Bicycle kick

A player executing a bicycle kick whilst playing Beach soccer.

A bicycle kick, chalaca, chilena, overhead kick, or scissors kick is a move in football (soccer), which is made by throwing the body up into the air, making a shearing movement with the legs to get one leg high overhead to reach the ball (in original head height), which gets kicked backward over the player's head. Besides football, the bicycle kick is frequently used (some say it is a must) in the game of Sepak takraw (a combination of Volleyball and Badminton where players may only use their legs), which is a sport hugely popular in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Also, bicycle kicks are occasionally seen in Australian rules football. Nonetheless, in association football the move is highly difficult and often takes much skill, technique, and years of practicing the sport. Making the move is as controversial on the field as the origins of invention several nations claim out of the field. Nonetheless, the move is a sure crowd pleaser, especially if the move is successful.

Overview

Different phases of the execution of a bicycle kick

The common English name comes from the two legs that look as if they are pedaling a bicycle, with one leg going forward to the ball and the other backward to create an opposite moment. In Latin America and Spain, the overhead kick is commonly known as either bicicleta, chalaca, or chilena. Non-Spanish Europe knows the name by a series of different names. For instance, the German name Fallrückzieher (falling backward kick) emphasises the sacrifice of the player falling on his back, with a variant named Seitfallzieher (sideways falling kick) for a similar move to reach a volley ball sideways. Moreover, some names attribute the kick to a specific nation such as in Norway the move is known, in Norwegian, as Brassespark (Brazilian kick).

There are two major situations (apart from showing off) where the bicycle kick would be useful in a game situation:

• When a defender is desperate to remove the ball from near his side's goal, but he stands facing the goal and with his back to the direction he wants the ball to go, and the ball is bouncing around and thus difficult to control.
• If a striker has his back to the opponent's goal and is in the opponent's penalty area or nearby, and the ball is bouncing at head height.

Please keep in mind, that performing a bicycle kick can be quite dangerous when performed incorrectly. However they are fun to do. The main aspect to remember when executing a bicycle kick, is to brace yourself with your arms as you land back on the ground. One should also keep in mind that defenders might try to head the ball away: since the bicycle kick is very difficult, it is often not anticipated by them and they run the risk of being kicked in the face, potentially resulting in serious injury.

Attributions of invention

There are different attributions of invention in different parts of the world for this popular move. The kick itself has been part of football gaming for a long time, but it is hard to control the ball to make a directed shot. Generally, the most recognized players tend to be those that have made the move during national or international tournaments in an official association football match. For example, Ramón Unzaga Asla, a Spanish-Basque-born midfielder playing for Chile in the 1910s and 1920s, and Leônidas da Silva of Brazil from the 1930s (making a notable 6-5 win over Poland in the 1938 game in Strasbourg) are often cited. Nonetheless, the invention of the kick has often held much controversy as different countries have different proposals on how and where the move was invented, and players that have performed the famed move have often attributed it to someone else. For instance, in Peru the move is attributed to the players of Callao and it is often told that they invented the move when playing with English sailors in the late 1800s. The account from Chile attributes the invention of the kick to Ramon Unzaga in the southern Chilean city of Talcahuano and as the first person to make the move in an official football match. Leônidas da Silva attributed the invention of this move to another Brazilian player, Petronilho de Brito. In Italy, the invention is usually credited to Carlo Parola, even though Silvio Piola made a notable win over Germany with this move in March 1939, before Parola started his professional career. Additionally, former Aston Villa Chairman Doug Ellis claimed in his autobiography that he was the inventor of the overhead kick although he has no record as an active player during said times and would have been playing football at the times after the other claims. Each of the countries that have developed their own theories of invention also have their own particular way of referring to the football move.

Brazilian claim

In Brazil, Leônidas da Silva (also known as the "Black Diamond" or "Rubber Man") born September 6, 1913, is credited with having invented the bicycle kick even while himself claiming that it was first performed by a colleague. It is reported that his first bicycle kick was performed in 1932 while playing for Brazil in a national friendly. The move, which Brazilians named bicicleta, combined with his acrobatic abilities and the dexterity of his movements won Leônidas a national spot as Brazil's first major superstar. His football skills won him world recognition as he helped lead Brazil to a third place spot in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.

Chilean claim

In Chile, the Spanish Chilean Ramón Unzaga Asla is attributed as the person to first invent the move while playing for his club and to first perform it during an international football match playing for Chile. Born 1894 in Bilbao, Spain, who in his teens emigrated to Chile with his parents, created the kick during a 1914 club football match in El Morro stadium of Talcahuano. At the time the move was labeled la chorera and though not scoring, received wider recognition after playing for Chile in the South American Championship (Copa America) of 1916 (hosted by Argentina) and 1920 (hosted by his adoptive country Chile). According to this account, the move was noticed and named "la chilena" by a group of Argentinean journalists when Unzaga repeated the kick on various occasions during the tournament held in Argentina and when Chile hosted in 1920.

Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano writes in his book a commentary on the history and politics of football titled El fútbol a sol y sombra (Football in Sun and Shadow) that the move was invented by Ramón Unzaga while playing in the Chilean port of Talcahuano. Galeano while supported by other sources, includes that years later Spanish journalists labeled the move "la chilena" when in 1927, Chilean club team Colo-Colo conducted a European tour and Chilean player David Arellano exhibited la chilena in various friendlies with club teams from Spain; such as in the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Valladolid. In late 2006 Federación de Fútbol de Chile president and FIFA delegate Harold Mayne-Nicholls completely denied the existence of the chalaca and added that the chilena was invented in the Chilean city of Talcahuano in 1914.

International recognition

International sports media in Spanish such as ESPN Deportes regard the move as a "chilena", in reference to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa logo and in other news articles. FIFA the international governing body of association football through their official website recognizes the term "chilena" in articles such as a June 16, 2008 Spanish language publication when describing a goal that is made during a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. Univision, the Spanish-language television network in the United States names the move a chilena or a media chilena. Early 2006 had Major League Soccer's (MLS) official website in the Spanish language releasing the results of an online poll that awarded the best goal of the decade as a chilena in that leagues competition. In late 2007, El País daily newspaper from Spain headlines that Julio Baptista had scored a goal in the form of a chilena and with the article including that it was reminiscent of one scored by Hugo Sanchez while playing for Real Madrid. CONMEBOL's official website also makes reference to a goal that was scored in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match naming it a chilena. The Associated Press an American news agency lists the move as a chilena in a 2008 news article. Fox Sports en Latinoamérica an owner to the rights of Copa Santander Libertadores and Copa Nissan Sudamericana describes the chilena being used during a Copa del Rey match in the Spanish La Liga. Peruvian websites have also made references to a media chilena or chilena being performed during matches. El Comercio Peru's oldest newspaper uses media chilena during a sports article.

Italian claim

In Italy, the story as to how the bicycle kick was created by Carlo Parola goes back to the years before he became an association football player. Parola was born in Turin and was an avid fan of bicycles and racing. His young years were dedicated to biking and he became a rather prominent biker. Still, the conditions of his family forced him to enter work in the Fiat factory in order to provide some more income. During his spare time he would enter football games with his fellow workers and, ironically, a scout for the Juventus team, which was owned by the owners of the factory, saw him play decided to recruit him for the team. Carlo Parola was 18, the year 1939, and soon he would become one Italy's greatest players. The Juventus, a club based in Turin, would become widely popular in part thanks to the skill of Parola. The famous rovesciata, or bicycle kick, would make a wide recognition in Italy during a football match between the Juventus and Fiorentina. The score of Carlo Parola helped Juventus win that day, and the whole crowd in the stadium felt amazed at what they considered "the feat of the world." Parola's move won him wide recognition in Italy, and one historian once remarked that Parola had made the rovesciata "almost as popular as the pizza" in the country. Parola would do this move a series of more times, and the rest of Europe would soon receive word of this player. The fame of Parola turned so large that he was invited to join a team composed of European players that was to face the English football team, and his participation in the team was well-received by the media that covered the event. World War II would take a large toll on the European sports, and Carlo Parola's golden time to shine was cut short by the European conflicts. After the war, a now older Parola would only keep the memory of having popularized a move in Europe that to this day makes him a popular icon in Italy.

Peruvian claim

See Also: Football in Peru

File:Chalaca Drawing.png

A Peruvian player about to perform the chalaca, or overhead kick.

Jorge Barraza (a journalist from Argentina and chief editor of CONMEBOL's magazine), in an article published by El Comercio, explains that according to his investigation, ancient testimonies and oral traditions tell about [United Kingdom|British]] sailors who use to play football at the Peruvian port of Callao (birthplace of the Peruvian football), where they used to invite local Chalacos in order to fill the necessary 22 players for a match, and that it was during on of those matches that one of the Chalacos made the bicycle kick in, surprising the crowd. Moreover, during that investigation he also reached the conclusion that Chilean and Peruvians had also played several games due to the trips from the Chilean port of Valparaiso to the Peruvian port of Callao, and that apparently, Chileans themselves at first also called the move "chalaca" when they brought it from Peru. Barraza concludes that Argentine journalists popularized the term Chilena around Latin America, when they saw the acrobacy the Chileans perform it, but the term didn't catch up in Peru, where it was already known as Chalaca.

International recognition

The legacy of the Chalaca's long history lives on to this day as various nations aside from Peru, especially those where Peruvian clubs held international tours, have called and still call the move chalaca. Also, international recognition has began to be awarded to the Callao claim of origin such as El Pais Newspaper from Spain and important figures of the association football world. In Colombia and Ecuador the term chalaca is also used to refer to the bicycle kick. During an interview done to Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita (the player that invented another popular football move known as the Scorpion Kick) referers to the bicycle kick as chalaca. Furthermore, Colombian newspaper El Pais, a leading newspaper company of Colombia, makes constant reference to the term chalaca in their sports articles. CONMEBOL, in their official website, made citation to a move by Hugo Rodallega as a "media chalaca." Bolivia's El Deber mentions the chalaca in an article done about the Copa Libertadores 2004. Panama's website Futbol Extremo (winner of the Arroba de Oro and named as the "best sports website") used the term "media chalaca" to refer to a goal made by Mauricio Molina.. British guardian.co.uk made a reference to the chalaca as a Spanish-language way to refer to the overhead (or bicycle) kick.

Famous bicycle kicks

Due to the move's level of difficulty, only a few players have been able to make it into what could be a special hall of fame for those that scored (or effectively defended) with the use of a bicycle kick. In the club level, one of the most famous modern bicycle kicks was done by Ronaldinho while playing for Barcelona and scoring with what was considered a bicycle kick against Villareal. Another famous club level bicycle kick was scored in the Copa Libertadores 2004 by Jorge Soto while playing for Sporting Cristal against Rosario Central. In Germany, the national team player Klaus Fischer is seen as the master of the overhead kick for his spectacular goal in the 1976-77 season that is officially called the "goal of the century" in Germany, but Uwe Seeler is also known to have used the kick to score a goal multiple times.

In the arena of national football teams, a famous bicycle kick was made during the international tournament of the 1975 Copa America when Juan Carlos Oblitas scored against the Chilean football team with a bicycle kick that gave the Peruvian football team a comfortable 2-0 lead against the visiting team.

Different Denominations

• English
  • Bicycle kick: United States.
  • Overhead kick: England.
• Bulgarian
  • Задна ножица: Bulgaria.
  • А ла Пиола ("à la Piola"): Bulgaria.
• Cantonese
  • 倒掛金鈎: Hong Kong.
• Chinese
  • 倒钩/倒挂金钩: China.
• Croatian
  • Škarice (a synonym for scissors): Croatia.
• Czech
  • Nůžky (scissors): Czech Republic.
• Danish
  • Saksespark (Scissor-kick): Denmark.
• Dutch
  • Omhaal: Holland, Belgium.
• Estonian
  • Käärlöök (scissorkick): Estonia.
• French
  • Ciseaux Retourne: Belgium, France.
  • Retourné Acrobatique: France.
• Finnish
  • Saksari: Finland.
  • Saksipotku: Finland.
• German
  • Fallrückzieher (pulling the ball [behind one's] back while falling, literally "fall-pullback"): Germany
• Greek
  • Psalidaki (small scissors): Greece.
• Hungarian
  • Ollózás (Scissors): Hungary.
• Indonesian
  • Salto (From Latin leap): Indonesia.
• Italian
  • Rovesciata: Italy.
• Languages of Nigeria
  • Shagalo: Nigeria.
• Norwegian
  • Brassespark (Brazilian Kick): Norway.
• Persian
  • Gheychi (Scissor kick): Iran.
• Polish
  • Przewrotka: Poland.
• Portuguese
  • Bicicleta: Brazil, Portugal.
  • Pontapé de bicicleta: Portugal.
• Romanian
  • foarfeca (scissors): Romania.
• Russian: "Ножницы" or "Удар через себя".
• Serbian
  • Makazice (scissors): Serbia.
• Slovak
  • Nožničky (scissors): Slovakia.
• Spanish
  • Chalaca: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Perú.
  • Chilena: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, México, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Spain, and Venezuela.
  • Chorera: Chile.
  • Huguiña (Reference to Hugo Sanchez): México.
  • Tijera: Spain, Ecuador.
• Swedish
  • Bicycletas: Sweden.
  • Cykelspark: Sweden.
• Turkish
  • Rövaşata: Turkey.
• Vietnamese
  • Ngả bàn đèn (display an opium-tray): Vietnam.
  • Xe đạp chổng ngược (upside down bicycle kick): Vietnam.

External links

• Picture of an overhead kick