A bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick,[A] is a physical move in association football that is achieved by throwing the body up into the air, making shearing movement with the legs to get one leg in front of the other without holding on to the ground. The action, which occurs almost entirely on mid-air, is commonly named after the motion that it resembles in English and most other languages.[3] Their complexity and uncommon performance in competitive football matches make bicycle kicks one of association football's most celebrated skills.[B]
Bicycle kicks are used in association football when players find the acrobatic maneuver as their best resource. Defenders use it to clear away the ball from the goalmouth, and forwards use it to strike at goal in an attempt to score. The bicycle kick is an advanced football skill that, due to its difficulty, is dangerous for inexperienced players. Its successful performance has largely been limited to the most experienced and athletic players in football history.[5]
The bicycle kick was invented in South America, possibly as early as in the late 19th century, during a period of development in football history that resulted from local adaptations to the sport introduced by British immigrants.[6][7] Different stories exist in South America that narrate the history of the bicycle kick's invention, but it is not known for certain who was the first person to have exhibited the skill. What is known is that the bicycle kick and other football skills and tactics that developed in South American would eventually be displayed in Europe after South American footballers migrated there to play the sport.
As an iconic football skill, bicycle kicks have been prominently featured both in film and in advertisements. A bicycle kick performance in a competitive football match, particularly when a goal is attained by way of this action, usually receives wide attention in the sports press. Several players are still popularly remembered, in football lore, thanks to their bicycle kicks. The controversy over the move's invention, and its status as an element of the football rivalry between Peru and Chile, has added to the bicycle kick's acclaim in popular culture.
- ^ a b Witzig 2006, p. 22.
- ^ See:
- Rull 2004, p. 166
- Schmidt 1997, p. 88
- ^ Alejandro Cisternas (23 March 2009). "En Todas Partes Se Llama Chilena". El Mercurio (in Spanish). El Mercurio S.A.P. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ Turner 2011, Chapter Two: Ephemeral Goals & Eternal Glory.
- ^ See:
- DK Publishing 2011, p. 98
- United States Soccer Federation & Lewis 2000, The Bicycle Kick
- ^ Pérez, Diego (26 March 2008). "Genios: De Sudamerica Salieron Las Maravillas Del Fútbol". El País (in Spanish). Montevideo.
- ^ See:
- Giulianotti & Robertson 2009, pp. 40–41
- Goldblatt 2008, p. 192
- Simpson & Hesse 2014, Inventions: Who invented the bicycle kick?
- Wilson 2013, p. 33
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