The joys of football: bicycle kicks, seamless boots and socks, ticker tape and perfect trophy lifts | OneFootball

After a heavy few days off the pitch, here is a palate cleanser, football’s most satisfying sights. As reported by NY Times, this is about pure aesthetics rather than another grim headline.

Harry Kane’s airborne control for Bayern Munich against Augsburg was unforgettable, rising to Leon Goretzka’s pass, mirroring the Bundesliga logo, then heading into an unguarded net.

The c.2006-12 white boots with white sock tape era still sings. Joe Cole and Deco epitomised it, while Marouane Fellaini ditching the look at Manchester United had directly disastrous results.

South American goal nets, long and draped like a bride’s veil, are a joy, especially with an Adidas Tango River Plate ball. Add Argentina’s flares, Colombia’s massed flags and showers of ticker tape, and entrances became living theatre.

The trophy lift has rules. Keep officials out, hand over near the medals, lift with the squad on a separate platform, wear the kit you won in and skip commemorative T-shirts. Last year’s Club World Cup and the proper World Cup suffered when Donald Trump lingered. The Champions League handles are ideal, and the captain should lift alone after a brief build-up.

A proper overhead kick is deliberate and thumped. Charalampos Kostoulas’s for Brighton owed a mishit, as Thierry Henry noted, but Rodrigo Muniz’s for Fulham against Sheffield United in 2023-24 was textbook.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”