SPORT analysis: How Lionel Messi scores so many free kicks
Lionel Messi has never scored as many goals from free kicks as he has in the current season. With his latest, on Sunday against Sevilla at Camp Nou, the Argentine has now scored six, which is more than the four he managed in 2012-13, his previous best.
This time he showed that the positioning of the ball is not relevant. He can score free kicks from anywhere, with his strike to level the scores at Camp Nou coming from the side of the pitch you'd expect a right-footer to step up.
SPORT asked some experts in the field to find an explanation for Messi's free kicks. And the Department of Physics at the University of Barcelona have provided some light...
THE MAGNUS EFFECT
Technically, you could say that Messi has turned to the Magnus Effect to find his consistency from free kicks. Said effect is the phenomenon by which the rotation of a body (the ball) generates a force perpendicular to the line of motion, therefore affecting the trajectory.
The Magnus Effect is common in sports like football and is the product of several phenomena, including Bernoulli's principle: The pressure on the lower surface of the body (the ball) is greater than the pressure on the upper surface, resulting in a force curve trajectory of the body (in this case the ball).
It's name, the Magnus Effect, comes from German physicist Heinrich Magnus (1802-1870), who discovered it for the first time in 1853. In the video below you can see more clearly how this all effects the movement of the ball.
INTUITION OF A CRACK
Whether or not Messi knows there is a physcial explanation for his free kicks, what is true is that the Argentine is a real specialist in this art. There is always a slight twist to his foot before the shot and, in this sense, the intuition is key. With it you can control (within limits, of course) the force with which the ball is hit and the angle it travels at. And, as you'd expect, this technique is perfected with practice.
Here are all the goals Messi has scored directly from free-kicks with Barcelona.
SEASON 2008-09
04.10.2008 · Liga · FCB-Atlético 6-1 · Made it 3-0 (09')
SEASON 2009-10
09.12.2009 · Champions · Dinamo Kiev-FCB 1-2 · Made it 1-2 (86')
06.03.2010 · Liga · Almería-FCB 2-2 · Made it 1-1 (42')
SEASON 2010-11
08.01.2011 · Liga · Deportivo-FCB 0-4 · Made it 0-2 (52')
SEASON 2011-12
26.02.2012 · Liga · Atlético-FCB 1-2 · Made it 1-2 (81')
24.02.2012 · Liga · Mallorca-FCB 0-2 · Made it 0-1 (25')
05.05.2012 · Liga · FCB-Espanyol 4-0 · Made it 1-0 (12')
SEASON 2012-13
29.08.2012 · Supercopa España · Real Madrid-FCB 2-1 · Made it 2-1 (45')
07.12.2012 · Liga · FCB-Real Madrid 2-2 · Made it 2-1 (61')
16.02.2013 · Liga · Granada-FCB 1-2 · Made it 1-2 (73')
05.05.2013 · Liga · FCB-Betis 4-2 · Made it 3-2 (60')
SEASON 2013-14
18.09.2013 · Champions · FCB-Ajax 4-0 · Made it 1-0 (22')
02.03.2014 · Liga · FCB-Almería 4-1 · Made it 2-0 (24')
20.04.2014 · Liga · FCB-Athletic 2-1 · Made it 2-1 (74')
SEASON 2014-15
22.11.2014 · Liga · FCB-Sevilla 5-1 · Made it 1-0 (21')
08.02.2015 · Liga · Athletic-FCB 2-5 · Made it 0-1 (15')
SEASON 2015-16
1. 11.08,2015 · Supercopa Europa · FCB-Sevilla 5-4 · Made it 1-1 (7')
2. 11.08.2015 · Supercopa Europa · FCB-Sevilla 5-4 · Made it 2-1 (16')
3. 12.12.2015 · Liga · FCB-Deportivo 2-2 · Made it 1-0 (39')
4. 06.01.2016 · Copa · FCB-Espanyol 4-1 · Made it 2-1 (44')
5. 14.02.2016 · Liga · FCB-Celta 6-1 · Made it 1-0 (27')
6. 28.02.2016 · Liga · FCB-Sevilla 2-1 · Made it 1-1 (31')
