When I was in the seventh grade my teacher Mrs. DiNatale got sick for a week and a substitute teacher came in to take her place. Much to my delight, being a young and excited whippersnapper and Manchester United fanatic, the substitute teacher who arrived was a man by the name of Mr. Steele.
Mr. Steele was an older gentleman of Scottish descent and like myself was mad about all things Manchester United. I remember one day during one of our football chats just after the lunch bell rang Mr. Steele jokingly mused: “Beckham is brilliant at free kicks. No one’s better.” Then he paused and thought. “Okay well, maybe that little fellow from Real Madrid, the Brazilian.”
“Oh, you mean Roberto Carlos.” I chimed in.
“Yeah, that’s him. Imagine if they played on the same team,” he chuckled. At the time, I had no idea just how prophetic his statement would be because a few years later Beckham would join Real Madrid and both he and Roberto Carlos would jostle in the Real Madrid team over who got to take the next free kick. A tough decision because the two men were perhaps the best free kick takers of the time. But who comes out on top?
Curve
When it comes to the curve of a free kick: you know that weird way it kind of bends around a wall, past the goalkeeper and into the net you gotta give it to David Beckham. I mean there was a frickin movie named after just how well he could bend it.
During his time at Old Trafford, Real Madrid, L.A and a few other clubs, opposition players who formed a wall in defence of one of Beckham’s free kicks must have thought one thing: “Oh crap. That ball is totally going to loop around me no matter how high I jump. Crap.”
David Beckham approached a dead ball with menace and just as his boot was about to strike the football you could tell that: twist, that curve, that bend was coming. Jump as high as you want defenders, resistance is futile. Examples below.
Power
For our next category we look at the power of a free kick, and in this regard, Roberto Carlos trumps Becks by a mile.
Roberto Carlos’ free kick style is completely different to that of David Beckham. Even in his build up, he does not loom over the ball like Beckham, instead Roberto Carlos did a cheeky little run-up. A run-up you would assume he used to get power behind his kick, and boy did he?
Just like Kanye West says: “No one man should have all that power,” (or precision.) But that’s exactly what the little Brazilian’s free kicks were made of pure power and accuracy. Sure they had a bit of a bend too, when necessary. But his free kicks never floated in past keepers like Beckham’s: they were bullets. No mercy, shoot to kill bullets.
This category undoubtedly goes to Roberto Carlos. Evidence below.
Importance of Free Kicks
Both David Beckham and Roberto Carlos had legendary careers in their time and even though for a time they were teammates, the eventual outcomes of each career couldn’t be more different.
Roberto Carlos was a member of some legendary teams. Including the 2002 World Cup winning Brazil side, as well as a member of Real Madrid teams featuring legends such as Raul, Fernando Morientes, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane. He would win the Champions League three times in his eleven years as a Real Madrid player and countless other La Liga and Copa Del Rey trophies.
But unfortunately despite a brilliant career, Roberto Carlos was always more of a teammate, another piece of the puzzle around his much flashier teammates.
This is by no means taking any credit away from the man, he indeed deserves his plaudits, but he was certainly overshadowed by players like Ronaldo and Rivaldo on Brazil, and later overshadowed by the aforementioned Galacticos of Zidane, Figo and even Beckham himself at Real Madrid. He may have more trophies than Beckham does, but Beckham inspires hope and passion of a whole nation — Something Roberto Carlos never did.
David Beckham was named England captain in 2001 and it definitely must have felt like a dream come true for Beckham. However, England was struggling through their qualification group for the 2002 World Cup and in their final group game versus Greece they needed to draw or win to assure qualification.
England, as England has done so many times before didn’t make it easy on their fans. They were down two goals to one when in stoppage time David Beckham peered over a free kick. Seconds later he zoomed it into the net and sent England to the 2002 World Cup and the whole nation into a hysteria. Just like Beatlemania, but now it was Beckham-mania.
Based on the fact Beckham as captain took England basically on his back to the World Cup gives him this round and the overall victory by default. Beckham was clutch when he needed to be, he stood up and delivered. Good on ya lad.
Conclusion
To close this debate once and for all and anoint David Beckham the best free kick master of his time one needs only to look at the words of Roberto Carlos, who said, “Beckham takes free kicks better than me. It is a joy to watch him take free kicks and he has proved that free kicks are not all about power.”
So there you have it folks, David Beckham is indeed the free kick master and deservedly so. Now if only we could get him coaching at a big club like his ex-teammates Giggs and Zidane, instead of posting stupid pranks on Instagram all would be well with the football world once more.
