The technique of the Banana kick in football

The technique of the Banana kick and Dead Ball in football

Today we at TFM teach you the technique as to how to hit a banana kick or a dead ball. As the name suggests, banana kick is the technique where the ball flies in the shape of a banana.

There are four basic steps:

1) Take a football ball and place it on the ground and take a few steps back. You will want your target to be at least 30 feet away, but not out of your kicking range. Set up a target for your shot.

2) Take aim on the target, could be on the right or the left. Put up some obstacles on the way to the goal, as there will be player's standing in wall in a real game.

3) Kick the ball by grazing it low on one side. For right target, hit the bottom-right of the ball. If you aiming for the left target, hit the bottom-left of the ball. What you want to happen is for the ball to lift into the air and make a slight curve in the direction you want it to go.

4) Now try hitting, the target with every shot you take.

As they say, "Practice makes a man perfect".

Now we look at the Top 7 players who have used this technique to strike the ball.

1) Roberto Carlos: 

The man who changed the laws of physics after he hit a 40 yard free kick which bent and swirled and ended in the back of the net. With goalkeeper  Barthez just looking at the ball. This free kick is the best banana kick which the football world has seen to date.

2) David Beckham: 

In his last game for Manchester United, David Beckham scored a beauty of a free kick. The ball ended in the back of the net, with the wall making no sense with goalie left stranded.

3) Yohan Gourcuff: 

The Lyon legend, scored a brilliant 40 yard free kick against a Nice side which was already trailing by three goals. The ball went in with such a pace that, even the replays had to be slowed down.

4) Gianfranco Zola:

Chelsea's unstoppable little magician showed the world again, why he's named the magician as he curled in one from a absolutely tough angle. The ball which was on the left side, just outside the box ended in the top right corner with the Tottenham keeper at full stretch.

5) Shunsuke Nakamara: 

Shansuke Nakamara stunned a 75,000 Old Trafford audience and rest of the world as he hit a amazing free kick with his left foot which went in bending, dipping and eventually plummeting into the top right corner of Van der Sar's net.

6) Ronaldinho: 

The Brazilian superstar well known for his dead ball technique and his tricks on the ball, scored a classy and unbelievable goal, against Real Zaragoza side in 2007.

7) Juninho:

The master of dead ball, scored a Champions league goal against Barcelona like never seen before. The ball which was placed on the left of the goal, looked impossible to find net directly from that range. But the master proved all of us wrong as he curled the ball across the keeper to find top right corner of the net.