10 Greatest Bicycle Kick Specialists in Football History [Ranked]

Key Takeaways

• Executing a bicycle kick requires exceptional skill & self-belief, making them rare & spectacular.

• Players like Gareth Bale, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimović have scored iconic acrobatic goals.

• Pele, Diego Maradona and Hugo Sanchez have also mastered the art, marking them among the greatest bicycle kick specialists.

Perhaps the most spectacular way to score a goal, executing a bicycle kick to perfection is a sight to behold. The shere audacity needed to attempt to convert an aerial ball that is behind you into a shot on goal takes a considerable amount of self-belief, and pulling it off requires exceptional athleticism and skill.

Combine these factors which already make them rare, with the pressure to execute such actions in high leverage moments, and no wonder opposition fans have either famously applauded such efforts, or sat there in disbelief at what they've just witnessed. Alejandro Garnacho's stunning acrobatic strike against Everton hushed Goodison Park, while Cristiano Ronaldo's overhead kick for Real Madrid against Juventus was met with a standing ovation from the Turin faithful.

Such a unique skill, which demands such absurd athleticism, even the great Lionel Messi only successfully netted his first ever goal of this kind in 2022 for Paris Saint-Germain. However, some players have been able to master the art of the bicycle kick, performing it effectively on multiple occasions.

From Wayne Rooney to Ronaldo, here are the ten greatest bicycle kick specialists in football history.

10 Peter Crouch

Career Span: 1998-2019

Given his lanky figure and gangly movement, you may not have expected Peter Crouch to have flung himself about acrobatically on the pitch throughout his playing career. However, he used his two metres in height to do exactly that, reaching for balls most couldn't get to with his long legs.

His effort against Galatasaray for Liverpool is perhaps his most iconic goal of this nature, meeting Steve Finnan's cross with a mouth-watering overhead kick at Anfield in 2006. Citing Gianluca Vialli as an inspiration for his gymnastic exploits, Crouch claimed he practiced bicycle kicks as a child, and replicated his goal against the Turkish outfit for the Reds just months later, in a much less celebrated, but equally special, goal against Bolton.

9 Ramon Unzaga

Career Span: 1912-1923

Not a name many will be familiar with, Ramon Unzaga is rumoured by some to be the first ever player to use the bicycle kick in football history, or at least to a level of relative notoriety. Executing the move while playing for his club team in Chile in 1914, he amazed the spectators at the El Morro Stadium in Talcahuano, by launching himself in the air and reaching for a cross that had been played behind him, diverting it towards goal and finding the back of the net.

Repeating the feat in various Copa Americas for Chile, the signature move was initially dubbed 'Chorera', the name of the club Unzaga was playing for upon his first overhead attempt, and then labelled 'la Chilena' by the Argentine press. Being the founding father of the bicycle kick, and potentially the first person in history to think of pulling off such a bizarre action, certainly merits a place on this list.

8 Wayne Rooney

Career Span: 2002-2001

Perhaps responsible for the most iconic overhead kick in Premier League history, and one of the most iconic goals generally, Rooney earns his place as one of the bicycle kick specialists. With the Manchester derby poised at 1-1 at Old Trafford in 2011, and the title slipping from United's grasp, Rooney delivered an extraordinary finish, swiftly adjusting his body to position himself to convert Nani's deflected cross with power and precision.

Did he replicate this in a competitive fixture? Perhaps not, but he came close on a few occasions, and the significance of this goal in the overhead kick sphere means he warrants being included.

7 Carlo Parola

Career Span: 1939-1955

Similarly to Unzaga, Carlo Parola is a name many won't be accustomed to, due to the era in which he was plying his trade. However, given he was literally nicknamed 'Signor Rovesciata' ('Mr. Overhead Kick'), it would be disrespectful not to mention his name in this realm.

Unzaga may have pioneered bicycle kicks, but Parola popularised them in (slightly) more modern times. His athleticism meant he was able to execute impressive efforts of this kind on a consistent basis throughout the 1940s, with the Italians crediting him with the invention of the technique, something Chileans will dispute.

Parola's bicycle kick legacy extends to popular football culture in the modern day, with the Panini Group adopting an image of the player attempting one of these efforts as their logo for over thirty years.

6 Gareth Bale

Career Span: 2006-2023

Like Rooney, Gareth Bale's overhead kick record may not be extensive, but he's the creator of perhaps the greatest and most iconic goal in this category of all time, and possibly the greatest ever Champions League final goal. With Liverpool and Real Madrid heading to penalties in Kiev in the prestigious continental competition's final in 2018, Bale launched himself into the air and perfectly guided the ball beyond an outstretched Lloris Karius.

What a time to do it. Pandemonium set in as the Welshman delivered a statue-worthy moment for Los Blancos. Audacious, and requiring both astounding physical and technical quality, it was a hall of fame moment that is worthy of a mention in any overhead kick discourse.

Bale did score another sensational 'bicey' in his career for Real Madrid, against Villarreal, which aids his case in regard to being deemed a specialist, but that strike pales in comparison to the one on that night in Ukraine.

5 Diego Maradona

Career Span: 1976-1997

Small and diminutive, Diego Maradona was a different type of overhead kick specialist to the archetypal experts in this space. While most activated their physical power and size to reach wayward passes, the great Argentine used his elusiveness and agility to produce acrobatic efforts in small and more intricate positions.

While his exact output from bicycle kicks isn't documented, Maradona is cited as one of the most notable performers of the technique during the last decades of the 20th century, in Michael Lewis' book, Soccer for Dummies. He also produced possibly the most iconic acrobatic assist of all time, for Napoli against Bari in the 1989/90 season.

4 Pele

Career Span: 1956-1977

Also mentioned in Lewis' book as an influential bicycle kick pioneer, Pele wrote in his autobiography of his regret that only 'three or four' of his 1,283 career goals were bicycle kicks. Well, this number significantly usurps 99.9% of footballers that ever lived, and thus immediately grants him a respectable spot on this list.

Similarly to Maradona, Pele wasn't the tallest footballer, and thus most of his overhead endeavours were about him exploiting small spaces rather than flinging himself into the air and attacking the ball with venom. Few in the modern day can claim they witnessed the best of Pele, despite him being one of the greatest footballers of all time. So it's difficult to measure just how much of a bicycle kick specialist he truly was, but he produced enough in this area to generate a two-minute compilation of his gymnastic efforts, so there's that.

3 Hugo Sanchez

Career Span: 1976-1997

With a background in gymnastics, former Real Madrid striker Hugo Sanchez began working on overhead kicks at the age of four. Eventually becoming synonymous with acrobatic shooting, they ultimately became a defining feature of the Mexican's illustrious career.

Scoring numerous bicycle kicks, Sanchez trademarked the eloquent overhead effort. His flamboyance and eagerness to showboat and express his unique talent, lent itself to a career of proving to be the overhead master.

With his early-age gymnastics said to have played a prominent role in enabling him to develop this skill, it does beg the question as to why more strikers don't practice this other sport on the side, to also perfect acrobatic finishes on the pitch.

2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Career Span: 2002-Present

A man known for producing awe-inspiring moments, Ronaldo's incredible overhead kick goal against Juventus in 2018 is one of the most memorable in this realm. Given his supreme ability in the air, with a staggering leap, it makes sense that this would translate to acrobatic efforts.

His bicycle kick exploits certainly aren't limited to the strike against the Old Lady. The former Manchester United man has, in fact, a substantial catalogue of goals of this kind, with Bicycle Potential estimating that he's scored more than 25 bicycle kicks throughout his celebrated career. An astonishing rate, given that most players who have found the back of the net from these scenarios are limited to one or two moments at best.

1 Zlatan Ibrahimović

Career Span: 1999-2023

A unique physical specimen, Zlatan Ibrahimović's stature and power meant he was capable of scoring out-of-the-ordinary acrobatic goals. This is encapsulated by his FIFA Puskas award-winning strike against England for Sweden in 2012, possibly the greatest bicycle kick of all time.

Ordinarily, overhead kicks are scored within close range of the goal. Generating enough power to find the back of the net when mid-way through the air, with your back to goal and your body lopsided, and several yards outside the penalty area, is pretty unheard of. Ibrahimovic accomplished this with his distinguished goal against the Three Lions.

This alone is essentially enough to merit top spot, but he reproduced this skill on numerous occasions throughout his career.