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Premier League has been blessed with some sublime free-kick maestros
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The most prolific top ten only contains two forwards
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A Manchester United legend is the all-time free-kick master yet to be surpassed
Free-kick specialists are worth their weight in gold and that certainly applies to these accomplished ten who scoffed at well-constructed walls and had goalkeepers seriously fretting when 25 yards out.
One moment of magic could turn that game’s live betting market on its head and send fans delirious. What’s more, they did this with unerring regularity.
Frank Lampard (9)
Only five players have scored more Premier League goals, and with the Chelsea legend on set-piece duties across so many successful seasons for the Blues it stands to reason that he would grab his fair share of free-kicks.
With that in mind, it perhaps surprises that Lampard never reached double-figures via his trusted technique of slicing through the ball with his instep, blending power and accuracy.
Very much an up and down merchant, no slight is intended in saying that. It is the most difficult route to bypass a wall and he was the best around at it.
Ian Harte (10)
Those of a certain age will recall how an inordinate number of full-backs used to be put on pens and free-kicks back in the day. There is no rhyme or reason to this. Simply, it was a quirk of the Seventies and Eighties.
In this regard, Harte was a welcome throwback; a marauding defender with a wand of a left foot who blasted some specular goals for Leeds during their millennial zenith including a decent amount from dead-ball situations.
Morten Gamst Pederson (10)
A little under a third of the Norwegian’s strikes for Blackburn Rovers came from free-kicks, a ratio that suggests he was wasted when stationed on the left flank. Undoubtedly, he had a centre-forward’s eye for goal.
To go back in time and reimagine Pederson however would be to ignore his overall skill-set for here was a direct winger blessed with blistering pace who only seemed to get quicker with the ball at his feet.
His assists and damage done when drifting in from out wide was invaluable to Rovers as they fended off relegation throughout the 2000s. His free-kicks were cherries on top.
Laurent Robert (11)
In 2001/02, the artful Frenchman scored five goals direct from free-kicks in the English top-flight. Only David Beckham can match that.
Where the former Newcastle creative did trump ‘Goldenballs’ though was in the diversity and outstanding nature of his set-piece goals.
There was one at Liverpool’s expense that flew in like an Exocet missile from fully 35 yards. Another, against Southampton had as many twists and turns as a M Night Shyamalan flick along the way.
Robert may have been a frustrating presence for the Magpies but with a highlights reel of such quality all is forgiven.
What’s the betting that newly-minted Newcastle will soon go out and purchase more extravagant ballers in Robert’s mould should they avoid relegation? Let’s hope so, for the sheer joy they give to everyone.
Sebastian Larsson (11)
Think of the greatest free-kick practitioners of the Premier League era and the Swede doesn’t immediately spring to mind, possibly due to where he performed his alchemy, with Sunderland, Birmingham, and Hull not typically clubs that reside in the limelight.
Which is a shame because few were better than Larsson at putting whip at the last second on what was essentially a lofted pass, a manoeuvre that often found a corner of the net just beyond a goalkeeper’s reach.
An expert corner-taker too, an argument could be made that the midfielder would make another Premier League all-time top ten, that of most under-rated talents.
Cristiano Ronaldo (12)
CR7’s patented ‘knuckleball’ free-kicks have rippled the net on 56 occasions across a quite extraordinary career and the success of the unusual technique has inevitably brought a legion of emulators.
On frayed Sunday league pitches up and down the land and even on pristine Premier League turf, it has become commonplace to see players mimic his stance, legs apart, breathing regulated, before approaching the ball head-on.
The ball is driven, through the laces, body contorted to elicit maximum power, and when the method works there is a vicious swerve and dip that makes it impossible to read.
Only what we so often see is the ball ballooning miles over or the player in question pulling up with a hammy. Sometimes greatness is best left to the greats.
Gianfranco Zola (12)
The diminutive Chelsea icon spent countless hours perfecting his craft on the training pitches of Napoli, learning first-hand from his team-mate and mentor Diego Maradona.
On arriving on our shores, the Italian maestro wasted little time in bamboozling keepers and astonishing crowds with his rare ability to swerve the ball to its chosen destination at pace.
Such was the combination of beauty and venom that when executed perfectly it left even true greats like Peter Schmeichel rooted to the spot.
Our Premier League predictions tip Chelsea for silverware this season but our hunch would be stronger still if Zola was on free-kicks.
Thierry Henry (12)
The fantabulous Frenchman broke all manner of Premier League records in the eight years when he graced us with his nonchalant panache. For free-kicks however he must cede to two others.
Even so, twelve works of art that could, and should, be hung in the Louvre is more than adequate with one particularly standing out.
Against Wigan in 2005, from fully 30 yards out, Henry eschewed va-va-voom to instead casually place his shot, as if flicking away a pebble in his path.
He then turned to his team-mate and asked ‘Is that enough?’ That and eleven other gems really were.
James Ward-Prowse (14)
By the time the Southampton midfielder hangs up his boots he may well be the Premier League’s all-time free-kick master, an achievement that would be well deserved given the incalculable hours he spends honing his speciality after training.
Since David Beckham left Old Trafford in the early 2000s no other player boasts a better chance conversion rate from set-pieces and what astounds is the variety found in his back-catalogue.
There is a ‘knuckleball’ in there – a long-range screamer that gained national attention versus Wolves – as well as a few cheeky floated efforts and drilled, low deliveries reliant on potency.
So skilled is the England international at his craft that defenders are notably reluctant to commit fouls on Saints players within sight of goal and it may only get worse for them in years to come.
Ward-Prowse spends his days off teaching his young son how to take free-kicks in his back garden.
David Beckham (18)
A technically sublime striker of a dead ball, Beckham’s trademark curled shots gave Manchester United an advantage they scarcely needed during a long period of dominance.
A stoic side would somehow keep Andy Cole or Ruud Van Nistelrooy quiet for nearly ninety minutes and nullify Giggs and Scholes too. But then a careless trip within shooting range and it was game over.
A poll conducted by the BBC in 2020 asked the public to determine who has been the Premier League’s best ever free-kick taker. James Ward-Prowse came second with 12% of the votes. Beckham got 60%.
The boy from Leytonstone is synonymous with the art-form. There was no-one better before and there has yet to be anyone better since.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 19th April 2022
