Why Cristiano Ronaldo should stop taking free-kicks for Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick success rate with Real Madrid is at an all-time low

There was once a time when Cristiano Ronaldo was the best free-kick taker in the world. His incredible knuckleball technique made many goalkeepers just a mere spectator in front of goal while the ball dipped its way into the net at the very last moment. Sadly, however, that time now seems long gone as he has scored only twice in his last 89 attempts.

At the peak of his free-kick taking powers, he could get the ball above the wall and make it look like the ball would fly above the goal, only for it to dip at the very last moment and end up in the back of the net. Now, however, when he shoots the ball, it hits the wall most of the time, like against Paris Saint-Germain. And if he manages to get it over, the ball fails to dip before the post and ends up in the stands.

Cristiano's last 85 free kicks (club and country) > 34 into the wall > 25 saved by keeper > 23 missed wide > 1 off woodwork > 2 goals

— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) October 4, 2015

Time to hand over free-kick duties to Gareth Bale or James Rodriguez

Given his apparent dominance in the team, it seems unlikely that he will be removed from direct set-piece duties anytime soon. But for the good of the team, Rafa Benitez must reconsider making James Rodriguez or Gareth Bale his first choice free-kick taker.

Both the Colombian and the Welshman have had a better scoring ratio from free-kicks than the Portuguese forward, with the former AS Monaco man being the pick of the lot. Whenever he takes a free-kick, he almost always hits the target and has already scored once this season from two attempts, with the other one hitting the woodwork.

Gareth Bale might not have scored any this season, but his attempts haven’t been as wayward as Cristiano. There might be arguments that Bale and James already are preferred over Ronaldo when it comes to taking the free-kicks on the right-side, but the left-side is default for the former United winger.

James Rodriguez consistently hits the target with his free kicks for Real Madrid

While using left-footed players to take the free-kicks on the left-side might not yield the desired results, it will certainly give better returns than two goals in 89 attempts. This might sound ludicrous to some, but Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos are all adept at taking free-kicks – especially the former two as they were prime takers for their previous clubs and still take them for their respective countries.

This is not to undermine Ronaldo, far from it. He remains the greatest player inside the box after the Ferenc Puskas era and there is no doubt that at one point in his career, he was the best exponent of the knuckleball technique.

But, like I said earlier, change is the only constant in the world and the once blazing winger is now a ruthless forward who has sacrificed great many things to possess the cold-bloodedness that he now shows inside the box.

Real Madrid could score more goals in a season if someone else was assigned the task of taking direct free-kicks, and that could, in the long run, be the difference between winning and losing trophies. For instance, from the 2013/14 season, Real Madrid have averaged one direct free-kick a game from the left – Ronaldo’s territory. This means that the club get a number of 60, give or take, direct free-kicks from the left each season.

Time to give Bale a chance?

Since Ronaldo has scored only twice in 89 games, it is safe to assume that Real score only 1 goal from a left-sided direct free-kick every season – which is a terrible return. Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos, if recent history is held in regard, would certainly provide a better return than the Portuguese.

Real Madrid are missing out on roughly 6-7 goals a season – which might not seem many, but every goal matters – with Ronaldo as their prime free-kick taker. While this claim might not go down well with the ardent fans of the former United winger, it is a plain and bitter truth that can’t be neglected.

And, for Rafa Benitez, it would be best not to.

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