Pluto Carlos

Real Madrid of Spain and Bayern Munich of Germany played in the final 16 of 2003-04’s Europe Champions League in Olympik Stadium, Munich on February 25.

31-year-old Roberto Carlos received a chance when Real Madrid got a free kick in the 83rd minute. The goalie for Munich was 35-year-old Oliver Kahn, who got Yashin’s award in the 2002 World Cup.

Backing up a couple of steps, Carlos rushed and kicked low with his left foot. The ball passed through a defense scrum and flew over 35m, making a sound like the wind. Kahn threw his body, but the ball hit his right hand and slid under his arm. Leading by 1-0, Munich lost its almost-seized chance to win. The final result was a 1-1 draw.

This free kick was to be blocked by the current best goalie, Kahn. But why did he allow it to be a goal easily? It was because the kicker was Carlos, who has scared all goalies over the world. His nickname is the magician of free kicks.

-UFO Shot

At the exhibition match between Brazil and France held in Riom, France on June 4 in 1997, Carlos made a fantastic free kick which was named the “UFO shot.” The ball, which was kicked at the right side of the penalty area, turned right of the scrum and hit the right net. Soccer experts were astonished with the curving ball, saying, “It was an unbelievable shot in a situation of no angles.” So the “UFO shot” was named.

-A Cannon Shot With a Speed of 170km Per Hour

The kick by Carlos is the best in the world in terms of speed and spin. Its speed is compared with those of Korean players.

At the competition of cannon shots in the All-star game which started in 1998, the fastest ball speed is 138km per hour which was marked by Lee Ki-hyoung (Seong-nam) in 2002. The fastest ball speed of Carlos is known to be 170km per hour, which is 32km per hour faster than Korean record. The “UFO shot” was recorded at 150km per hour.

Over 120km per hour, it would be late if a goalie moves his body after seeing the ball coming. Goalies have to move their bodies in advance while predicting a direction at the moment kickers kick a ball. Therefore it is almost impossible to block the ball if Carlos kicks a ball into the corner of net.

The Secret of Carlos

He is 1m68cm and 69kg. How could such an unimaginable shot be possible from his small stature? He mentioned that the most important thing is a consistent practice.

He does hold individual shooting practices over 50 times after team training. With this, he hasn’t ever missed a starting position for Palmeiras in Brazil, Inter Milan in Italy and the “super star corps” of Real Madrid since he started his professional career in 1991. He has been responsible for the Brazil national team’s free kicks from 1992, and his thigh circumference is 58.5cm.

Another key for the cannon shot is to practice on sand with bare feet. Soccer experts say that it makes muscles of leg stronger and helps to kick in various angles using different parts of feet.

-Who Is the Best Kicker in Korean Soccer?

Who is the Carlos of Korea? Hwang Bo-gwan, the principal coach of Oita Trinita in Japan, got the name of “cannon shooter” when he made a goal with a cannon-like free kick against Spain in the 1990 Italy World Cup. The shooting speed was 114km. Lee Eul-yong (Anyang) made a marvelous free kick goal for third place against Turkey in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Yoo Sang-cheol (Yokohama) and Lee Cheon-soo (Real Sociedad) of the Korean national team and Choi Seong-gook (Ulsan) as a member of the Olympic team are specialized in kicks.

stt77@donga.com