Tribal Football

Spurs ace Maddison says he takes inspiration from Ronaldo and Beckham's freekick techniques

Ansser Sadiq
Maddison says he takes inspiration from Ronaldo and Beckham's freekick techniques
Maddison says he takes inspiration from Ronaldo and Beckham's freekick techniquesAction Plus
Tottenham attacker James Maddison is channelling two Manchester United greats.

The no.10 has been searching for his best form this season, and scored a stunning free-kick in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa.

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Maddison, who missed out on Euro 2024 with England over the summer, admitted to watching David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kicks.

Post-game, he revealed: "I used to watch Becks closely. I think last season was the first year I ever had in my whole career where I didn't score a direct free-kick.

"I have scored quite a few I reckon, maybe 15-16 direct free-kicks, so it annoyed me last year that I didn't get one.

"I know I can be dangerous from them, but I probably haven't shown it to Spurs fans yet.

"To be honest, I don't feel like we have had that many good opportunities for whatever reason - we don't seem to get direct free-kicks in good positions. We just haven't had that many good positions for free-kicks and penalties as well.

"But that was a good position (against Villa) and I managed to stick it away.

"How much training goes into that execution? About 25 years probably! I love free-kicks, and I always did because I loved Becks and I was a Manchester United fan when I was young.

"Becks and then Cristiano Ronaldo, they were both very good at free-kicks although they used different techniques.

"I used to idolise people who were good at free-kicks. I was always in the garden practising. I mastered my own technique over the years and scored a fair few, a good few in the Premier League. Hopefully I get a few more."