Who is the best executor of direct kicks? Ronaldo and Messi are not even in the top ten

Goals from direct kicks are among the most beautiful goals in football. Which footballers have scored the most goals from these standard situations?

You’d probably expect Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to be at the top. However, although they are some of the best footballers in history, neither has made the top ten yet.

The Portuguese goalscorer had the best direct kicks at Manchester United, scoring plenty of goals from them. He carried that form over to Real Madrid, where he also scored wonderfully, as well as for the Portuguese national team. However, since his transfer to Juventus, he hasn’t scored from a free kick for a long time, giving him 47 goals.

Lionel Messi can curve the ball brilliantly with his left foot, he has done it several times. At the beginning of his career he was not so dominant in this statistic, but in recent years every goalkeeper is afraid of executing these situations. Messi has scored 57 goals from direct kicks.

So who are the most successful direct kick executors?

10-9 – Marcelinho Carioca – 59

The Brazilian footballer has spent most of his career in Brazil, playing for Flamengo, Corinthians, Santos and Brasiliense. In Europe, he played for Valencia of Spain and Ajaccio of France. He also tried his hand in Saudi Arabia, where he played for Al-Nassr, and in Japan, where he played for Gamba Osaka. He has also made three national team starts.

10-9 – Rogerio Ceni – 59

The most unique thing about Ceni is that he was a goalkeeper. And yet he scored 59 goals from direct kicks, more than both Messi and Ronaldo. He has spent his entire 20-year career with Brazilian club Sao Paulo, playing 18 games for the Brazilian national team. He played both direct kicks and penalties and scored the most goals in football history as a goalkeeper, sending the ball into the net 103 times.

8 – Ronald Koeman – 60

The current Barcelona coach is not having a pleasant time on the Blaugranas bench. But he has had a unique playing career, having played for Ajax, Eindhoven and Feyenoord, with most of his career linked to Barcelona, in whose jersey he has played 192 games. He had a unique technique and a hard shot from distance, which is why he scored 60 goals from direct kicks. Overall, he has 293 goals in his career.

7-6 – Zico – 62

Another Brazilian in the rankings. Zico is regarded as one of the best footballers of all time, he was considered the best playmaker in the world at the turn of the 70s and 80s and also the greatest direct kick specialist, able to curve the ball in any direction.

7-6 – Diego Maradona – 62

The fifth member of the rankings and the fourth footballer from South America. Not much needs to be said about Maradona, along with Pele, Messi and Ronaldo he is considered the best player in football history. His left footed strike was absolutely magnificent, it’s just a pity that he put the brakes on his talent with a poor lifestyle, there could have been even more wonderful goals.

5 – David Beckham – 65

The master of the direct kick. Beckham was a true specialist in playing all standard situations from all possible positions, whether it was a shot or a centre. He scored 65 goals from direct free kicks for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England.

4-3 – Victor Legrottaglie – 66

Perhaps the least known name on the entire list. Legrottaglie has played his entire career in his native Argentina, although the likes of Real Madrid and Inter Milan have been interested in him. His speciality was direct kicks, making him the most successful Argentine ever in this discipline, ahead of Messi, Maradona and Riquelmo.

4-3 – Ronaldinho – 66

A footballer who was a joy to watch. In terms of sheer footballing talent, Ronaldinho was perhaps the best of all footballers in history. The defender managed to make the crowd dance with his graceful movement and incredible technique, which also helped him in direct kicks, from which he scored 66 times.

2 – Pele – 70

This ranking is absolutely dominated by the Brazilians. Pele is one of the narrow top of the best footballers in history, so it’s no wonder he’s in second place. The Brazilian legend scored an astonishing 757 goals in his career, 70 of which came from direct kicks.

1 – Juninho Pernambucano – 77

An absolute icon when it comes to direct kicks. Juninho came up with a technique called the ‘knuckleball’, where the ball would rotate in the air and confuse the goalkeeper. When Juninho was on the pitch, the defenders had to be careful not to foul in the defensive half because the Brazilian footballer was dangerous from every position.

Juninho has been hailed by pundits, fans and players as the best direct kick executor in history. His floated shots were truly uncatchable, he was at Lyon from 2001 to 2009 and won 7 consecutive Ligue 1 titles.

You can watch a montage of Juninho’s best attempts below.

Source: Give Me Sport, Twitter