Nearly a fortnight after the Confederations Cup, memories of the competition remain fresh. One relates to the official match ball, the Cafusa, Top Replique. Conspicuous by their absence were complaints about it.
Ironically for a tournament with the Copacabana and Ipanema as its backdrops, no one moaned as many have done in recent World Cups and European Championships that it was a beach-ball. For once, the players were happy with it and it showed, no more so than among those taking free-kicks.
It’s hard to remember a competition featuring so many goals scored from them. Andrea Pirlo marked his 100th appearance for Italy by curling one beyond Mexico goalkeeper Jose Corona at the Maracanã. Luis Suárez whipped one past Iker Casillas, a fine consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat to Spain. Brazil got in on the act too. Neymar caught out Gigi Buffon with a precise effort that found the top corner. And this was just in the group stages.
Later on in the competition, the third-place play-off between Italy and Uruguay felt like a free-kick-off between Alessandro Diamanti and Edinson Cavani. Every one of their set-pieces became an event. So one of the questions prompted by the Confederations Cup is a simple one: who is the best free-kick taker playing in Europe’s top five leagues? Some of the results from the analysis were predictable. Others were unexpected.
It will come as no surprise to discover that one of the two top scorers from free-kicks last season in Europe’s top five league was Pirlo with five goals. Level with him is another Italian who should by now be familiar to those who watch Serie A. It’s Catania’s deep-lying playmaker, the 29-year-old Francesco Lodi who many feel should be Pirlo’s deputy together with Marco Verratti in the national team.
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