Mao Jianqing's free kick level is stronger than Xiaobei's, who is Asongsang?

Recently, former international player Mao Jianqing said in the live broadcast that there are many players who are stronger than Beckham in free kicks, and he personally believes that Mihainovic, Juninho Jr. and Asunsang, the level of free kicks of these three is higher than that of Beckham. And among these three, what is the origin of Asonsang, who is the least famous?

In the 2000-01 season, during the period of the "Seven Heroes" of Serie A, Roma won the Serie A championship by 2 points over Juventus that season, and this Rome team under Capello has also become a good memory in the hearts of fans. Totti, Batistuta, Montella, Cafu, Samuel, Hidetoshi Nakata... There are too many names to shine in this Roma team – Emerson, Tomasi, Zanetti and Assunço make up Roma's proud midfield, with Brazil's Assunção being a true free-kick master.

Among the top players of the era, David Beckham and Roberto Carlos were particularly famous for their free-kicks, but when it comes to free-kick ability, Assunção is no slouch. Whether in Serie A or La Liga, Asunsan's free kicks are intimidating to opponents, many teams will set up defensive tactics for Assunsan's free kicks, and the goalkeeper is most worried about the foul of his defender at the edge of the penalty area...

Assunsan's story begins in his native city of Caieras, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, where he became obsessed with football from an early age: "I love playing football and I love playing with my teammates. ”

There aren't many recreational activities in Assunsao's community, so he focuses on his love of football. At the age of 17, Assunção took his deed to football at the local club Rio Branco, and it was from then on that Assunção began practising and perfecting his free-kicks, which would become world-famous.

When Assunção first practiced free-kicks, he imitated fellow Brazilian Marcelinho Carioca. As an attacking midfielder, Carioca is unique in Brazil in free-kick quality, having spent most of his career at Corinthians and briefly at Valencia in La Liga, where he has earned him the nickname "Angel's Feet" due to his free-kick skills.

"When I started playing, I would practice free-kicks based on Carioca's technique and imagine curling like him."

Asunção later joined Santos, where he developed a lot of skills as a midfielder, and in 1998 he managed to attract interest from European clubs by scoring seven goals in 42 appearances.

Assunsan's first battle in Europe was Rome in Italy. It's a club with a strong Brazilian element, and he plays under Fabio Capello, and fellow Brazilians such as Cafu, Adair and Zgo make Assunço feel at home from the start: "I came to Roma when I was 22 years old, and my Brazilian team-mates here made me feel more relaxed, like in Brazil. I am very grateful to them because they helped me adjust to life in Rome. ”

Assunção spent three years in the Eternal City, scoring 10 goals and providing 11 assists in 83 appearances. Capello's tactics have always emphasized the importance of a back two, for which Roma has two Brazilians, Emerson and Assunsan, and Italy internationals Tomasi and Zanetti four high-level midfielders, Assunsão's strengths are his beautiful footwork and ability to pass forwards.

In 2001, Roma won 75 points in the league and beat Fiorentina 3-0 in the Coppa Italia final to win the season double.

In the summer of 2002, La Liga's Betis submitted an offer to Roma for Assunção, and the new coach Victor Fernandez saw Assunção as a key player in the team's future, and Assunção was eventually signed by Betis for a transfer fee of 6 million euros.

For many fans, perhaps the Roman Assunção was more impressive, but for Assunção himself, he was undoubtedly more enjoyable at Betis. "I came to Betis at 25 when I was a mature player and playing with high-level players like Delvicchio and Montella made me who I am now.

September 1, 2002 was a day that Assungsang will never forget. His debut for Betis was at the Stadio Riazor against Super Laco in its heyday. In the 19th minute of the game, Asunsan, wearing the number 19 shirt, fired a long-range shot with his left foot, which he was not good at, and the ball drilled into the corner of the goal, and Assunsan proved to Betis fans that he was different.

However, this is only the "appetizer" of Asungsan's solo show. In the following time, Asunsan's free-kicks hit the crossbar not one, not two, but three. Laco goalkeeper Molina was incredulous at what he had witnessed, and even the players on the Betis bench looked at each other and thought, "Who is this player we signed?!" ”

With Asunsan's wonderful performance, Betis beat Super Laco 4-2. Betis got off to a perfect start to the season – losing just one of their first 10 games, including a draw with Real Madrid and a 3-0 win over Barca, with right-back Barella scoring a Messi-esque superstar against Barcelona with six players and goalkeeper Valdés.

At Betis, fans refer to Assunção as "El Cañon de Heliópolis" (Heliopolis' Canon Camera), a nickname derived from Assunço's long-range shot and the location of Betis' home stadium. In the 2004-05 season, Betis made history by finishing fourth in La Liga and winning the Copa del Rey, while Assunção scored eight goals in 34 league appearances, almost all of which came from direct free-kicks.

"The player I fear the most on the pitch is Assunço", was Casillas' statement. After Betis' match against Real Madrid, Casillas took the initiative to find Assunção to exchange shirts, "I still have Cassie's shirt to this day, but I never scored against him, which shows how difficult it is to score against Cassie. ”

Asunsan's free-kicks were programmed and he could kick the ball into the goal from almost any position, so it's no wonder Casillas was scared – as a goalkeeper, you know exactly what to expect but you can't do anything about it, and that's the precision of Assunsan's technique. His free-kicks have a distinct personal style and a strict approach to taking penalties, and he will run the way he intended. If you've watched Carioca free-kicks, it's clear that Asunção's touches and runs have traces of mimicking Karioca, and Assunção himself has made no secret of that.

Valencia's Spanish international Canizares is another of Assunção's sufferers, having been beaten by direct free-kicks from Assunção on several occasions, but his two most important goals were in the second leg against Victoria for Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores, where he scored from a free-kick before the end of the game to help Palmeiras advance 3-2 after a 2-2 draw in both legs. The other was a goal against Mallorca during Betis' time, which helped the team to a 1-1 draw and sealed fourth place in La Liga and a place in the Champions League play-offs.

Two months later, Betis beat Monaco in the Champions League play-offs to reach the main draw and were drawn in Group F with Champions League winners Liverpool and Chelsea. Betis won the 2005 Copa del Rey just 15 days after a free-kick in Mallorca, beating Osasuna 2-1 in extra time at the Calderón Stadium. During his time at Betis, Assunção made a total of 143 appearances and scored 29 goals.

Despite his incredible ability from set-pieces, Asunção doesn't just survive on set-pieces. He's got other tricks in his skill set – everything from through balls that tear through defences to wide transfers seems to follow the principles of ease, composure and accuracy.

After five successful seasons at Betis, Assunção left Spain in 2007 to play in the UAE. He then returned to his native Brazil and regained his life in the twilight of his career, until he hung up his boots in 2016. Palmeiras, in particular, has scored 16 goals in 78 appearances, most of which have come from his best free-kicks, such as the one against Victoria.

On 18 February 1998, the 21-year-old made his debut for Brazil against El Salvador, and Zagallo was the one who gave him the chance to make his international debut. In his career, Assunção made a total of 11 appearances for Brazil, scoring one goal against Russia.

After finishing his football career, Assunção took up the role of director of football at Aguasanta Sports Club in Brazil, and also started his career as a free-kick blogger on YouTube, and although it has been many years since Assunção retired, a free-kick taker as outstanding as he is still a rarity in world football. He is remembered as one of the best free-kick takers of all time, not only for his ability to arc perfectly from free-kicks, but also for his astonishing rate of direct free-kicks and the record of saving his team from several free-kicks – if the world of football needs a technical dictionary, Assunço's free-kicks have every reason to be written.

(Santiago-Wang)