16 Feb 2016

Lionel Messi – Fantastic 60 yard pass straight into a mini goal. Just watch

There are long-range passing drills, and then there’s Lionel Messi doing long-range passing drills.

With his team-mates struggling to pick out a miniature goal on the other side of the pitch, Messi stepped up to send a glorious bouncing effort into the back of the net from 60 yards away. Incredible.

Of course it would have been even more impressive if he had done it without the ball bouncing and with his right foot!

On a similar note of unbelievable skill, I used to win lots of money for charity at the start of the FA coaching courses I did. All the candidates on the course would gather round and I would put the ball on the halfway line and facing the goal, the halfway cross bar challenge. I would then go back a few yards in a position where I could strike the ball over a long distance.

From this long distance kicking position, I would say, ” I bet anyone here £1 that with my first effort I can hit the cross bar with that ball” Needless to say, most of the coaches on the course and there could be over 30, would take the bet.

I would then go through a pre kick routine of a few stretches, put my finger in the air to test the strength and direction of the wind, then run up to the ball…

to pick the ball up and slowly jog to the goal, accompanied by the moans and jeers of all the coaches who now realised they had been conned and when I reached the goal I would put my hands up and strike the ball onto the cross bar. Bet won!

If you have been on any of the courses I have run, share your experience of how you were one of the clever coaches who got conned.