Thierry Henry explained his own free-kick technique and why he couldn’t master Cristiano Ronaldo’s favourite.
Henry will always be remembered as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever forwards, scoring 175 goals for Arsenal.
The French legend netted 12 times from direct free-kicks which puts him in the top five of all-time scorers in the division.
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Henry is joint-fourth with Manchester United icon Ronaldo who also netted 12 times during his multiple spells at Old Trafford.
Both players had very different techniques however, with Henry preferring a curled effort to Ronaldo’s trademark ‘knuckleball’.
During his analysis on CBS Sports, Henry explained why he never tried the knuckleball technique as it didn’t suit his body type.
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“My ritual was always doing the same thing, my shoulders were always facing the corner flag,” he said. “You take your mark, always - then one, two and re-adjust. Breathe, look, Robert [Pires] would make the run.
“If I was close, I would try to lift it and jump on my standing leg, if I was further out I would step in.”
Jamie Carragher said he had never seen this technique, similar to a rugby player lining up a conversion, and Henry claimed it was a result of constant practice.
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Henry said: “It’s practice, your body will tell you what works or not. Some people didn’t believe in that.
“I remember [Pierre] van Hooijdonk used to be able to hit it with his laces over the ball, running straight to the ball. If I did that, I would do my cruciate.
“That leg is naturally open for me so I knew I had to curl it. When you’re close to the goal, you just need to get past the wall, you don’t need to hit it that hard.
“You need to work on your technique, your ritual, breathe. Once you have it and you repeat, you will have it.”
Featured Image Credit: CBS Sports/Getty ImagesTopics: Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Premier League, Arsenal
