbornWds:
Honestly, I don't know who to rate better than Pepe. Man was solid for a long time after the flaw against Hungary. Yes, Nani was good but I don't know why I still want to refuse that he wasn't exceptionally a star of the competition. Well, maybe third since Renato wasn't all solid until the knockout stages.


My reason doesn't go beyond that he wasn't actively involved with the team play except in front of goals, even though he only scored 3. There is a reason why I don't use the Euro 2016 as a banter point against Ronaldo... Even though he scored only 3, it was impossible not to see how much threat he posed especially when he refused to go beyond the opposition midfield while still maintaining still staying onside. Nani on the other hand was one of the few forwards that lost possession more, and had the fullbacks scampering each time to defend counter press. Take the Poland game for example.

I don't really want to blame Ronaldo,but both you and I know Ronaldo wasn't great at that euro,his finishing effeciency was pretty bad(most shots without scoring),he had the worst conversation rate of any player to score (3) goals that tournament,Nani scored the same number of goals with way better effeciency,but I also agree if u put pepe above Nani,he was pretty solid,his MOTM performance against France was just the crowning moment
All in all it was a collective effort and no one should lay claim for it to be a one-man mission.

Santiago123:
I don't really want to blame Ronaldo,but both you and I know Ronaldo wasn't great at that euro,his finishing effeciency was pretty bad(most shots without scoring),he had the worst conversation rate of any player to score (3) goals that tournament,Nani scored the same number of goals with way better effeciency,but I also agree if u put pepe above Nani,he was pretty solid,his MOTM performance against France was just the crowning moment
All in all it was a collective effort and no one should lay claim for it to be a one-man mission.

Yes.. Ronaldo wasn't close to exceptional. I sometimes attribute that trophy to luck and some sort of glory hunting. But then, I won't downplay the fear factor he constituted by his presence and commanding style of play.

Nonetheless, I understand your points.

Santiago123:
You could well argue that both his freekick and dribbling ability declined in that 2014,he became more of a poacher than an all round wide forward.

No truer fact. I might as well go back to see more of his persona in 2013/14 to be sure about his stance on taking freekicks

Freekick Goals in 2021

Messi = 5
Unemployed Messi = 1
Cristiano Ronaldo = 0


LMAO

FirstbornWds:
Yes.. Ronaldo wasn't close to exceptional. I sometimes attribute that trophy to luck and some sort of glory hunting. But then, I won't downplay the fear factor he constituted by his presence and commanding style of play.

Nonetheless, I understand your points.

Ur right Ronaldo presence constituted fear for the oponent,and for someone that didn't really have a good euro he still won the euro silver boot(although he gifted it to Nani),he also had three assist which was quite brilliant,he had a decent tournament.

Santiago123:
Ronaldo stopped being a good freekick taker as far back as 2014,there is no way it is lack of practice that made him not to be good.

In football, there is nothing you get good at without practice. From shooting to passing even heading and tackling. You must practise it. You might have a knack for certain things but you still need to practise it.
Free kicks have different ways of execution, and it's still one of the hardest ways to score, if you don't practice it you would be poor. It's that simple. Why do you think Ronaldo is so stellar at penalties but poor in free kicks? Practise. It's that simple. He is also stellar at finding pockets of space and finishing chances. He is also phenomenal at headers. Practise.
Messi practises his free kicks, his passing, his dribbling, his shooting. That's why he is still good at these things.
Like I said, you as a player may have a knack for certain things on pitch but you still need to practise to remain good at those things.

FirstbornWds:
Age has got to do with it brother.. This man analyzed it all with complete details.




He stopped practicing obviously because age caught with him and continually practicing that would mean more damage.

Juninho and Pirlo didn't always use the knuckle style. It was all dependent on the placement of the ball and wall height.

That means we have arrived at a suitable compromise. So yes I agree that Ronaldo stopped being an explosive dribbler around that 2014 and he evolved his game to be more effective in front of goal. So even if he doesn't score a free kick or make a 60m dash, he could score the goals to lift the team.
And most likely the injury made him stop practising those free kicks and if you remember, he doesn't score from range as he used to do earlier in his career too.
Finally, injuries na bastard. Ronaldo's knee, Messi's groin

And so everyone went to bed happy besides our nuisance neighbour who took L's all day long.

devvy44:
Who is this one?

Have I ever asked you for data or begged you for money?

Mind your fvcking business and focus on your music career.

Busybody

At least I have a music career and still have my eggs in different baskets.


But your whole short life is just revolved around the name Messi.

Get a life Mehn.

UNCL3:
At least I have a music career and still have my eggs in different baskets.


But your whole short life is just revolved around the name Messi.

Get a life Mehn.

lol you wicked

But he's actually a student at Dummynican University and he's currenly doing his IT virtually here.

ddippset:
lol you wicked

But he's actually a student at Dummynican University and he's currenly doing his IT virtually here.

Good for him.

I'm also a student in one of the prestigious university, with a side hustle plus music.

And I'm not trying to talk him down, I'm not just happy everytime I come here to read positive comments about our darling club, only but to see 1 person dragging the thread to 2 extra pages just to be seeing “Messi is trophiless internationally”.

The guy needs the word REST in his life.
He needs to take a break.

ANY OTHER SIGNING FOR BARCELONA?
SO FAR WE HAVE SHIPPED OUT TRINCAO(loan move),UMTITI AND PJANIC SEEM TO BE THE NEXT OBVIOUS CANDIDATE TO BE SHIPPED OUT,SO AS TO CREATE A FAVOURABLE WAGE BUDGET.
REALLY LOOKING OUT TO HOW THE SEASON WILL BEGIN.I BELIEVE KOEMAN IS ACTUALLY HAPPY WITH THE MESSI DILEMMA,HE PROBABLY WOULD WANT MESSI TO LEAVE,AS MESSI CREATES GREAT TACTICAL LIABILITY TO HIS SYSTEM.
BUT LETS SEE HOW THE SEASON UNFOLDS.

UNCL3:
Good for him.

I'm also a student in one of the prestigious university, with a side hustle plus music.

And I'm not trying to talk him down, I'm not just happy everytime I come here to read positive comments about our darling club, only but to see 1 person dragging the thread to 2 extra pages just to be seeing “Messi is trophiless internationally”.

The guy needs the word REST in his life.
He needs to take a break.

You didn't get the joke

2021 FPL season open for entry

https://www.nairaland.com/6631572/nairaland-fantasy-premier-league-2021

TLona1:
You didn't get the joke

Lol

I do now

Santiago123:
ANY OTHER SIGNING FOR BARCELONA?
SO FAR WE HAVE SHIPPED OUT TRINCAO(loan move),UMTITI AND PJANIC SEEM TO BE THE NEXT OBVIOUS CANDIDATE TO BE SHIPPED OUT,SO AS TO CREATE A FAVOURABLE WAGE BUDGET.
REALLY LOOKING OUT TO HOW THE SEASON WILL BEGIN.I BELIEVE KOEMAN IS ACTUALLY HAPPY WITH THE MESSI DILEMMA,HE PROBABLY WOULD WANT MESSI TO LEAVE,AS MESSI CREATES GREAT TACTICAL LIABILITY TO HIS SYSTEM.
BUT LETS SEE HOW THE SEASON UNFOLDS.

Well Umtiti has said he die there. He's not going anywhere.