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'Average Joe' Attempts To Score Free Kick Past Professional Goalkeeper

'Average Joe' Attempts To Score Free Kick Past Professional Goalkeeper

Could you score one free-kick from 11 attempts against a professional goalkeeper after just five days of training?

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

How long would it take you to beat a professional goalkeeper with a free-kick? One 'average Joe' was given five training sessions to beat a New York Red Bull's goalkeeper.

As football fans we've all shouted at a professional player for missing a chance or messing up in someway, suggesting we could do better ourselves but what could you actually achieve with some training.

GQ Magazine's Clay Skipper, fantastically American name, was given several days training to try and come up with the technique to beat Red Bull's keeper Ryan Meara. Here's how he got on.

Finally on his ninth attempt Skipper managed to beat the wall made up of, as he said, three friends and one enemy, and the keeper.

I definitely couldn't do any better but the free-kick taker was definitely helped out by the wall on the one attempt he did convert, and ironically it was his 'enemy' who helped out the most.

Meara wasn't able to scramble across quickly enough and the 'enemy' in question barely jumped off the ground and turned his head away from the ball too, poor defending.

Meara isn't actually New York's first goalkeeper, with the 28-year-old having only played one game in the MLS so far this season.

He played three league games last season and has only played 23 times in Major League Soccer since making his debut in the 2012 season, with injuries often halting his progress.

Luis Robles is the club's first choice keeper, with the former Kaiserslautern number one making 223 league appearances since signing in 2012 from German side Karlsruher.

Ryan Meara warming up for Red Bulls. Image: PA Images
Ryan Meara warming up for Red Bulls. Image: PA Images

Free kicks have changed this season with attacking teams no longer allowed to put their players in the wall and disrupt the defending team.

However Liverpool showed up a gap in the new rule in the opening game of the Premier League season last Friday by placing their own wall in front of Norwich's.

Liverpool's clever tactics. Image: Premier League.
Liverpool's clever tactics. Image: Premier League.

Now that's how you make sure you've got three friends in the wall...

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Topics: American Football, Football News, MLS, American sports, Soccer