Shooting (association football)

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In association football, shooting is hitting the ball in an attempt to score a goal. It is usually done using the feet or head.^[1] A shot on target or shot on goal is a shot that enters the goal or would have entered the goal if it had not been blocked by the goalkeeper or another defensive player.^[2]

Types of shots

Depending on the part of the body used^[3]

• Lace : To do a straight kick, a player comes at the ball straight then kicks it with the laces of his foot (ankle is locked). To perform a Instep drive use your laces and inside of your foot. To perform a Swaz shot use your laces and outside of your foot. The Instep drive shot and Swaz shot will go straight and curve^[1]
• Inside foot shot: To perform an inside shot, the player moves their hip outside and then kicks the ball with the middle of the inside of the foot for a curve effect.
• Outside foot shot / trivela: To do an outside foot shot, the ball is hit with the outside three toes of the foot to get a curve effect. Ricardo Quaresma has used this type of shot on many occasions.^[4]
• Header: the player hits the ball with their head. This is sometimes necessary when the ball is too high to control with the feet or chest.

Depending on the ball movement^[5]

These types of shots are usually used most in free kicks, corner kicks and shots on goal.

• Bending shot / Curl (association football) / Trivela: Sometimes called curve. Any part of the foot can be used to do a bending shot, but using the inside or outside parts produce the most bend. To do a bending shot,the player kicks the sides of the ball at an angle. If he uses the inside of the foot, he wraps his leg around the ball and follows through to the outside of his body. If he is using the area around the knuckle of his big toe or the outside of the foot he follows through across his body. Is usually but not exclusively used in free kicks. The ball bends or swerves in such a way that it beats the keeper; the only drawback is that it lacks great power.^[1]
• Knuckleball: A shot that has no or very little spin and has erratic movement. The shot is generally taken from distance to give the ball time to show this effect, and works best when the ball is still. Didi, Juninho Pernambucano, Roberto Carlos, Andrea Pirlo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are known for using this technique.^[6]
• Straight shot / Instep drive shot / Swaz shot (can be High or Low): A powerful shot that usually goes straight and has a direct trajectory. If use the Instep drive shot and Swaz shot the ball can be curve.
• Top spin /Dipping shot: A shot that only has top spin and does not have any side spin when you kick the ball. To do the Top spin shot, kick the ball with inside foot part and have a very straight follow through to only have the top spin. David Luiz and Kevin De Bruyne free kicks become world class by this technique.

Special (Trick) shots

• Backheel: this technique is done by hitting the ball with the heel. It can be used to shoot or pass the ball, and is also a quick way to pass backwards without having to turn. Many players have scored goals like this, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, and Zlatan Ibrahimović.^[7]
• Chip shot / Lob: This shot focuses on getting the ball to a certain amount of vertical height, where the goalkeeper can not reach it and then have it come back down again into goal. It takes a certain amount of technique and precision to do and players such as Raúl González, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Baggio, Romário, Francesco Totti, and Lionel Messi have made it trademark moves.^[8][9]

• Panenka: A chipped penalty invented by Antonín Panenka in 1976, for who it is named for. Players such as Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti, and Lionel Messi have performed it.

• Volley / Half volley / Donkey kick: When the heel is used to volley the ball over the player's head (from back to front).
• Bicycle kick / Scissors kick / Overhead kick: An acrobatic strike where a player kicks a ball in midair with the instep. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before descending to the ground, making a scissor movement with the legs to get the ball-striking leg in front of the other.
• Rabona: The kicking leg is wrapped behind the standing leg to kick the ball. The legs end up crossed as the ball is kicked.
• Scorpion kick / Reverse bicycle kick: The ball is kicked with the back or heel of the lower body while jumping in midair to hit the ball forward. Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita did this move against England.
• Toe shot / Toe punt: To do a toe shot, the player sticks his leg forwards and kicks the ball with his toe. Leg is not moved back to build momentum like when performing every other type of soccer shot. Used with less frequency, and also known as the "toe poke", it is a quick strike which requires little motion, and is often utilized to fool or surprise opponents who would normally not expect this type of shot, such as when Ronaldo used it to score Brazil's decisive goal in the semi-final of the 2002 World Cup against Turkey.^[10][11][12]

See also

• Passing (association football)

References