In order to become good at soccer free kick requires time. You should not feel discouraged if you don’t receive the expected results immediately.

I know from experience how important it is to keep going. I didn’t start out as a good soccer player. In fact, it took m many long hours of practicing before I was really considered “good” in the eyes of my friends.

How to perform it

Riquelme says following about this skill “you need to take every practice as an opportunity to get better“.

1. Find your pico (point mark) on the ball and use it to find your aim.

2. Take three or four steps back.

3. Visualize where you want to kick the ball.

4. Try to land your non-kicking foot 2-3 inches from the ball. You can try it out few times before executing the free kick. By doing that you will get a feeling of where your non-kicking foot will land. Keep in mind also that your non-kicking foot need to point in the direction of where you want to kick the ball. Also, the closer your foot is to the ball the bigger chance to hit the goal.

5. Perform a quick run at the ball.

6. Try to aim at one of the posts as it will increase the chance of scoring.

7. Kick the ball over the wall.

Tips

• The closer you are to the goal the less force you need.
• If you are further out then you may need to kick the ball a bit harder.
• For 20-22 yard free kicks try to use the inside of your foot.
• Using the instep of your foot will make it harder to get the ball where you want.
• The wall will always try to inch forward so you need to be aware of that.
• Watch out for the positions of the goalkeeper. If they are moving towards the centre of the goal, it is a sign that their vision is blocked. The best option then is to aim the ball near one of the posts.

If the ball jumps during the kicking moment you could try to kick the ball under it.

Summary

It cannot be stressed enough: take the time to practice. Yes, a lot of you out there reading this probably look up to Riquelme a great deal.

However, you possess the same ability to learn new soccer skills that he does. Why not use it to your benefit? Practice hard and you’ll get the results you want over time.