Andrea Pirlo

[mixer]

Pirlo is the only player I've ever scored a free kick with in FIFA. #telling

I scored twice in one match with Oscar Cardozo, he's the best at it

It's easy tho

 

[Qonny]

while aiming for the corners.

And how do you aim for the corners?

 

[Ode to Django]

IIRC Pirlo has the worst free kick conversion rate among top five leagues along with Ronaldo.

Here's the article from last season where he actually was the worst free kick taker among those who scored 1 goal or more:

http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/1v9r0nqzuesvvtuzmdzezw/Show

He scored many freekicks past two seasons, also his whipped in freekicks are beautiful, always have been.

 

[Deco 20]

I used to spend all my time on a football pitch trying to curl freekicks into the front corner... I eventually got pretty good but then tired of it and didn't try it again in more than a year.

It's not that difficult once you've got the hang of it, although I usually did it from a few metres outside of the penalty area so didn't have to use that much power which made it easier.

 

[footyfan]

He scored many freekicks past two seasons, also his whipped in freekicks are beautiful, always have been.

I looked into it and he's scored 5 this season for Juventus to add to the 1 last season. 5 is actually an amazing return for one season. I couldn't get any info on no. of attempts though, probably have to wait for another whoscored or stats zone article for that.

 

[Semi-Neutral]

How many has Messi gotten? 4 or 5? I know he has two against Madrid, one against Betis and one against Uruguay, but are there any others I'm missing?

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

I think it's easy for stats like that to be skewed tbh, I definitely wouldn't call Pirlo a bad fk taker at all

 

[darthvader7888]

How many has Messi gotten? 4 or 5? I know he has two against Madrid, one against Betis and one against Uruguay, but are there any others I'm missing?

The one against Granada. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.

 

[Ode to Django]

I looked into it and he's scored 5 this season for Juventus to add to the 1 last season. 5 is actually an amazing return for one season. I couldn't get any info on no. of attempts though, probably have to wait for another whoscored or stats zone article for that.

He only scored the one the season before? I seem to recall him scoring several

 

[ammarfcb]

but u do have to take into account that (properly) barca get more fouls. i'm no stat octopus but a possession based team that keeps the ball in the other teams final 3rd with messi running at the defense surely gets more freekicks then juventus do with their more defensive strategy

 

[footyfan]

He only scored the one the season before? I seem to recall him scoring several

Yeah, this considers league stats only though. He might've scored some in Coppa Italia last season that is not reflected in these stats.

Edit: I looked at Juve's Coppa Italia matches last season - and Pirlo didn't score any goal at all. Infact, he probably has taken more attempts that would make his ratio even worse. So unless they participated in some other competition that I don't know about, he scored only 1 last season. There's also the minute possibility that whoscored didn't count properly for the purposes of their article.

This season, he has scored 5 goals in all competitions and all 5 were free kicks. This I'm fairly certain of because I looked at his entire match history this season.

but u do have to take into account that (properly) barca get more fouls. i'm no stat octopus but a possession based team that keeps the ball in the other teams final 3rd with messi running at the defense surely gets more freekicks then juventus do with their more defensive strategy

But the article clearly mentions no. of attempts as well. Pirlo scored 1 goal from 30 attempts last season. The fact that Messi is not mentioned in the article means he had a better ratio than Pirlo.

How many has Messi gotten? 4 or 5? I know he has two against Madrid, one against Betis and one against Uruguay, but are there any others I'm missing?

one vs Paraguay and one vs Granada. So 4 with Barca and 2 with Argentina.

I think it's easy for stats like that to be skewed tbh, I definitely wouldn't call Pirlo a bad fk taker at all

Not at all, infact free kicks are one of the most clear cut parts of football to analyse. You shoot, you score or you shoot, you don't score - simple as that.

Of course Pirlo is not a bad free kick taker. I've seen matches where he scores 2 in 1 game (for Italy iirc). Infact, he's one of the best set piece takers I've ever seen. I was answering somebody else's question on how many free kicks Pirlo scores per year.

Messi is not too shabby either. If Pirlo was in our team, I would let them alternate based on the position of the free kick.

 

[footyfan]

And how do you aim for the corners?

If you're aiming for the near post, ensure that the last man on the wall is in line with the post. If you're aiming for the far post, ensure that the post is between the last two men on the wall.

 

[Ode to Django]

Yeah, this considers league stats only though. He might've scored some in Coppa Italia last season that is not reflected in these stats.

Perhaps then, this one immediately sprung to mind

Messi's freekicks have improved alot over the years, if it's not a goal it's usually on target

 

[footyfan]

No, I think that's one of the 5 league goals this year. I edited my post btw

 

[footyfan]

Messi even credited Pirlo and Ronaldinho (both of whom had scored just the past week) for a similar under the wall free kick he scored vs Uruguay this season