Rabona

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain performing a rabona while warming up for Arsenal in 2013 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rabona (cropped).jpg
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain performing a rabona while warming up for Arsenal in 2013

In association football, the rabona is the technique of kicking the football where the kicking leg is crossed behind the back of the standing leg.

Contents

There are several reasons why a player might opt to strike the ball this way: for example, a right-footed striker advancing towards the goal slightly on the left side rather than having the goal straight in front may feel that his shot power or accuracy with his left foot is inadequate (more colloquially, the player has "no left"), so will perform a rabona in order to take a better shot. Another scenario could be a right-footed winger sending a cross while playing on the left side of the pitch without having to turn first. Another reason why a player could perform a rabona might be to confuse a defending player, or simply to show off their own ability, as it is considered a skillful trick at any level.

History

Rabona in Spanish means to play hooky, to skip school. The name derives from its first documented performance by Ricardo Infante in a game between Estudiantes de la Plata and Rosario Central in 1948. [1] [2] The football magazine El Gráfico published a front cover showing Infante dressed as a schoolboy with the caption "El infante que se hizo la rabona" (In English: "The kid who plays hooky"). [3] Another supposed origin for the name is that Rabona is derived from the Spanish word rabo for tail, and that the move resembled the swishing of a cow's tail between or around its legs. In Brazil, the move is also known as the chaleira (kettle) or letra (letter). [4]

The first filmed rabona was performed by Brazilian footballer Pelé in the São Paulo state championship in 1957. Giovanni "Cocò" Roccotelli is credited with popularising the rabona in Italy during the 1970s; at the time, this move was simply called a "crossed-kick" (incrociata, in Italian). [4] [5] [6]

In addition to the aforementioned players, some examples of various well known exponents of the rabona, who have successfully performed the skill in competitions and are also known to employ it frequently during matches, are: Fernando Redondo, Alan Ball, Diego Maradona, Romário, Roberto Baggio, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pablo Aimar, Raúl Jiménez, Claudio Borghi, Matías Fernández, Matías Urbano, Mário Jardel, David Villa, Ariel Ortega, Robinho, Alberto Aquilani, Eden Hazard, Joe Cole, Ronaldinho, Ángel Di María, Rivaldo, Neil Williams, Ricardo Quaresma, Erik Lamela, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Carlos, Matthew Kowalczyk, [1] [3] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Neymar, [12] Luis Suárez, [13] Jay-Jay Okocha. [14] Paul Gascoigne famously scored a penalty using the technique in an exhibition match. [15]

Other players who have also used this skill successfully during a competitive match are: Xavi Simons (Roemania - The Netherlands 0-3) Amr Elsolia, Andrés Vasquez, Djalminha, Fahad Al Enezi, Thomas Müller, Manolis Skoufalis, [1] [3] [7] [8] Léo Lima, [16] Marcos Rojo, [17] Érik Lamela (once in the River Plate youth sides, [18] once in 2014, [18] [19] and once in 2021 [20] [21] ), Marcelo Carrusca, [22] Jordan Henderson, [23] Dimitri Payet, [24] Carlos Bacca, [25] Fabrizio Miccoli, [26] Mario Balotelli, [27] Jonathan Calleri, [28] Diego Perotti, [29] Mikael Lustig, [30] Eran Zahavi, [31] Robert Lewandowski, [32] and Jaden Philogene, [33] among many others; Johnny Giles of Leeds United also performed one in the famous sequence of possession against Southampton in 1972 during a 7–0 win. [34]

Other sports and uses

American football

Other uses

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "20 Football Tricks and the Players Who Invented Them". Bleacher Report. 24 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "El fundador de la rabona". (in Spanish) Clarin.com
  3. 1 2 3 "Enraptured by 'rabonas'". FIFA.com. 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 Sebastiano Vernazza (2 February 2007). "Cocò Roccotelli, il mago della rabona" [Cocò Roccotelli, the rabona wizard] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Giovanni Roccotelli" Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
  6. ↑ "Cocò, l'acrobata del numero 7" Archived 19 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian)
  7. 1 2 Jacob Steinberg (10 October 2014). "The Joy of Six: rabonas". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  8. 1 2 Richard Innes (24 October 2014). "The 6 greatest rabonas ever seen". The Mirror. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "The 'rabonas' from the greats that stunned the world". AS.com. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "Gol di rabona: così Lamela prenota il premio Puskas 2015" (in Italian). Sky.it. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  11. ↑ John Wragg (5 December 2014). "Non-league Rabona king Sean Geddes says wonder strike's brought him internet fame". The Express. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Roger Gonzalez (8 May 2016). "LOOK: Barcelona's Neymar shows off his crazy skills with fancy rabona pass". cbssports.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "Premier League, crollo Liverpool ad Anfield: vince il Wba" (in Italian). Sky.it. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  14. ↑ Jon Townsend (12 December 2016). "Jay-Jay Okocha: so good they named him twice". TheseFootballTimes. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Gazza's Rabona Penalty".
  16. ↑ "Em 2003, Souza faz gol contra o Fluminense após cruzamento de letra de Léo Lima" Archived 3 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine . Globoesporte.com. (in Portuguese)
  17. ↑ "Mirá la rabona de Rojo". Olé.com. (in Spanish)
  18. 1 2 "Six Years Ago Today, Erik Lamela Shocked World Football with Ridiculous 20-Yard Rabona". 21 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Erik Lamela rabona: Was this the greatest goal ever scored?". 23 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "'It had me off my feet for five minutes!' - Watch Lamela's incredible 'rabona' goal". BBC Sport.
  21. ↑ "Erik Lamela rabona goal: Watch Tottenham winger pull off magic against Arsenal in North London derby". 14 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "Carrusca’s FFA Cup rabona has fans abuzz". Football Australia. Retrieved 20 September 2015
  23. ↑ "Jordan Henderson produces sublime rabona assist during Liverpool's first pre-season game". metro.co.uk. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  24. ↑ Rory O'Callaghan (14 September 2016). "West Ham's Dimitri Payet defends rabona against Watford". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  25. ↑ Peter Gilbert (14 January 2016). "Carlos Bacca scores rabona goal for AC Milan v Carpi in Coppa Italia". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  26. ↑ Emiliano Pozzoni (3 May 2009). "Palermo, cinquina da Uefa Miccoli spegne il Cagliari" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  27. ↑ "VIDEO: Mario Balotelli just did THIS for AC Milan - Liverpool fans react". GiveMeSport. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  28. ↑ Callum Davis (19 July 2015). "Diego Maradona left stunned after Jonathan Calleri scores exceptional rabona chip". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  29. ↑ "Diego Perotti scores with Rabona for Roma". World Soccer. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  30. ↑ Caitlin Murray (5 February 2017). "This Celtic passing sequence (with a rabona and backheel flick!) will make you swoon". FoxSports.com. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  31. ↑ "Watch: Zahavi's rabona goal seals dramatic win". BBC. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  32. ↑ "CLASSY Robert Lewandowski pulls off outrageous RABONA assist as Bayern Munich smash Schalke 8-0 on first day of new Bundesliga season". talksport.com. 18 September 2020.
  33. ↑ Vurley, Callum (2024-02-13). "Hull City star given credit for 'goal of the century' as EFL overturn decision". talkSPORT. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  34. ↑ Neil Jones (18 December 2014). "Was Liverpool's 51-pass move against Bournemouth the best team goal ever scored?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  35. ↑ "The Tuscaloosa News - Búsqueda en el Archivo de Google Noticias".
  36. ↑ "mlssoccer.com".
  37. ↑ Sherman, Rodger (3 January 2015). "Kansas State tries rabona onside kick at Alamo Bowl".
  38. ↑ "Tango Vocabulary". Tango Afficionado. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011.
  39. ↑ Guzmán, Florencia (16 December 2016). "María Remedios del Valle. 'La Capitana', 'Madre de la Patria' y 'Niña de Ayohuma'. Historiografía, memoria y representaciones en torno a esta figura singular" [Maria Remedios del Valle. 'The Captain', 'Mother of the Nation' and 'Girl Ayohuma'. Historiography, memory and representations around this singular figure]. Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos (in Spanish). doi: 10.4000/nuevomundo.69871 . hdl: 11336/45702 .
  40. ↑ Oporto Ordóñez, Luis (April 2014). "Indios y mujeres en la Guerra del Pacífico Actores invisibilizados en el conflicto" [Indians and women in the War of the Pacific Invisible actors in the conflict]. Fuentes, Revista de la Biblioteca y Archivo Histórico de la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional (in Spanish). 8 (31): 6–29.
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