Curl (football)

Curl or bend in association football is spin on the ball which will make it change direction, called a 'screw shot' in the 19th century. When kicking the ball, the inside of the foot is often used to curl the ball, but this can also be done by using the outside of the foot. Similar to curl, the ball can also swerve in the air, without the spin on the ball which makes the ball curl.

Curling or bending the ball is especially evident from free kicks, shots from outside the penalty area and crosses. Differences between balls can also affect the amount of swerve and curl: traditional leather footballs were too heavy to curl without great effort, whereas the lighter modern footballs curl with a lower effort threshold. As a general rule, the lighter and smoother the ball the more deviation there is.

There is a degree of confusion surrounding the correct naming of different aspects of curl. The technique of putting curl on a ball is known as chanfle to some, from Spanish, and also as the Trivela. The deviation from the straight path in the air is the actual curl, or swerve; however, the spin on the ball that causes this is also known as the curl. Shots that curl or swerve are known as curlers, swingers, or ones that bend, also in extreme cases, banana shots. However, it is extremely rare, these days, to hear any shot described as a "banana shot".

Free kick takers often curl and put spin on the ball, to curl it over or around the wall of defending players, out of the reach of the goalkeeper. Goalkeepers usually organize walls to cover one side of the goal, and then stand themselves on the other side. Thus, the free kick taker has several choices, including; either to curl the ball around the wall with finesse, to bend the ball around the wall using power, or to go over the wall.

The 1950s Brazilian star Didi invented the folha seca (dry leaf) free kick, notably used by modern day players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Juninho, where the ball would swerve downward unexpectedly at a point near the goal.

Curling can be an effective technique when taking corners. The ball gradually moves in the air towards the goal. This is referred to as an in-swinging corner. Occasionally, a corner-taker will bend the ball towards the edge of the penalty area, for an attacker to volley, or take a touch and then shoot.

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