Volley (football)

A "volley" is an air-borne strike of a football (soccer). A volley covers considerable height and is extremely hard to aim.

In attacking position, the volley can play a crucial role in scoring straight goals. Volleys are used often when the goalkeeper is not focused as such and is relatively far from the goal-line. There are 3 attacking volleys used, the drill, the volley, and the bicycle kick.

The drill is used as a close distance volley from corner kicks and free kicks. It is extremely high speed and carries strong spin so it is not reasonably accurate. Thierry Henry scored a drill off a free kick against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup.

The volley is used from a moderate position- 15 to 30 metres away from goals. It is used when the goalkeeper is outside of the box. A slight kick at the ball makes it shift slightly above the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper, like most players is much slower running backwards. The goalkeeper has the odd occasion to trip, rather humiliating in some instances. The ball gently bounces in the goal. This can also be very high powered and have significant curl and can defeat the goalkeeper with a combination, and in some cases just one of these factors.

The bicycle kick, has its name engraved as both a freestyle trick and a volley upon history. As a volley close the goals, the attacking player turns away from the goal. With the ball in air, the player jumps backwards, doing a scissor kick to astound players and hopefully score a goal. The player drops on his/her back, and injury to the spine is a slight possibility. A famous bicycle kick was given from Pelé.

Other famous volleyed goals include Robin Van Persie's mid-air volley against Charlton Athletic in the 2005-06 English Premier League season, Zinedine Zidane's roundhouse volley for Real Madrid in the 2001 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen and Gaizka Mendieta's volley for FC Barcelona in which a corner was chipped to him on the edge of the box, and he volleyed the ball directly in (Sergej Barbarez and Roberto Carlos have since scored via similar volleys). Steven Gerrard's volley for Liverpool FC in the 2006 FA Cup Final and Taylor Twellmans bicycle kick in the 2008 mls quarterfinals are also two more prominent example.

In defense the volley is generally used for time-saving and tactical formation. In the case of a counter-attack by an attacking team, hard high volleys are used, for defense awareness and position.

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/skills/4188378.stm BBC SPORT | Football | Skills | Volleying Technique]