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Manchester United legend David Beckham would pick Zinedine Zidane if he had to select a last-minute free-kick taker for his team. Beckham and Zidane shared the dressing room during their time together at Real Madrid between 2003 and 2006.
Beckham is widely hailed as one of the best free-kick takers in the history of the sport. From inch-perfect curlers from distance to crossbar creepers from close range, the Englishman was able to score free kicks from all angles in his heyday.
Beckham scored 65 free-kicks in his career (via The Sun), making him the fifth-highest free-kick taker in the history of the sport. His most memorable strike came for his country, England, in the 2002 World Cup qualifier against Greece. Beckham’s last-gasp scorcher allowed the Three Lions to avoid defeat in their final World Cup qualifier, sealing a 2-2 draw and thus securing their place in the 2002 grand event.
Beckham’s free kick skills are well documented, so Gary Neville, for SkyBet, asked him to keep himself out of consideration when picking his preferred last-minute kicker. Without a second thought, Beckham declared that he would pick “Zidane, Zizou” for the hypothetical last-minute free kick.
At Real Madrid, Zidane rarely had the opportunity to take free kicks ahead of the likes of Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, and Beckham himself. He, however, scored quite a few for Juventus and his country France. His injury-time stunner against England (2-1 win for France) in the group stage of the 2004 European championship is remembered to this day.
Cristiano Ronaldo has the highest number of free-kick goals at Manchester United right now
Cristiano Ronaldo was once lauded for the accuracy of his “knuckleball” free kicks. They would dip and they would swerve, making life miserable for all goalkeepers.
Over the last few years, his reputation has taken a hit, with him rarely scoring from outside-the-box dead-ball situations.
Yet, despite his falling stock, he remains the most accomplished free-kick taker at Manchester United, scoring 58 times in his career (via Goal). Out of those 58, 15 have come for his current employers Manchester United over two spells.
His goal against Portsmouth in the Premier League (2007-08) is still hailed as one of the best free-kick goals ever in English football.
