30 Footballers With Best Free Kick Capability

Juninho Pernambucano gets our No. 1 spot for the best free kicker in football history. He was the best at scoring the dead-ball situation.

Who else can claim the crown as the best free kicker of all time? 

Wherever you may look, it’s undeniable that the kicker Juninho is simply the greatest free kicker of all time. There’s not even a discussion on the topic. 

Is he the best free kicker in football history? Yes, with 77 goals on the free kick no one has ever taken this crown of his.

Juninho had mastered the ‘knuckleball technique’ and scored the balls from the most unexpecting angle without missing the accuracy regularly shot in from 20 or 30 or even 40 yards.

His blows were of such quality and came in such an unexpecting way, that goalkeepers simply couldn’t do anything about them.

People call him “The Free Kick god” due to his capabilities. Only after watching the highlights of his free kicks can the current generation will understand the reason for his title and will enjoy watching it.

Next on the list, we have Pele. The Brazilian legendary football star is one of the best footballers with the best free kick taker in the world and he has the stats report to back up this fact.

Due to his amazing playing ability, he is often regarded as the King of Football. He started to display his prominence at the age of 18 at the 1958 World Cup by wowing the global audience by helping Brazil to ever triumph in the first World Cup in entire South America.

Pele’s ability as a lethal striker and being able to bend the balls in vast directions made him a fan favorite. 

Overall, the Football King has scored more than 1000 goals with 70 coming from the free kicks he has shot.

His greatest goal with thunderous effort was in the 1970 World Cup against Romania. The way he made the shot happen was an amazing feat that made the fame for him.

Thus, he is regarded as the best free kicker in football history.

After Pele, we have Victor Legrotaglie as number 3 on the list of best free kick takers.

The former Argentina international star who played midfielder in his football career was a pretty special talent. Despite being the midfielder for the team, he has more goals than Messi and Maradona on this list. 

With 66 free kicks taken and scored in his career, he played exclusively only for 21 years in Argentina.

He had received offers from famous clubs such as Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus, but he chose not to play for the clubs and only played for his country.

Though the least-known player, he still has the same amount of fame as his better famous colleagues such as Maradona and Messi in his home country.

There is no doubt that he was a free kick taker specialist with a record like that

Next on the list of the best free kicker in football history is the one and only Ronaldinho sitting at number 4.

The Brazillian football star is said to be the best football player to ever grace the football field and one will agree with this thought. The football star could do everything, dribble, pass, shoot and have a flair that is second to none.

The Brazilian magician player has made his play in football clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona and AC Milan among others. 

His groundwork is one of the reasons for the success enjoyed by Barcelona till now.

His fame came from his free kick against England in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. His array of tricks dazzled fans from all over the world and he was voted the best player in the world in 2004 and 2005.

Ronaldinho has scored 66 free kick goals across different continents and matches played in his entire football career ranking him as number 4 on this list.

On number 5 of our list, we have David Beckham in this position.

With his much outstanding free kick that was wonderful to watch, the phrase, “Bend it like Beckham” become instantly famous. The Englishman’s whole legacy was based upon his delivery of free kicks and corners.

His incredible play style helped the iconic Manchester United dominate the Premier League in the late 90s and 2000s and his charming looks made him iconic.

The Manchester United and Real Madrid legend netted a total of 65 goals of free kicks in his entire career, only a bit shy of being equal to Ronaldinho.

David Beckham who had mastered the free-kick scoring technique compensated for his lack of speed on the pitch.

The modern-day poster boy David Beckham courted much attention and coverage due to his charismatic charm, boyish good looks, and marriage to former spice girl ‘Posh’.

Beckham made such a name for himself with his trademark ‘banana curve’ free kick and to the T of accuracy that a movie called ‘Bend it like Beckham’ was created based on it. 

On number 6, we have Australian star player Diego Maradona. Popular as Maradona, he is an iconic figure and legend in the field of football.

With expertise in close control, wonderful technique and great vision, Maradona famous and iconic figure in his home country and worldwide. While he is famous for his every way in the world of football, he started to gain fame from the score of the ‘goal of the century’ and the ‘hand of God’incident.

Maradona can also be donned as the inspiration for Messi as both their body build and playing style is a bit similar.

In the 1986 World Cup, he single-handedly led Argentina’s national team to win the cup.

He played mainly for clubs such as Barcelona and Napoli.

Although he has all that amazing feat of his on his resume, he was more than handy for his opponent when his side won a free kick.

The legend of Argentine football scored nearly 20% of his career goals with free-kicks. Diego scored 62 goals in his career. 

Next on the list, we have Zico at number 7 ranked as the best free kicker in the football world.

You may have only heard Zico but not his real name. Well, it doesn’t ring a bell when some asks but the real name of Zico is Arthur Antunes Coimbra.

Known as the first true free kick specialist, he outwitted the goalkeepers of his time with his intelligence and his two-step run-up.

The gifted Brazillian attacking midfielder Zico started to show his prowess in the 1970s and 80s. He is one of the players who revolutionized the way of free kick taking.

With his tremendous poise, technique and control of the placement, he kept the ball from the reach of the opposing team’s goalie

He was very precise with his way of shooting the ball and was accurate with his kicks.

He played with a number of clubs such as Flamengo, Udinese and Kashima.

Often known as ‘The White Pele’ scored a total of 62 direct free-kicks that were so deadly that people constantly debated on the best way to stop it.

Ronald Koeman is listed in the 8th position as the best free kicker in the football world.

The Dutch footballer is regarded as the best attacking central defender of all time, he was recognized for his specialty on free kicks attaching him the title of the top-scoring defender in the football world.

The Barcelona player had won Dutch Footballer of the Year two times and became part of PSV Eindhoven’s European Cup in 1988.

Though already retired and is now acting as the manager, he was also given the moniker of ‘the blonde arrow’ for his achievement as the greatest defender on the football stage.

Still holding the title of highest-scoring defender of all time with 253 official goals, he has managed to score 60 free kick goals in his entire career.

Due to his achievement in free kicks, he has also been nicknamed as the King of free kicks. 

The player has played in clubs such as Barcelona and Ajax.

Standing on number 9, we have Lionel Messi, the star football player from Argentina. 

The seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or can be said to be the greatest footballer of all time. 

The Argentinian player has played for clubs such as Barcelona and is currently playing for PSG.

Though not much of a free kick taker in his early days, the star player has changed that perception of people about it. Up to 2019, he only had scored 49 goals on free kicks which was low compared to a similar footballer who has given as much as his time.

But now the Argentine wizard star player has reached the score of 60 free kick goals in his current career.

How did he change that much in 3 years? Practice, Practice and Practice. He puts importance on practicing and improving the way he shoots the ball and making him better than he was yesterday.

Currently, he is the most prolific and iconic footballer player that has many fans following and many youths of this generation making him their idol.

On number 10 we have Marcelinho Carioca ranked as the best free kick taker in the world of football.

The Brazilian footballer was known for his clean striking of the ball as long as he gets the ball in his legs. He used to play the match with such proficiency and technique, he had won the heart of his fans with his charismatic playing style.

Now retired player, Carioca used to play as a midfielder in the match. The entirety of his career was played for homeland not going out of the country for other clubs.

He is the most prolific player that was represented the Corinthians amassing a large number of trophies for the club.

Due to him being extremely gifted as a free kick taker, he was nicknamed ‘Pe-de-Anjo’ which translates to ‘Angel Foot’. 

Carioca has scored a stunning score of total 59 goals from a direct free kick demonstrating the amazing ability of his. 

Surely, Carioca can be dubbed and listed as the best free kick taker of all time.

Ranked number 11, we have Rodrigo Ceni, the Brazilian player standing firm in his position. 

Rodrigo’s main playing position was as a goalkeeper and he was known as the greatest goalscoring goalkeeper of all time. Scoring 100 goals in one’s career is not bad when you are playing as a goalkeeper most of the time. 

And even with many players playing as the goalkeeper, not a single player has been able to take this crown of his from him. 

 With 131 goals in his entire career, he has scored 59 free kicks putting him at number 11 for the best free kick taker of all time. He really can be said to be the best free kick taker in the history of football.

Rodrigo played most of the matches for Sao Paulo.

Rodrigo has won the Brazilian title three times consecutively, the Sao Paulo state championship four times and has been awarded the man of the match.

There is no doubt that Rodrigo Ceni is one of the greatest goalkeepers and best free kick takers in the world of football.

The one and only Cristiano Ronaldo is ranked 12th position on the list of best free kick takers in football history.

The Portuguese star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most iconic footballer there is. Both Messi and Ronaldo are kept and high pedestal and compared with each other by their die-hard fans.

He is the model for the modern forward, combining speed, skill and strength in a most systematic way in a match.

Ronaldo has the ability to hit the dead ball from anywhere within 30 yards of the goalpost.

Though he has missed plenty of goals within that limit he still is the most prolific player of recent times.

Starting his career in the 2002-03 season, Ronaldo has scored 57 free kick goals to date. 

He is also the most followed player on Twitter raking him more than 100 million fans and followers.

His free kick style is still varied but his knuckleball-type shot is the particularly dangerous one. Now 39 years Ronaldo has much less achievement compared to his prime about 10 years back.

Ronaldo has played for big named clubs such as Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United.

Even though the decline has come to the star player, he is still considered the best free kick taker in the world of football.

On number 13, we have ranked Alessandro Del Piero as the best free kick takers in the world of football.

The retired Italian star Alessandro Del Piero is one of the most magnificent players among his football mates.

Del Piero is an absolute legend at Juventus, who also played for Sydney FC and Delhi Dynamos before retiring from the football world.

With his ability able to bend the curve of the ball at the edge of the penalty or firing area, Del Piero has shown his absolute accuracy while kicking the free kick.

So, his indisputable ability to score and curve the ball in varieties of ways from different angles and from distances has made him the nightmare for goalkeepers to look out for the ball.

Del Piero has scored 52 goals from free kicks making him up for his current position.

Ranked number 14, we have French star player Michel Platini holding his ranking firmly.

Platini stands out as the best player of his time. The player can easily be identified as the greatest European footballer of the 1980s who scored goals on a regular basis.

Many may not know this but he is also the winner of the Ballon d’Or for three times already for his wonderful and consistent execution of the fantastic match he plays on the field.

He was also regarded as the greatest free kick taker as well best penalty kick shooter. 

With his wonderful curve, the ball reaches beyond the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Michel Platini has scored 50 free kick goals in his entire football career.

One cannot argue, he is the greatest free kicker in football history.

Ranked number 15, we have the Italian star and coach Andrea Pirlo upholding his position for the best free kick taken in the world of football.

In 2019, the Italian football midfielder star was seated in the Italian Hall of Fame. Before retirement, Pirlo played for big-name clubs such as AC Milan and Juventus. Now, Pirlo is working as a coach. 

Pirlo has an amazing capability for passes either short or long and he was quite good with free kick goals.

The football star has made 46 free kick goals in his entire football career which in itself is very score. 

Whenever Pirlo was there for a free kick, the goalkeeper had to be greatly focused to stop the shots of Pirlo.

One cannot deny his capability for his free kick shooting power and accuracy. 

Ranked number 16, we have Serbian football player Sinisa Mihajlovic as the holder of the rank.

He is regarded as the deadliest free kick taker of all time, where goalkeepers would have nightmares from the dead shot ball. 

He was a technically gifted player but was a no-nonsense defender. Mihajlovic was also so good with a free kick, he scored a hat-trick in a single game. 

Even then manager Sven Goran Eriksson said he would pick Mihajlovic for the free kick rather than Beckham showing how much good he was with the ball.

Sinisa Mihaklovic has scored 28 free kick goals in his entire football career.

Though Mihaklovic may not be the most prolific player, he still deserves the respect for his versatility in the field and the way he shoots his free kick toward his opponent.

One can say he is one of the best free kick taker in the world of football.

Ranked number 17, we have Roberto Carlos, the former Brazilian football player holding his position as the best free kick shooter.

In his entire career as a footballer, Carlos has only scored 26 free kicks. Carlos may not seem to have more goals in his rank but for defense playing player that much amount is pretty good.

Carlos was also known for his bullet shot that left keepers dreaded to tackle his shot. The footballer started his career as a striker but switched to defense.

He got his fame from the match with the mind-numbing and mind-bending effort he had shown against France. He may not have been consistent in the match, but he was most unbelievable in that match.

For that match, he will forever be remembered.

He played for clubs such as Real Madrid, Corinthians and Fenerbahce.

The prowess of his free kick has made him on the list of the best free kick taker.

Ranked 18th on the list of best free kick takers, Gheorghe Hagi is one of Romania’s best former football player and current football manager.

Because of his jaw-dropping ability as a playmaker, he was nicknamed “The Maradona of the Carpathians”. 

He was given the nickname because of his ability to not only manage the ball on the field but also had the capability to manage and organize his mates with his vision and foresight during the game.

Hagi’s greatest capability was being the great leader for the national team breaking the defense of the opponent.

Due to his great ability, he was pretty much also the best free kick taker when required.

He was regarded as the ‘Capra’ (goat in Romanian) for his abilities in the field.

Next, we have Roberto Baggio holding his position as the best free kick taker in the football world.

Baggio is the former Italian football star who mainly played as an attacking midfielder who was capable of playing several offensive positions. 

He was nicknamed ‘The Divine Ponytail’ as he was a jack of all trades but was a master of all of them with his honed techniques making him an innovative playmaker who was renowned for his free kick shooting, dribbling and goal-shooting moves.

Within 18 yards of the goalpost, Baggio was able to take the free kick as the penalty shootout with his creativity even with the wall of players blocking in front of him.

His sublime technique and innovativeness made him so good, that he brought joy whenever he was the one to hold the free kick shot.

And he has 21 free kick scores in his entire football career.

We have Gianfranco Zola at number 20 on the list of the best free kickers in the world of football.

The former Italian footballer played forward in the field. Now he is a football manager.

The star player has played for clubs such as Napoli, Parma, Chelsea and Cagliari.

The genius Zola with his creativity and intelligence sets him apart from all the other footballers.

With his ability to set the ball wherever he wants in the field with his superb technique, going directly going for the goal or going for long passes.

Though small in stature, he was a master craftsman with the run-up being identical and ball placement being varied every time.

He could make the free kick taken look like having a fun time. 

He has scored 20 free kicks in his entire term as a footballer player.

It in no injustice to put him on this list.

Jose Luis Chilavert is placed at number 21 as the best free kick taker on the list. Chilavert is a Paraguayan goalkeeper who has been perfecting his skill for a long time.

As a fast and agile goalkeeper, he is known got his strong personality and goalkeeping abilities. He is regarded as the best goalkeeper in his prime. 

Along with his goalkeeping ability, he also matched his free kicking ability. Due to his better abilities, he is the second-highest goalkeeper to have goal-scoring abilities only short of Rogerio Ceni. 

He played for clubs such as Sportivo Luqueño, Guaraní, San Lorenzo de Almagro, Real Zaragoza, Vélez Sarsfield, etc.

Chilavert has scored 8 goals only for the games. 

Next, we have Zinedine Zidane ranked 22 as the best free kicker in the world of football. 

The popular French professional manager and former player used to play as an attacking midfielder. He recently coached Real Madrid and is regarded as the most successful and greatest player of all time.

The footballer is renowned for his playmaking as well as his elegance, passing, ball control and technique. He was also named the FIFA World Player of the Year for 1998, 2000 and 2003 and also won the Ballon d’Or of 1998.

He played for clubs such as Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus and Real Madrid. 

Currently, he is coaching the players from Real Madrid. 

Zidane has scored 18 free kicks in his entire football playing career.

He can certainly be regarded as the greatest player of all time.

After Zidane, we have Alvaro Recoba holding the number 23 position for best free kick taker in the world of football.

Uruguayan player Recoba always played as a forward or sometimes as a midfielder,

Though not always on target, Recoba’s free kicks were pretty special. 

He had a good range for shooting and shooting the ball exactly where he wanted the ball to be.

He had played for clubs such as Inter Milan, Torino and Panionios. 

Due to his amazing ability to hit the free kick, he can be regarded as the best free kicker.

Miralem Pjanic is on the rank 24 in the list of best free kick takers in football history.

Pjanic is a Bosnian player who plays the midfielder position currently playing for Sharjah and the Bosnian national team.

The footballer is very good at free kick and has the better capability for it if he is given more opportunities as he had many chances to show his capabilities in front of legendary figures such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He has played for clubs such as Metz, Lyon, Roma, Juventus and Barcelona and is currently in Sharjah.

The Bosnian football player has netted 26 free kicks till now. This shows how good he is with the free kicks as this score of his is despite not having the opportunity to score the free kick.

Next on the list, we have Pierre van Hooijdonk for the position. The Dutch football player used to play as a forward. 

Hooijdonk is a prolific football player who is known for bending his free kicks.

Though the player had started his journey as a football player had started early, he never stuck to a single club for a long time.

He has played for the clubs such as Celtic, Nottingham Forest, Vitesse, Benefica, Feyenoord and some other Turkish clubs.

Though not consistent with his club, his ability to free kick the ball is great.

He has scored 18 times for the free kick in the entire career of his football.

We have Ian Harte next on the list of best free kick takers ranking at 26. Ian is a former Irish footballer that played in the defensive position on the field.

Though he has not scored many free kicks in his career, he still is best known for his ability to be a free kick.

Ian has played in clubs such as Leeds United, Levante, Sunderland, Blackpool, Carlisle United, Reading, etc.

Ian has netted a total of 12 free kick goals in his entire career.

Though on low side, he still has the good capability to score a free kick.

Ranked number 27, we have Paulo Dybala as the next footballer for the best free kick taker in the football world.

Argentinian football player plays forward for club Roma and the national team of Argentina.

The player has played through big named clubs such as Palermo and Juventus. 

He has only netted 11 free kick goals till now when he was in Juventus, he was not given many opportunities for him to net a goal in free kick because, at that time, Ronaldo was leading the team.

With little given opportunity, he still has netted that much goals, if he given an opportunity, maybe he can score more goals?

We have Marcos Assuncao ranked 28 in the list of best free kick takers in the world of football. The now-retired player was a member of Brazil’s national team.

Assuncao has not much stunning free kicks during his time in Europe but he had the potential for a free kicker. 

His two-step run-up is one of his famous moves while scoring the free kick of his.

He played games with the clubs such as Roma and Real Betis. He was known for his midfielder abilities.

The Brazilian player has nutted 11 free kicks in his entire football career.

Now on to the second last of the list on number 29, we have Juan Roman Riquelme holding the position.

This former Argentina midfielder was considered one of the greatest players of Argentina of all time.

He was considered the best playmaker in his prime. But his only weakness was his lack of pace and introverted character made him difficult for him to have any proper play despite having good talent.

He was even compared to Maradona when he was in his prime.

He played for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Villarreal and Argentinos Juniors.

Despite that, he still is one the best footballer to take a free kick easily making him one of the best.

Finally, the last footballer, we have on the list of the best free kickers is Shunsuke Nakamura.

This Japanese legend is one of the fan favorites of the Celtics. The former footballer had remarkable ability making him one of the more famous characters in the world of football. 

He has won awards such as J. League Most Valuable Player, Scottish player of the year, etc.

The former star has scored a total of 17 free kicks making him one of the best free kick takers of his time.