“Free-Kicks Were Penalty For Him”- Thierry Henry Wowed By Brazil Legend Juninho, Whose Record is Chased by Lionel Messi
Free-kicking is one of the most skilled arts in soccer, and those who master it often have the potential to become match-winners for their teams. In the current generation of players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most prolific scorers and free-kick takers. However, a former France World Cup winner has mentioned the talents of another renowned Brazilian name as the greatest taker of all time.
Simultaneously, over the years, we have seen some masterful free-kicks from legends like David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and earlier Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho. But the star Thierry Henry was talking about is renowned for scoring goals that mesmerized the world of soccer when he took the set pieces. And that legend is no other than Juninho. Let’s see what the Frenchman had to say about him.
Thierry Henry is all praise for Juninho
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Henry himself was an excellent finisher, being the highest goalscorer for Arsenal and winning the Treble with Barcelona in 2009. Henry scored 12 free-kick goals in his career, which makes him a credible source for how tough a skill scoring a free-kick can be. And in a recent interview, Henry bestowed the honor of making free-kicks appear as easy as penalties upon a Brazilian player, Juninho. Henry said, “He (Juninho) said to me, ‘Yes, look.’ First skylight. Second skylight. I said sorry. The free-kicks were a penalty for him.”
Henry and Juninho played together at the New York Red Bulls in 2013. Henry spoke about an incident when Juninho demonstrated his prowess by shooting two kicks with full control. The shots were a response to Henry’s doubts when he asked the player if he did them willfully.
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“At first, I thought he wasn’t doing it on purpose. I said to him, “Juni, you really weren’t doing it on purpose?” After this, Henry was convinced that he was an alchemist who turned free-kicks into goals.
L’anecdote de Thierry Henry sur Juninho :
« Il y a des mecs qui veulent frapper comme Juninho, mais moi si je frappe comme lui je me fais mal. 𝗟𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀-𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘀 ? 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗼. On s’arrête, c’est fini. Roberto Carlos ?… pic.twitter.com/X4HcUB6jtL
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) November 5, 2023
Juninho scored a mammoth 77 goals from free-kicks. The former Olympique Lyon player terrorized goalkeepers with the knuckleball free-kick he popularized. The knuckleball does not give the keeper an idea where it could deviate, as it won’t have any revolutions on the ball. Known to have the record for most free-kicks in history, the record seems to be far from reach, even for the best players.
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Lionel Messi chasing Juninho’s record
Juninho retired in 2013, but his record is still unmatched. Lionel Messi is the current player who is the closest to the Brazilian with 65 goals. The Argentine’s last goal against Ecuador got him equal with David Beckham. Whereas Juninho’s most iconic performance came during the 2005-2006 UEFA Champions League Campaign, where he scored 4 free-kick goals in the tournament.
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That was the record for the highest number of free-kicks for a player in a single UEFA Champions League campaign. However, it was achieved again by his countryman Willian in the 2015-16 campaign. Henry was so dumbfounded by Juninho in free-kicks that it sparked further debate about who could be considered the greatest in the art of free-kick taking. Who do you think is the greatest free-kick taker of all time? Let us know in the comments.
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Written by:
Edited by:
Abhishek Kumar Das