Who is your favourite free-kick taker not named David Beckham?
“I used to love to watch @LuisNani,”
wrote Rashford on his official Twitter account.
“He was one of the only ones who could knuckle ball.”
Nani is currently playing in Major League Soccer with Orlando City and the Portuguese forward was quick to appreciate the respect shown by Marcus.
He replied with an invitation that has excited supporters, saying: “Thanks mate. We’ve got to do a shoot around together sometime.”
Rashford’s response of “Bro, you know where I am” and Nani’s sign-off of “You can count on it” offers hope of a legendary hook-up in the future.
Perhaps at the Aon Training Complex one day?
WHAT IS KNUCKLE BALL?
The striking technique was arguably made famous by Cristiano Ronaldo and United team-mate Nani also made it his own, although more commonly when shooting from open play rather than free-kicks. So what is it?
An online definition reads: “The goal is to strike the ball with as little spin as possible to allow the natural asymmetrical airflow surrounding the ball as it travels through the air to generate any movement. The inconsistent nature of the airflow as the ball lifts and travels is what makes the ball’s flightpath so difficult to predict.”
The best and most entertaining way to understand this technique is by watching, so let’s take a look at Nani’s best efforts as a Red…
MASTERED BY RASHFORD
The knuckle ball technique is famously hard to execute, but Marcus has become an expert after hours of hard work at the Aon Training Complex.
His best example from an illustrious career so far is surely the electrifying free-kick that he scored against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last season.
Where does that effort rank among our greatest free-kicks? Watch the video below to find out...