If you’re a casual soccer fan who tunes in for the World Cup and the occasional game, you probably noticed an odd tactic. “Why does a player lie down behind the wall in soccer?” you may have asked yourself.
Why does a player lie down behind the wall in soccer?
The tactic of having a player laying down behind the wall is simple. Having a player lay down behind the wall denies the free kick taker any chance at shooting the ball underneath the wall when the players jump.
Players like Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and even the legend Pelé would take advantage of the jumping wall and sneak a free kick underneath.
Messi - Amazing Under-the-Wall Free-Kick Goals ⚽️!#Messi has mastered the art of free-kicks!#Messi is indeed the #GOAT pic.twitter.com/hIxVgynRiE
— ⚽️ (@Messi_TheGOAT) January 24, 2020
Depois desse jogo entre Santos X Flamengo,esse golaço q R10 fez. Ele traumatizou a geração seguinte.
No jogo do PSG, vi o Messi atrás de uma barreira, o MESSI.Ronaldinho foi mágico nesse jogo, Surreal, pois o Fla perdia de 3x0 e virou o 5x4 !#IssoAquiÉFlamengo pic.twitter.com/lTW97fyNah— ℴ_ᶜʳᶠ ¹⁸⁹⁵ ❤️ (@tottipatrick) September 30, 2021
A solution to stop the under the wall free kick was later discovered. A player laying down behind the wall would eliminate that option for the free kick taker. The move sometimes has the nickname of “the crocodile.”
It’s unclear who the first player to lay down behind the wall was. One of the first examples came in 2013 when Figueirense defender Ricardinho hit the deck behind his team’s wall. The free kick didn’t go under the wall, but the move had been born.
It would be another five years before the player laying down behind the wall move was used successfully on a big stage. In 2018 Marcelo Brozovic blocked Luis Suarez’s free kick during a UEFA Champions League game between Inter Milan and Barcelona.
Leo Messi's reaction
Marcelo Brozović
A unique way to defend a free-kick...#UCL pic.twitter.com/IIYvcNn2Ua— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 30, 2018
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“Here’s the crocodile move.” Brozovic posted on his Instagram after the game.
Fast forward four years and just about every team in the world uses the tactic. Even Messi has been chosen to lie behind the wall at one point while playing with his club team Paris Saint-Germain.
They made Messi lay down for the free-kick pic.twitter.com/X2kA59soAw
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 28, 2021
Nike poked fun at the tactical revelation in their World Cup commercial “the Footballverse." Ronaldinho tries to sneak a free kick under the wall just to be stopped by Kylian Mbappé who smiles and let’s Ronnie that he’s seen that trick before on YouTube.
The move has been used throughout the 2022 World Cup.
