CELEBRITY

Video: How Budweiser Game of King ambassador Roberto Carlos shocked the world with famous free kick

Published

3 years ago

November 20, 2021

***Roberto Carlos’s extraordinary free kick for Brazil has gone down in history. Tony Marshall/EMPICS via Getty Images***

On June 3, 1997, Roberto Carlos stunned the world with one of the most spectacular free kicks in football history.

The left-back scored the most famous goal of his career: an outrageous long-range free kick for Brazil in a 1-1 draw against France in the opening game of the 1997 Tournoi de France, a warm-up tournament ahead of the following year’s World Cup.

The strike left goalkeeper Fabien Barthez perplexed, as the ball apparently was heading well wide off the target and into the crowd.

However, it swerved back, glanced the inside edge of the post, and stopped only when it hit the net. Two decades later, Roberto Carlos says he is still impressed when he sees footage of his kick.

“To be honest, until this day I don’t know how I did that,” he told ESPN Brasil in 2017.

“It was a beautiful goal. It required a lot of training and hard work throughout my career.

“But that hard work paid off, as I was able to score such a wonderful goal, which was a special moment for me.”

When he scored that famous goal, the left-back was just starting his career.

He was in his second season for Real Madrid, and came to Spain after a short term at Inter Milan, who bought the young player from Brazilian champions Palmeiras for $8 million — a fortune in 1995.

In Madrid, he would win title after title, becoming an idol and a legend; his is still an international ambassador for Los Merengues.

While his star rose in the Spanish capital, he became Brazil’s starting left-back in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He won in South Korea/Japan in 2002 having been a runner-up in France four years earlier.

Roberto Carlos continued playing until 2015, when he retired after a short stint with Delhi Dynamos of the Indian Super League.

Throughout the 18 years that passed between his famous free kick against France and his retirement, Roberto Carlos never tried to strike the ball in the same way, as he knew it was practically impossible to repeat such perfection.

“I never tried to kick like that again, because I know I would never have scored,” he says with a laugh.

“There are lots of good kickers nowadays. It might take some time, but someday someone will score a similar goal. But I was the first.”

Roberto Carlos did recreate the kick (on a much smaller scale) in an Instagram post that went viral in 2019. Science, however, is not so sure that such a goal will be repeated in a match…

The impossible kick?

Roberto Carlos’ goal defied physics and still impresses scientists today.

When the famous free kick happened, physicists from all around the world were baffled by the images.

That goal was the catalyst for lots of studies and analysis about aerodynamics and the ball’s curve that day at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon.

One of the most famous studies was conducted by four French scientists — Guillaume Dupeux, Anne Le Goff, David Quere and Christophe Clanet — and published in the New Journal of Physics in September 2010.

In this study, the physicists conduct a series of experiments and analyses, which result in an equation that explains the ball’s trajectory and all the forces that were in action at that precise moment.

“The case of soccer, where ℒ is twice as small as L, is worth commenting on. The ball trajectory can deviate significantly from a circle, provided that the shot is long enough. Then the trajectory becomes surprising and somehow unpredictable for a goalkeeper,” they wrote.

“This is the way we interpret a famous goal by the Brazilian player Roberto Carlos against France in 1997.

This free kick was shot from a distance of approximately 35 metres, that is, comparable to the distance for which we expect this kind of unexpected trajectory.

Provided that the shot is powerful enough, another characteristic of Roberto Carlos’ abilities, the ball trajectory brutally bends towards the net, at a velocity still large enough to surprise the keeper.”

Dupeux, Le Goff, Quere and Clanet conclude that if the correct calculations were made, and the distances and forces were repeated, the famous goal could be replicated by another player.

This, however, is impossible, in the opinion of one of Brazil’s most important physicists. He describes Roberto Carlos’ masterpiece as a “football miracle”.

“Although physics explain perfectly the ball’s trajectory, the conditions in that moment, such as the power of the kick, the point of impact of Roberto Carlos’ foot on the ball, and the distance to the goal, were so rare that we can call that a miracle,” says professor Luis Fernando Fontanari of Sao Roberto Carlos Physics Institute, a branch of the University of Sao Paulo — the most respected university in the country.

Fontanari is one of the editors of “Physics of Life Reviews” and “Theory in Biosciences,” two of the most important scientific journals in the world.

He adds that, if the ball hadn’t stopped in the net, it would have continued in the air, drawing an incredible spiral trajectory, as the image above shows.

“I don’t believe that we will see something like that happening again,” Fontanari said.

Israeli scientist Erez Garty also theorised about Roberto Carlos’ kick. In a YouTube video, he gave a lesson for “physics dummies,” which explains the magic.

-ESPN

CELEBRITY

Dalma Maradona Accuses Doctors of Causing Father’s Death

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2025

Kunle Solaja

Diego Maradona’s death “would have been avoided” if the medical team around him had done their job, his daughter Dalma accused on Tuesday at the trial of health professionals of the circumstances of the death of the Argentine football idol

Dalma, 38, the elder of Maradona’s two daughters with his ex-wife Claudia Villafañe, was a star witness on the 11th day of the trial in San Isidro (north of Buenos Aires). And like others since the start of the trial, she blamed the caregivers of her father’s final weeks and the framework of his convalescence.

” If they had done their job, (his death) would have been avoided,” Dalma said, referring to the medical team and in particular to three of the accused: attending physician and neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist Carlos Diaz.

” They deceived us (the family) in the most cruel way (…) They made us believe that the only possible option was to convalesce at home after his operation, in a house that was rented for the occasion in Tigre (north of Buenos Aires),” Dalma said.

According to them, ” it would be a serious home hospitalisation,” Diego would have everything like in a clinic, but in a house,” with 24/7 medical attention, medical equipment, an ambulance at the door permanently, she continued.

” It never happened,” she said in a statement often interrupted by tears. In this “disgusting, piss-smelling ” house, a doctor only came to see him from time to time.”

Maradona died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020, from a cardiorespiratory crisis complicated by pulmonary oedema, in this private residence, where he had been convalescing for two weeks after neurosurgery for a head hematoma.

Seven practitioners – doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses – are accused of “homicide with possible intent”, characterised when a person commits negligence while knowing that it can lead to death.

Mr. Luque, who was close to Maradona, ” was his primary care physician, and I didn’t think he was recommending something that wouldn’t be best for my father,” Dalma continued.

With his sister Gianinna ” we didn’t have much influence, we could say what we thought but didn’t decide anything .” Sometimes someone from the care team or from the entourage would say “that Dad was sleeping, sometimes that he didn’t want to see anyone,” that the best thing was not to disturb him. “

” In hindsight, we should have decided.”

Last Tuesday, Veronica Ojeda, ex-partner and mother of Maradona’s son born in 2013, testified that the star’s close entourage “kept him as if he were sequestered” in the last months of his life.

The practitioners on trial, who deny any responsibility for the death, are seeking sentences of 8 to 25 years in prison. The trial is expected to last until July, with one or two hearings per week.

–Le360 (with AFP)

CELEBRITY

Mexican referee disciplined for seeking Messi autograph

Published

2 months ago

February 21, 2025

Kunle Solaja

Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava was sanctioned for asking Lionel Messi for an autograph. Photo: screenshot

Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava found out the hard way that there are consequences for seeking an autograph from eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup winner Lionel Messi — he was hit with a CONCACAF disciplinary sanction.

As the final whistle blew on Inter Miami’s 1-0 Champions Cup win over Sporting Kansas City, secured by a brilliant second-half goal from Messi, the referee known as ‘El Gato’ approached the Argentina international.

He appeared to be asking for the striker’s shirt to join the Messi-mania, but it turned out he was actually requesting an autograph for a relative with special needs.

Despite the heartfelt request, Ortiz’s actions did not comply with CONCACAF’s code of conduct for officials.

“Upon investigation, CONCACAF has learned that the referee approached the player to request an autograph for a family member with special needs,” the North American football governing body said in a statement to ESPN.

Although the exact nature of the disciplinary action was not disclosed, CONCACAF added that Ortiz accepted full responsibility for his actions and apologised for his breach of protocol.

The first leg of the premier continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean was initially postponed due to a winter storm warning in the area.

Inter Miami will host Sporting in the return leg at Chase Stadium on Tuesday.

“The referee’s actions were not in accordance with the confederation’s code of conduct for match officials and the procedures in place for these types of requests.”

Reuters

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CELEBRITY

The ranking of 10 highest-paid athletes in the world

Published

2 months ago

February 14, 2025

Kunle Solaja

The world’s top athletes don’t just dominate on the field—they lead the way financially, too.

From football icons to basketball superstars, these elite performers are earning staggering sums through salaries, endorsements, and off-field ventures.

Using data from Sportico, sportsunlimitednews breaks down the top 10 highest-paid athletes globally.

10. Jon Rahm

On December 2023, Jon Rahm announced he was joining LIV Golf after a very successful stint at the PGA, earning 11 PGA Tour wins since joining in 2016. Now signed under LIV Golf, the Spaniard is considered one of the best-paid athletes in the world, accumulating $85.6 (€82.3/£68.55) million in winnings and $20 (€19.2/£16) million on endorsement deals

9. Kylian Mbappe

Following his massive transfer to Real Madrid in 2024, Kylian Mbappe is now ranked the 9th highest-paid athlete in the world. The French forward earns $85 (€81.6/£68.9) million in salary and $25 (€24/£20) million in endorsements, totalling $110 (€105/£88) million—a ‘galactico’ price tag for one of the best players in the world.

8. Karim Benzema

Another former Real Madrid star, Karim Benzema is ranked amongst the top ten best-paid athletes in the world following his move to Al-Ittihad (Saudi Arabia). The French striker earns $108 (€103/£86.4) million alongside $8 (€7.6/£6.4) million in endorsements.

7. Oleksandr Usyk

Up next, we have an undisputed heavyweight champion, who took down Tyson Fury for a second time in 2024. Oleksandr Usyk is arguably one of the best fighters in the world right now, and his earnings reflect that. The Ukrainian makes an average of $120 (€115/£96) million in winnings alongside $2 (€1.9/£1.6) million on endorsements, standing on $122 (€117/£97.7) million.

6. Neymar Jr.

Neymar Jr. is in the final stages of his professional football career. The former Barcelona and PSG man has enjoyed a successful stint across multiple teams around the world. Now in Santos FC, the Brazilian star is still considered one of the highest-paid players in the world, earning a $108 (€103/£82) million salary and $25 (€24/£20) million in endorsements.

5. LeBron James

The Los Angeles Lakers veteran and NBA star is ranked fifth in the world following his jaw-dropping $85 (€81.6/£68.3) million endorsement deals with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Alongside his endorsements, he cashes in a salary of $48.2 (€46.3/£38.6) million a year.

4. Lionel Messi

The Inter Miami star has one of the most lucrative contracts in world football. The Argentinian forward earns $60 (€57.6/£48) million a year, alongside $75 (€72/£60) million on endorsement deals. He is linked to Louis Vuitton, Mastercard and Pepsi.

3. Tyson Fury

The ‘Gypsie King’ is ranked third in the world, despite his recent losses and retirement announcement in late 2024. Fury cashed in $140 (€134.4/£112) million in winnings alongside $7 (€6.7/£5.6) million in endorsement deals, a very fruitful 2024 for the former British heavyweight champ.

2. Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry can still boast of having the highest-paying salary in the NBA for the eighth straight year. According to ESPN, his Golden State deal is worth around $55 (€52/£41.2) million this season. On top of that, the American point guard earns $100 (€95/£79.9) million in endorsements.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo still ranks at the top as the best-paid athlete in the world. The Al-Nassr star earns a jaw-dropping $215 (€206/£171.9) million salary, alongside $45 (€43.1/£35.9) in endorsements from Armani, Herbalife, TAG Heuer, and Clear Shampoo.

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