Bicycle kick

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bicycle kick, chalaca, chilena, bicicleta or overhead kick is a move in association football, which is made by throwing the body up into the air, making a shearing movement with the legs to get one leg high overhead to reach the ball (in original head height), which gets kicked backward over the player's head.

Besides association football, bicycle kicks are also used in other sports. It appears in the game of Sepak takraw, a sport played in Southeast Asia^[1]. It also rarely occurs in Australian football^[2] but even rarer at a professional level where it is commonly categorised as a snap kick.

In association football, the difficulty of the bicycle kick is such that even Pelé describes it as "not easy to do".^[3]

Contents 1 Overview 2 Execution of move 3 History 4 Notable bicycle kicks 4.1 Notable games 4.2 Notable strikers 4.3 Notable defenders 5 Different denominations 6 Australian rules 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Overview

“	It's a technical resource in which one must use his back, in the air, but with the head almost to the ground; the legs have to stay up and one must be at almost 90 degrees.	”
—Cesar "Chalaca" Gonzalez[4]

The common English name comes from the two legs that look as if they are pedaling a bicycle, with one leg going forward to the ball and the other backward to create an opposite moment.^[5] In Latin America and Spain, the overhead kick is commonly known as either bicicleta, chalaca,^[6] or chilena. Non-Spanish Europe knows the name by a series of different names. For instance, the German name Fallrückzieher (falling backward kick) emphasises the sacrifice of the player falling on his back. Moreover, some names attribute the kick to a specific nation, such as in Norway where the move is known as Brassespark (Brazilian kick).^[7]

[edit] Execution of move

There are two major situations where the bicycle kick would be useful in a game situation:

• When a defender is desperate to remove the ball from near his side's goal, but he stands facing the goal and with his back to the direction he wants the ball to go, and the ball is bouncing around and thus difficult to control.^[5]
• If a striker has his back to the opponent's goal and is in the opponent's penalty area or nearby, and the ball is bouncing at head height.^[5]

Performing a bicycle kick can be quite dangerous when performed incorrectly.^[8] The main aspect to remember when executing a bicycle kick, is to brace yourself with your arms as you land back on the ground. One should also keep in mind that the difficulty of the move makes it unanticipated and, therefore, the player runs the potential risk of getting hurt or harming another player.^[9] However, as described by BBC Sport, this is one of the acrobatic moves that makes the game much "richer."^[10]

[edit] History

“	Today, these kind of movements are seen with less frequency and when they appear the controversy over who invented them is reborn. As it tends to happen, there exist the "official" responses and then the others.	”
—Diego Pérez[11]

There are different claims of invention in different parts of the world for this popular move. Generally, players noted as being the inventors of the kick tend to be those that have made the move during national or international tournaments in an official association football match. Nonetheless, the invention of the kick is controversial as different countries have different proposals on how and where the move was invented. For instance, in Peru the move is attributed to the players of Callao, and it is often told that they invented the move when playing with English sailors in the late 19th century.^[12] In Chile, Basque Ramón Unzaga is credited with being the first player to create the bicycle kick in 1914 and exhibit it in an official football match.^[13] In Italy, the invention is usually credited to Carlo Parola, who allegedly invented the move on January 15 of 1950.^[14] Further contributing to the controversy, some players that have performed the move attribute the invention to someone else or themselves. Per se, Leônidas da Silva, a famous player from Brazil, attributed the invention of this move to another Brazilian player, Petronilho de Brito.^[15] If that were not enough, sometimes the attributions of invention get jumbled, and people begin to attribute the invention of the kick to famous players who performed, but did not claim invention of, the kick such as Hugo Sánchez from Mexico and David Arellano from Chile.^[16]

[edit] Notable bicycle kicks

Due to the move's level of difficulty, only a few players have been able to make it into what could be a special hall of fame for those that performed, scored, or effectively defended with the use of a bicycle kick.^[11] The acrobatic skill and handling of the ball that is generally required has often made it nearly impossible for players to make the move in important situations.^[17]

[edit] Notable games

• AC Fiorentina vs. FC Barcelona

Italy's Mauro Bressan in a UEFA Champions League match (3-3) against Barcelona on November 2, 1999. After 14 minutes he scored a spectacular 25 yards bicycle kick which is considered one of the greatest goals of all time.

• Barcelona vs. Villarreal

In the club level, one of the most famous modern bicycle kicks was done by Ronaldinho while playing for Barcelona and scoring with what was considered a bicycle kick against Villarreal. The importance of this move came about because it served as the spark that once again set in motion the controversy of the move's origin: the ongoing dispute between Peru and Chile.^[18]

• Copa Libertadores 2004

A famous bicycle kick was scored in the Copa Libertadores 2004 by Jorge Soto while playing for Sporting Cristal against Rosario Central.^[19] Said game was being played in Peru, and the Argentine Rosario Central had previously tied Sporting Cristal with a score of 1–1 in Argentina. Soto's bicycle kick goal opened up what would turn into a 4–1 victory for the Peruvian squad, and his goal is considered one of the best in the Copa Libertadores tournament.^[20]

• Copa America 1975

In the arena of national football teams, a famous bicycle kick was made during the international tournament of the 1975 Copa America when Juan Carlos Oblitas scored against the Chilean football team with a bicycle kick that gave the Peruvian football team a 2–0 lead against the visiting team.^[21]

• FIFA World Cup qualifier 2010

Gary Medel of the Chilean national team scored a bicycle kick against Bolivia, when playing in La Paz. As the ball was rebounded into the box after a strike off a free kick Medel, with his back to goal, hooked the ball into the net with an overhead kick from the penalty spot. The match would end 2–0 for the visiting team.^[22]

• Barcelona vs. Valencia

Barcelona's Rivaldo scored in the 89th minute and thus gave the team the chance to participate in the Champions League.^[23]

• Fenerbahce S.K vs. Manchester United F.C

Tuncay Şanlı scored an overhead kick against Manchester United in a Champions League group stage match. Tuncay scored a hat-trick in that match and Fenerbahçe S.K. won 3-0.

• FIFA World Cup Qualifier 2006

Panamanian Luis Tejada scored an overhead kick against Mexico which was voted goal of the year by Fox Sports.^[24]

• Villareal vs. Arsenal

Emmanuel Adebayor scored an overhead kick for Arsenal against Villareal in a Champions League quarterfinal match on April 7, 2009.

• Watford vs. Bolton Wanderers

Nick Wright scored an overhead kick for Watford against Bolton in a Division one Play-off final match on May 31, 1999 which helped them get promotion to the Premier league.

• Copa Libertadores 2009

Martín Palermo of Boca Juniors scored his 200th goal with the club in the form of a bicycle kick in a Copa Libertadores group stage match against Deportivo Tachira.^[25]

[edit] Notable strikers

• Alejandro Villanueva: Peru.^[26][27]
• Carlo Parola: Italy.^[28]
• David Arellano: Chile.^[29][30][31]
• Hugo Sánchez: Mexico.^[32]
• Klaus Fischer: Germany.^[33][34]
• Leônidas da Silva: Brazil.^[35][36]
• Pelé: Brazil.^[37]
• Ramón Unzaga: Chile.^[38]
• Paul Egan: Ireland

[edit] Notable defenders

• Cesar "Chalaca" Gonzalez: Peru.^[4]
• Elías Figueroa: Chile.^[4]
• Marcelo Balboa: United States.^[39]

[edit] Different denominations

• English
  • Bicycle kick: United States, UK, Australia^[7]
  • Scissors kick: UK
  • Overhead kick: UK^[7]
• Bulgarian
  • Задна ножица: Bulgaria.^[7]
• Czech
  • Nůžky (scissors): Czech Republic.^[7]
• Danish
  • Saksespark (Scissor-kick): Denmark.^[7]
• Dutch
  • Omhaal (retract): Holland, Belgium.^[7]
• Estonian
  • Käärlöök (scissorkick): Estonia.^[7]
• French
  • Ciseaux Retourne: Belgium, France.
  • Retourné: France.^[7]
• Finnish
  • Saksari: Finland.
  • Saksipotku: Finland.^[7]
• German
  • Fallrückzieher (pulling the ball [behind one's] back while falling, literally "fall-pullback"): Germany.^[7]
• Hungarian
  • Ollózás ("Scissoring"): Hungary.^[7]
• Italian
  • Rovesciata: Italy.
• Norwegian
  • Brassespark (Brazilian Kick): Norway.^[7]
• Polish
  • Przewrotka: Poland.
• Portuguese
  • Bicicleta: Brazil, Portugal.
  • Pontapé de bicicleta: Portugal.^[7]
• Romanian
  • bicicletă: Romania.^[7]
• Russian
  • Бисиклета: Russia.
  • Удар ножницами: Russia.
• Slovak
  • Nožničky (scissors): Slovakia.^[7]
• Serbian
  • Makazice (scissors)
• Spanish
  • Chalaca: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay.^{[6][40][41][42][43][11]}
  • Chilena: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, México, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Spain, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.^{[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58]}
  • Chorera: Chile.^[59]
  • Huguiña (Reference to Hugo Sánchez): México.^[60]
  • Tijera: Spain, Ecuador.
• Swedish
  • Bicicleta: Sweden.
  • Cykelspark: Sweden.^[7]
• Turkish
  • Rövaşata: Turkey.^[7]
• Vietnamese
  • Ngả bàn đèn (display an opium-tray): Vietnam.
  • Xe đạp chổng ngược (upside down bicycle kick): Vietnam.

[edit] Australian rules

The bicycle kick is also sometimes used in Australian Rules Football but is called the snap kick. The oval shaped ball makes it much more difficult to control the direction of the snap, however the area of the goals is larger. Some notable goal attempts using the kick in the Australian Football League include:

• Allen Jakovich (goal) - 1994 AFL season. He kicked a total of 11 goals for the game.
• Alan Didak (behind) - 2007 AFL season^[61][62]
• Brad Johnson (goal) - 2008 AFL season

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Picture of an overhead kick