ESPNs Top Ten - Amazing Heat Pass Is Only The 2nd Best Play of the Day

[Jim Gray]

I watched the Heat - Indiana game on Tuesday night and saw two amazing plays that I was sure would make ESPN's Top 10 - LeBron's bounce pass to himself off the backboard and the 90ft alley oop pass from Wade to LeBron.  The alley oop was incredible, the best basketball play I've seen this year. 

I knew this would be the number 1 play on ESPN's top 10, and it was.......however, it was only the 2nd best play of the day, because there was a "best of the best" play that topped it. 

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney scores a winning goal against Man City in the 77th minute on a stunning bicycle kick.  Unfortunately, I can't find a link to the video; but ESPN is still showing it on today's top 10.  If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to make the effort.  You may never see a better goal. 

[Pappy13]

The bicycle kick is overrated.  Granted that Rooney's was a very nice one and it was at an opportune time for Man U which made it more impressive, but I've actually seen 13 year old girls pull off this feet.  It's not nearly as spectacular as people make it out to be.  ESPN made such a big deal of it because they don't know a thing about soccer.  I don't want to sound like I'm dissing Rooney, because I actually like the guy for the most part, but he does sometimes get too much credit for what he does.  He's always around the goal and gets plenty of chances to make big plays.  He pretty much blew a couple plays in that game earlier and was being dogged a bit by the announcers right before that goal for not having a bigger impact.  No question the goal made up for his earlier play, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as ESPN was making it out to be, at least not to me.  The announcers made it sound like it was the greatest goal ever and ESPN picked up on that.

"May never see a better goal" is a huge stretch unless of course you don't watch Eureopean soccer.  Watch a few games and you'll be amazed at what these guys can do with their feet.

[Brian Fein]

Rooney's goal was ridiculous.  By far the best play I've seen in a long time.  Say what you want about soccer, you gotta appreciate what he did on that play.

[Brian Fein]

I can't find the ESPN top 10 on their site to save my life.  Care to linky-link?

[Phishfan]

Seriously Pappy, you are downplaying scoring a goal on a bicycle kick? I played soccer for years (into college even) and it is not an easy thing to do. Yes I've seen people pull it off, but it was more luck on their part than skill. I've seen more people look like a fool trying it than be successful.

[Pappy13]

Seriously Pappy, you are downplaying scoring a goal on a bicycle kick? I played soccer for years (into college even) and it is not an easy thing to do. Yes I've seen people pull it off, but it was more luck on their part than skill. I've seen more people look like a fool trying it than be successful.

I saw it pulled off by 13 year old girls when my daughter played.  I saw a fairly good one in a rec indoor soccer game that my daughter played in about 2 weeks ago.

I'm not saying it's easy, I'm just saying it's over rated.  It really isn't as difficult or as uncommon as you might imagine.  There's usually about 1 attempt a game in the European league that my wife and I watch fairly regularly.  Granted that most aren't as good as Rooney's was, but his was simply the best "bicycle" seen in a while, it's certainly NOT the best goal I've seen lately.

[Phishfan]

How many of those "one attempt a game" are successful at scoring? How many are even on target? How many miss the ball completely?

[Pappy13]

I'm sure you can find Rooney's goal on YouTube.  I can't get to YouTube's site from work, but if I remember when I get home I'll see if I can find it.  Or were you looking for the top 10 and not Rooney's goal?

[Pappy13]

How many of those "one attempt a game" are successful at scoring? How many are even on target? How many miss the ball completely?

Few are successful at scoring, most are pretty much on target, I can't remember a bicycle kick that was missed entirely by someone in the European league.

[StL FinFan]

In between two defenders on a high cross.  Yeah, anyone could to that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1K7am5WnAQ

[Sunstroke]

That was a pretty hellacious kick by Rooney...

[Pappy13]

You people obviously don't watch much soccer.

[Brian Fein]

I admittedly don't watch much soccer, but I am fairly sure that no average joe schmoe soccer player can kick a ball MOVING above his head AND score.  I'd bet 99 times out of 100, if you even make contact, you'd send it over the crossbar.

[Pappy13]

I admittedly don't watch much soccer, but I am fairly sure that no average joe schmoe soccer player can kick a ball MOVING above his head AND score.  I'd bet 99 times out of 100, if you even make contact, you'd send it over the crossbar.

Ok, so because your average Joe Schmoe soccer player can't do it, it's the best goal ever?  C'mon.  I'm telling you that 100% of the guys in the European league can do it.  5% of them can probably do it as well as Rooney.  His just happened to come in a game between Man U and Man City recently which makes it more memorable but there have literally been dozens of these types of goals scored in the last couple of years and that's just goals.  The bicycle kick is not just used by forwards, pretty much anyone other than maybe the goalie will attempt one from time to time for various reasons.  Just because Rooney's happened to be for a goal doesn't really mean that it was any more difficult to pull off than any of the others attempted.  I saw Clint Dempsey try a bicycle kick after his PK was blocked a couple days ago and he had no time to prepare for the shot, he just reacted.  He got his foot on it, but it was off target.  Had he made that shot it would have been twice as difficult as Rooney's was as he had plenty of time to line up the shot.

I saw a kid in his 20's do almost the same thing as Rooney about 3 weeks ago playing an indoor soccer game in Richardson Texas.  He scored a goal on a bicycle kick and an indoor goal is MUCH smaller than an outdoor goal.  The ball was not played across at the speed that Rooney's goal was, but still he bicycled it into the goal as well as Rooney did.  This was a recreational indoor soccer game just a couple weeks ago.  We started calling the kid Man U after he did it as a joke.  It's pure coincidence that Rooney did it a few weeks later for Man U.  We all got a big laugh out of that.

[Brian Fein]

^^ I said "average Joe Schmoe soccer player."  Not average Joe Schmoe.  Big difference.

The point isn't how awesome the kick was, but that it scored a goal.  And the game-winner at that.  Plus the height of the ball at the point which it was kicked plays a factor in my opinion as well.  I'm not saying that its an impossible kick.  I'm saying that its not every day that you see it score, in that manner, and to win a huge game.

It was a great play.