When you see a free kick with in shooting range in a game today you just see a shooter, a wall and a goalkeeper.
These are great examples of an ability to strike a ball but how many times do they end up like this?
Ok, maybe not as bad as some of those but you know what I mean. Wouldn't it be better to teach our players two or three free kicks that they can use anywhere near goal. Maybe one from the middle, one from a wider area and one from a little further from goal.
They don't have to be overly complicated or take a lot of training time to master but they would involve a little creativity and disguise.
The best example would be the free kick executed by USA vs Belgium in the World Cup. Here it is from two different angles both at full speed and in slow motion.
There are three things that contribute to making this a good free kick. One, it looks like the players are lining up to shoot. Two, there's an attacking player in the wall. Three, a player runs free around the outside to create an angle for the pass. The only thing missing is the finish!
I found one other example of this free kick.
[wpsharely id="6889"] [/wpsharely]
So, what do you think? Should we just line up and shoot the ball when we can? Or should we teach our players how to be a little creative in these situations. There are valid arguments on each side. I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments section below.
Have a great day!
Tom
