The ‘maledetta’ free kick

The ‘maledetta’ is the perfect free kick, an incredible piece of skill and accuracy that sees a player strike a ball from distance past a wall of players and beyond the reaches of a goalkeeper. Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo is the master of the ‘maledetta’, having scored a huge amount of set pieces during his career that range from the simple to the sublime.

You will be thinking what exactly is the ‘maledetta’ free kick and how does Pirlo perfectly execute this difficult skill?

Well, the ‘maledetta’ is a rather complicated process and is something that Andrea Pirlo has spent his entire time in football perfecting. No matter what the angle or distance, Pirlo with his mastered ‘maledetta’ free kick is a lethal opponent.

The process in how the Italian delivers this special trick is very interesting. After placing the ball down where a foul has been given for his team, Pirlo first studies and analyses the wall that has been assembled in front of him. The players on the furthest right or left are the usual targets for the Italian, who looks to see which side will offer him the greatest opportunity to curl the ball over the wall and find the back of the net.

Once he has weighed up the challenge that has been put in front of him, Pirlo takes four or five steps back to give him sufficient space to take his trademark run up. He waits for the referee to blow his whistle and then once given the sign, the midfielder breaks into a slow jog.

As he approaches the ball, Pirlo with little effort raises his right foot. As his foot comes down, the Italian gently hits the ball with the inside of his right foot, lifting the ball high into the air and curling over the furthest player in the wall.

The ball is curling all the time, either to the left or the right depending on the angle chosen by Pirlo. It is always curling away from the goalkeeper, who can only watch in horror as it moves away from him at impressive speed.

The keeper can only try his best to get a hand to the ball, but more often than not, he is unsuccessful. The ball most of the time curls past him into the top or bottom corner of his goal, leaving Pirlo to receive the adulation of both his fans and teammates, while the keeper can only pick the ball out of his net.

The ‘maledetta’ is such a special sight in football, as it encapsulates so many qualities that make a fantastic goal. It brings fans off their seats in amazement at seeing a goal of such precision, quality and execution. Goalkeepers around the world fear it and many outfield players will practise for hours trying to replicate it.
Andrea Pirlo has dispatched the ‘maledetta’ free kick on countless occasions, each time creating an historic moment.

An example that stands out in my mind comes from Pirlo’s time at AC Milan where in a Champions League game against Schalke, Pirlo fired a superb 30 yard free kick into the top left corner to put his side 3-2 up. It stands out, as the free kick was hit with little velocity and was quite a distance, but soon as it was met by Pirlo, the ball flew into the goal giving the keeper no chance.

The ‘maledetta’ needs a special player to be able to deliver it and pull it off on a regular basis.

Fortunately for Italy and Juventus, they can count on Andrea Pirlo to produce the perfect free kick