“What the hell? Why is Declan Rice standing over a free-kick? Especially from that angle. It should be Odegaard.” These were my thoughts in the 58th minute of the Arsenal vs Real Madrid Champions League quarterfinal. I also felt exasperated at this perplexing decision as I remembered the face of an "Arteta out" Arsenal fan—a kind that, as a neutral observer, I do not understand. The team are playing well in this match, I thought, but, they will keep missing chances and finally Real will beat them. Then there will be an "Arteta out" movement, both online and... woah.
Rice interrupted my thoughts with a stunning free-kick from 30 yards out.
It curled around the four-man wall and sailed past a diving, 6’6” Thibaut Courtois at full stretch. Rice has played over 300 matches. I must have seen him in at least a 100. He takes a mean corner kick, but I did not remember a free-kick goal before this. And, as it turned out, this was the first free-kick he ever scored!
Around 12 minutes later, as I was still processing the beauty of that first goal, Arsenal got another free-kick from similar range, but from a more centre-left position. Surely, not again! What followed was magic—a powerful curler that drifted just inside the post, into the side-netting; Courtois did not even get close to it. Rice’s captain—Martin Odegaard—and his coach—Mikel Arteta—both held their heads in disbelief. With that second strike, Rice joined an exclusive club of players who have scored two free-kick goals in a Champions League match—Rivaldo (for Barcelona vs AC Milan in 2000), Cristiano Ronaldo (for Real vs FC Zurich in 2009), Neymar (for Paris Saint-Germain vs Red Star Belgrade in 2018), and Hakim Ziyech (with help from fumbling Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana) for Galatasaray in 2023.
Now, it would be foolish to write off Real. They are more than capable of overturning a three-goal deficit, especially at home. If that happens, Rice’s free-kick wizardry would have been for nothing. Also, Rice may never score another free-kick or the 26-year-old may hereafter be a dreaded free-kick specialist. (The consistent menace of his corners indicates the latter is a concrete possibility.) But, no matter what happens in the future, free-kicks like these deserve to be celebrated. These are the moments that, irrespective of club allegiances, the tribe of football fans live for. Here is a look at some of the most iconic free-kicks in Champions League history:
David Beckham: Manchester United vs Barcelona (1998/1999)
Beckham is an appropriate way to start any discussion about free-kicks. But, this one was special, even by his high standards. Drawn into a tough group with Bayern Munich and Barcelona, Manchester United had to start well at home in what would become their treble-winning season. As Beckham took the free-kick in the 63rd minute, Barca keeper Ruud Hesp even anticipated where the ball would go and took a step in the right direction. But, the 6’4” Dutchman still could not get a touch on the ball, which nestled in the top-right corner to put United up 3-2 (it ended 3-3).
Roberto Carlos: Real Madrid vs Sporting Lisbon (2000/2001)
Real were 2-0 down in the group stage match when Carlos smashed a free-kick from the edge of the box past a 36-year-old Peter Schmeichel. The proximity to the box meant it was near-impossible to beat the veteran with a curler. But, luckily for Real, Carlos did not deal in curlers. Despite a good starting position and an honest dive, Schmeichel was beaten by pure power as the ball crashed into the top right corner of the goal.
Rivaldo: Barcelona vs Fenerbache (2001/2002)
A season in which Barca eased through the early stages before falling to eventual winners Real in the semifinals. Rivaldo’s goal in the group stages would have been inconsequential if it were not for its quality. The trajectory of the strike and the technique were similar to Carlos’s goal the previous season, but it was a good 10-15 yards back. The goalkeeper, Rustu Recber, who would join Barca after one more season in Istanbul, looked for a moment as though he had it covered. But, he could only look on helplessly, hung in mid-air, as the ball swerved away from his hand and into the top right corner.
Juninho: Olympique Lyon vs Bayern (2003/2004)
The Brazilian, who popularised the knuckleball technique well before Cristiano Ronaldo adopted it, was a prolific scorer of free-kicks. But, the shot that made Oliver Kahn ‘kiss the post’ in front of the Munich crowd is arguably his most iconic. The strike, from about 35 yards, in the sixth minute rose and dipped and then swerved away from Kahn. The German, who was focused on the ball and stretching with every sinew, hit his left-side post face-first a second after the ball had struck it and gone in. Lyon won the match 2-1 and topped the group ahead of Bayern.
Hugo Almeida: Porto vs Inter Milan (2005/2006)
It was an abysmal campaign for Porto, who had won the Champions League just two seasons ago under Jose Mourinho. They finished bottom of the group with only one win, incidentally against group-topping Inter. But, Almeida’s strike was in the reverse fixture that they lost 2-1.
It was such a special goal that it is debatable whether the highlight of Porto’s campaign was the win against Inter or the striker's thunderous hit from about 40 yards out in the losing effort. After all, it is not often that a keeper of Julio Cesar’s quality does not get anywhere near a ball hit from so far out.
Andrea Pirlo: AC Milan vs Schalke 04 (2005/2006)
Pirlo may be associated with precision more often than power, but this was all about power. Perhaps the longer distance to goal was what prompted the decision. In any case, the execution was flawless. Schalke captain Frank Rost was so beguiled by the swerve and power that he did not even get time to put a face-saving dive in. It was a tight group—AC Milan topped it with 11 and Schalke finished third with eight—and the goal helped Milan to a 3-2 win on the night.
Shunsuke Nakamura: Celtic vs Manchester United (2006/2007)
The Japanese legend had already scored one free-kick earlier in the tournament against Manchester United. But, Celtic had lost that game 3-2. In the reverse fixture, he scored the lone goal from a 30-yard free-kick to help his team to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time. The more a diving Edwin Van der Sar reached out for the ball, the more it seemed to curl away from him till it finally settled in the top-left corner.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United vs Arsenal (2008/2009)
This would have been the all-time great’s penultimate goal for United, had it not been for his ill-fated return to the club. It is not quite as aesthetically appealing as the other goals featured here, but it was brilliant execution from an irrational shooting position to catch out Manuel Almunia at his near post. There was a moment’s delay before the goalkeeper dived, almost as if he was processing that Ronaldo was actually shooting. After that, he was always going to be too late to make a save.
Leroy Sane: Manchester City vs Schalke (2018/2019)
Is there is something about Schalke that prompts opposing players to score free-kicks against them? This was another peach, albeit a more traditional kind of free-kick than Pirlo’s masterpiece. Similar to Rice’s second goal against Real, the ball curled into the side-netting, but away from the keeper, whereas Rice’s shot curled back towards the keeper. Given the fact that City won the tie 10-2, it is easy to assume that the goal was academic. But, his new team were trailing 2-1 away at his former club and down to 10 men when Sane stepped up. Thus, it was undoubtedly the pivotal moment that turned the tie.
Lionel Messi: Barcelona vs Liverpool (2018/2019)
A goal worthy of deciding a semifinal tie, only that it did not. A resurgent and on-fire Messi, who was en route to his sixth Ballon d’Or, after a four-year gap, nonchalantly struck the ball from around 35 yards out. It looked like Alisson would save but the ball swerved and dipped sharply to beat the outstretched hands of the Brazilian. It put Barcelona 3-0 up, but Liverpool staged a famous comeback (4-0) in the second leg on their way to a sixth Champions League title.
