How do you take the perfect free-kick? The devil is in the process and it is one which few have mastered to the degree of Roberto Carlos.
The curving trajectory and the sheer power against a billowing net, the Brazilian legend is not defined by his set pieces alone. All the same, they are the benchmark. So there were few so delighted by Luke Shaw’s summer of success with England at the European Championship, and the comparisons that followed, than the man himself.
The newly-christened “Shawberto Carlos” ended the tournament with three assists and a goal that proved to be the fastest in the history of the competition’s final. Yet while it proved academic in the scheme of ultimate defeat to Italy, for his biggest admirer it was another vindication of the calibre of left-back the Manchester United defender has become.
“I’ve been following him on social media for a while now,” Carlos told i. “And now and again, we talk over private messaging so I was really happy to know that he was a fan of me!
“I was also really happy to see what a great Euros he had, not just because of the goals and the passes, but because of the quality of his play. He’s a modern footballer, that’s why he’s in the England team and he’s going to continue to get even better.”
It is not yet six years since a horrific leg break which, Shaw says, could have led to amputation. Now, he is not only recovered but is noticeably fitter and behind the scenes at both Carrington and St George’s Park, he has impressed with his determination to reach the heights that were expected when he first moved to the Theatre of Dreams from Southampton.
Hard work, after all, is the real secret behind the great set pieces – at least according to Carlos, who reflects modestly on his own reputation. He considers for a moment. “It’s all to do with training,” he shrugs. “It’s also a gift of course, but it’s a gift that has to be perfected and that’s something I’ve trained on my entire career, every day after training, 30-40 minutes hitting it inside the wall, outside the wall, over the wall. It’s the result of work, nothing more.”
That would certainly explain why the battle for free-kick eminency among currently active players has become another instalment of Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo. Together they have more than a century of goals via that method between them, numbers which can only be achieved by the truly fanatical. So, who does it better?
“Messi’s free-kicks are more placed, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo’s have the power like mine – my free-kicks were all about power,” Carlos adds. “So if I were to choose between the two, I would go for the power and quality of the Cristiano free-kicks. So I prefer Cristiano’s style of free-kicks.”
That is one obvious measure by which the two can be separated, at least. When it comes to true “GOAT [greatest of all time]” status, it is impossible to weigh them up without falling down an endless rabbit hole of endless statistics and other nuances. Carlos knows that better than most, having won the 2002 World Cup alongside a few contenders for that title in their own right.
Had Ronaldo Nazario steered clear of injury, who can say how high he might have soared? Then there are those, such as current Brazil forward Willian, who have put Ronaldinho in the conversation too. At any rate, Carlos believes one of their greatest abilities lay in improving the players around them.
“That year [2002] was the best year of my career,” he says. “I was voted second best player in the world, only behind Ronaldo and it was a huge education. I learned so much from these players. Not only winning the World Cup, but I had the privilege of playing with the best players in the world, both for Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team.
“These players were my teachers, my friends. They helped me become a better person, a better player, a better professional. So it’s just a source of immense pride to have made history in that team, winning the World Cup and playing with the best players in the world was just an immense privilege.”
Football legend Roberto Carlos took part in #TheToughestTest to celebrate the launch of the brand-new life-proof Nokia XR20 5G smartphone, available to purchase now. To find out more, please visit: https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_gb/kick-it
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3x8PhqH
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