bundesliga

Who doesn't love to see a free-kick go in the back of the net? Here, we have compiled a quick list of 5 beautifully struck free-kicks from Germany's premier division - the Bundesliga. The players below are ranked by bundesliga.com as the 5 greatest free-kick takers to have graced their esteemed division - we have hand-picked an example for each player named to show you how they made such a high-profile shortlist! 5) Hakan Calhanoglu It may be of no surprise that Hakan Calhanoglu's name has made it onto this list - after all, we are talking about free kicks and we are talking about the Bundesliga. He may now have made his way over to Italian soil to practice his craft, yet the German premier division will long remember some of the delightful dead ball strikes that he treated them to over his years playing for Karlsruher, Hamburger SV and Bayern Leverkusen. We have selected one of his most famous long-range free kicks for this list - watch below his staggering 41m effort against Borussia Dortmund in 2014! https://www.youtube.com/watch?vnK58AssP9tc Hamburger SV vs Borussia Dortmund (2014) 4) Mehmet Scholl Although he is not known for particularly high numbers when it comes to his conversion rate from free-kicks (sinking just 9 in his time in the Bundesliga from a dead ball!), Mehmet Scholl was considered one of the most technically gifted and tricky players when it came to free-kick techniques... Scholl was known for attempting unusual strikes to try and catch a goalkeeper off-guard, often going for the most obscured target in his opposing goal. WATCH BELOW to see an example of his ability to confuse a goalkeeper with a wildly-arcing strike against Arsenal in the Champions League in 2000! https://www.youtube.com/watch?vd_9vPotBhlg Bayern Munich VS Arsenal (Champions League 2000) 3) Thomas Håbler Although not as well known a name as other stars from Germany's 90's offerings (such as Lathar Mattheus or Jurgen Klinsmann), Thomas Håbler was right up there as one of the best players from this German generation - and could sink a wicked free-kick! He even scored the goal that sent Germany to the 1990's World Cup in Italy and was signed by Juventus the following year as a result of his performances! WATCH BELOW as he unleashes a beautiful free-kick upon the Commonwealth of Independant States (CIS) in Euro 1992! https://www.youtube.com/watch?vGQdCG8do4UE Germany VS Commonwealth of Independant States (Euro 1992) 2) Juan Arango Juan Arango was considered to be the heart and soul of Borussia Monchengladbach's new squad under Lucien Favre in the early years of "the teenies" (2010 - 2019) and was well known for having a miraculous left foot that could on a good day place a ball seemingly anywhere he willed it! WATCH BELOW to see an absolute pearler of an example from when Monchengladbach played VFL Wolfsburg in a match in 2013... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v0dE7uC707vA Borussia Monchengladbach VS VFL Wolfsburg (2013) 1) Mario Basler Nobody has scored more free-kicks in the Bundesliga than Mario Basler. Basler boasts 19 goals from 375 attempts over his career in the Bundesliga - a success rate of 5.1%. That may not sound overly impressive, however, nobody has scored more goals in total from free kicks AND Basler also holds the record for "highest single-season conversion rate from dead balls" after his performances for Werder Bremen in the 1995 - 1996 Bundesliga season... His 7 free-kick conversions were the highest ever recorded in a single season in the German premier division - almost being caught by No5 on our list, Hakan Calhanoglu in the 2014-2015 season when he bagged 6 free-kick goals in total! WATCH BELOW as Basler demonstrates his exceptional free-kick-taking against Einteracht Frankfurt! https://www.youtube.com/watch?vaFLsPgueBL0 Werder Bremen VS Einteracht Frankfurt

bundesliga

WATCH: Bundesliga’s TOP 5 FREE-KICK TAKERS…