Ranking the 12 players with most free-kick goals in football history

#8 Rogerio Ceni - 61

Rogerio Ceni is the most prolific goalscoring goalkeeper in the game's history.

Rogerio Ceni, a free-kick specialist, is one of the game's premier goalscoring goalkeepers. In fact, his tally of 131 goals is almost double that of the next most prolific goalscoring goalkeeper - Jose Luis Chilavert (67). It's a tally many strikers and midfielders would be proud of.

The Brazilian scored most of his career goals through penalties and free-kicks, with only one goal coming from open play. Ceni hit his free-kicks with a mix of pace and swerve that flummoxed most goalkeepers.

In an interaction with Globoesporte in 2011, Ceni said about his free-kick hitting prowess:

"I trained a lot. I’d practice 2,500 to 3,000 free-kicks a month. I hit 15,000 free-kicks in training before I risked one in a game.”

Ceni played for more than two decades with Sau Paulo after debuting with Sinop in 1990. He also made a handful of appearances for Brazil, but didn't manage to find the back of the set for the Selecao.

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#7 Zico - 62

Zico scored a lot of free-kicks in his career.

Zico is one of the most skilful players to have graced the game. The Flamengo legend scored over 500 goals for club and country, a tally that included over 60 free-kicks.

Zico produced one of the all-time great years by any player when he netted 56 goals in 1979. That accounted for more than 50% of his team's goal tally. Suffice to say, he also scored a few free-kicks that year.

Zico mostly used finesse and precision to score off free-kicks, often hitting them with unerring accuracy, something that has been matched by very few players. He once scored a hat-trick of free-kicks for Udinese in a Serie A game.

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#6 Diego Maradona - 62

Diego Maradona was a prolific scorer.

Diego Maradona, a free-kick specialist, is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the game.

The late Argentine was a magician with the ball at his feet, scoring one of the goals of the tournament in the Albiceleste's victorious 1986 FIFA World Cup campaign. The Napoli legend also scored a plethora of memorable free-kicks during his career.

Maradona mostly used technique and precision for his free-kicks. He is also credited with having helped his compatriot Lionel Messi perfect the art of scoring from free-kicks.

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#5 David Beckham - 65

David Beckham was a free-kick specialist.

David Beckham was one of the few Englishmen who perfected the technique of scoring from free-kicks.

Beckham's free-kick ability more than made up for his lack of pace on the field. He has scored many memorable free-kicks during his illustrious career. The former Manchester United and England legend wasn't a prolific scorer, but he was a dead-ball specialist.

The 46-year-old had pace, curl and accuracy in his free-kicks. At the point of contact, Beckham's foot was almost at a right angle to the trajectory of the ball. That lent the 'dead ball' enough fizz and spin to curl over the wall and dip back into the net.