Shooting (association football)

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]

Steven Gerrard shooting for Liverpool.

Niclas Jensen shoots for goal in a match for F.C. Copenhagen against FC Vestsjælland.

Types of shots

Depending on the part of the body and foot used

[3]

• Standard shot: To perform a standard shot, player comes at the ball at a slight angle and kicks the ball with the area around the knuckle of his big toe.
• Straight shot / Instep drive: To do a straight kick, player comes at the ball straight then kicks it with the laces of his foot (ankle is locked). The straight shot is easier to keep low than standard shot since it’s hard to follow through with the kicking leg high in the air. The shot is powerful but less accurate.[1]
• Inside shot: To perform an inside shot, player moves his hip outside and back then kicks the ball with the middle of the inside of his foot.
• Outside shot: To do an outside shot, the ball is sliced with the outside of the foot.
• Toe shot / Toe punt: To do a toe shot, 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, it 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.[4][5][6][7]
• Heel shot
• Head shot

Players also sometimes use chest or back to transfer (pass) the ball to a teammate or as part of a dribbling motion. Examples are Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Depending on the ball movement

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

• Bending shot / Swerve shot / Curl: Sometimes mistakenly called curve. Any of part of the foot can be used to do a bending shot. Using the inside or outside of the foot produces the most bend. To do a bending shot, 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]
• Side curle: If it is curved with outside of the foot it is called Outside Bend (or Banana if the bend is pronounced enough) and the technique is called trivela.
• Straight curle (Dip or Dipping shot): The top spin technique of putting straight curl on a ball is known as a dip.
• Knuckleball / Dry leaf: A freekick or shot from distance that has no spin and has erratic movement, Didi, Juninho Pernambucano, Roberto Carlos, Andrea Pirlo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are known for using this technique.[8]
• Driven shot / Power shot (can be High or Low)
• Deadball: Not a special type of shot but a result of different shots. It is reflected in a sudden drop or dip of the ball. It can be a result of a knuckleball shot or a straight curle. In the case of the latter it is called top spin deadball or dipping deadball. Not every knuckleball shot is a deadball.

Special (Trick) shots

• Chip shot / Lob / Drop shot: This shot focuses on getting the ball to a certain amount of vertical height, where the goalkeeper can't 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 Alessandro Del Piero have made it trademark moves.[1][9][10][11]

• Panenka

• 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
• Rabona
• Scorpion kick / Reverse bicycle kick
• Rainbow kick / Lambreta / Coup du Sombrero : Most usually used as a dribbling move, but it can be used to pass the ball a very short distance.

See also

• Cross

References

1. "The Soccer Shooting Guide". Soccer-training-guide.com. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
2. "Shot on goal". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
3. https://www.completesoccerguide.com/types-of-soccer-shots/
4. Congress for Cultural Freedom (1965). Encounter. 25: 85. Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. Hargreaves, Alan (1990). Skills and strategies for coaching soccer. Champaign, Ill.: Leisure Press. pp. 153. ISBN 0880113286.
6. "In praise of the toe-poke". www.fifa.com. FIFA. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
7. Ivan Bobanovic (23 April 2010). "I thought the toe-punt was a bad thing?". www.goalden.com. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
8. Gerna, Jacopo (11 November 2013). "Juventus: Pirlo, ma che punizione hai tirato? La maledetta che sfida la fisica". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 21 January 2015.
9. Joel del Río (22 February 2017). "The art of the chip: Falcao matches Totti, Messi and Raul". Marca. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
10. Dave Taylor (5 May 2014). "Baggio's month of May". Football Italia. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
11. Gilbert, Dan (22 July 2009). "Calcio Italia 150 issue, Calcio Icons, Del Piero". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2012.