Racing Santander's kick-offs are the most unique in football, they do the same thing every game

Spanish side Racing Santander have hit headlines after serving up the most unique kick-offs in football.

Jose Alberto's side are currently eighth in the Spanish second tier after taking 18 points from their first eleven games.

Racing have won five, drew three and lost three, scoring 16 and conceding three.

But they have remained remarkably consistent when it comes to how they start games.

A 41-second clip of Santander's kick-off routines has gone viral, having been posted on Reddit.

Whenever they get proceedings underway, most teams will try and keep the ball for a bit.

Others will play it back to the centre-back or goalkeeper to launch up the pitch and try and start an attack.

Racing, who were in Manchester City's UEFA Cup group in 2008/09, have their own way of doing things, however.

In every single clip, only one player takes the kick-off as the team take advantage of a rule that was implemented in recent years.

The striker knocks the ball back to the midfielder, who then proceeds to flick the ball up in the air himself and volleys the ball up the pitch.

The rest of the side then shuffle forward into their respective positions. A lot of the time the ball is cleared by the opposition defence before Racing players attempt to win the second ball.

In the aforementioned videos, they do not score from any of the kick-offs but they do retain possession high up the pitch.

The strategy looks like something you see in rugby or NFL when the ball is punted up the pitch, but Brentford also went viral for the same practice back in 2021.

Just over a year, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe combined to devastating effect directly from kick-off to score a stunning goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Lille.

Neymar took the kick-off and played a one-two from Marco Verratti before laying it off to Messi first-time.

Without even taking a touch, the Argentina captain conjured up the most incredible pass that Mbappe, who darted in behind and lobbed the ball over Leonardo's head to score just eight seconds into the clash.

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Featured Image Credit: Reddit & La Liga

Topics: La Liga, Spain

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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