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What are the Benefits of a Soccer Balls Curve?

Arman Delva

Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School

Career Life Post-Sec

Mr. Koshman

November 19, 2017

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What are the Benefits of a Soccer Ball's Curve?

Soccer balls or objects similar to it go back to ancient times to around 200 AD. According to

historical references and legend, early balls ranged from human heads, stitched up a cloth,

animals, and human skulls to pig or cow bladders. Originally starting in China and other areas,

they used animal skins to form something similar to a ball; the Chinese would call this game

Tsu Chu (Soccerballworld, 2003, pg. 8). This game was similar to soccer because the objective

was to put the object in a net stretched between two poles.

In 1836 a man by the name of Charles Goodyear came up with an idea of creating soccer balls

out of the rubber according to (Epicsports, 2007, p.7). The year 1855 marked a significant event

in the development of the soccer ball. It was in that year that the first vulcanized rubber soccer

ball was made and built the first time and came out with much success.

It wasnt until many years after where synthetic soccer balls were being produced (Epic Sports,

Inc. 2006, pg. 9) In fact it became the model from which we still use today. These balls have 12

pentagonal pieces that are fitted and stitched together to form a sphere. The black spots on the
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soccer balls are meant for helping players learn on how to curve a soccer ball and track its

swerve.

The relationship between the spin and trajectory of the soccer ball depends on how you kick

the ball. When a ball is kicked straight on with the instep of your foot, it travels straight. If you

kick the ball with the toe of your shoe at an angle, the ball can curve in flight from the applied

force. The applied force causes the ball to spin. But what causes the ball to move in certain

movements depending on how you kick it?

The main idea of this paper is on the benefits of a soccer balls curve. Curving a soccer ball,

also known as "bending" is caused by aerodynamic forces on the ball. When you kick a soccer

ball, the movement of the ball depends on the way your foot hits the ball and the amount of

power you use on it. In this case, Newton's second law is being used because we are working

with mass, acceleration, and the motion of force (R D Mehta 1985 Aerodynamics of sports balls

Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 17 151-189).

On June 3rd, 1997, in the inaugural match of Tournoi de France, Brazilian soccer player,

Roberto Carlos did something that no one had ever seen before. In the 21st minute of the opening

match between France and Brazil, Brazil earned a free kick that was 35 meters away from the

goal. Roberto Carlos shot a free kick with his left foot, striking the ball on the center-right

channel of his boot. The ball curved around the wall leaving the French goalie, Fabien Barthez,

standing in shock as the ball curved into the right side of the net. This free kick changed soccer

in a way that soccer free kicks could be shot at any angle if practiced. But how did the ball curve

the way it did when he kicked it?

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Roberto finessed the ball with the outside of his left foot to make the ball spin anticlockwise as

he looked down onto the target. The weather conditions were dry, causing the spin he gave on

the ball to be high, over 10 revolutions per second (Soccerballworld, 2007). Kicking the ball with

the outside of his left foot allowed him to strike the ball hard, at approximately 70 mph

(Soccerballworld, 2007). The flow of air over the top of the ball wasnt steady, which gave the

ball a low amount of drag. At some way into the path of the ball, around the 10 m mark (or at

about the position of the wall of defenders), the ball's velocity dropped to the point where it

entered the laminar flow regime. This increased the drag on the ball, which made it slow down

even more.

The way Roberto shot the ball, enabled the Magnus force, which was bending the ball

towards the goal, to come even more into effect. Assuming that the amount of spin the ball had,

did not die off then the drag coefficient increased. This introduced an even larger sideways force

and caused the ball to bend further. Finally, as the ball slowed, the bend became more

exaggerated still (possibly due to the increase in the lift coefficient) until the ball was placed to

the right side of the net. Usually, when you curve the ball with your foot, it's done with the inside

part of your foot. Yet Roberto Carlos did it with the outside of his foot making it interesting with

the technique he used and visually pleasing.

An important role in curving a ball is the run-up. You want to place the ball on where the foul

took place and back up. It's best if you're around 2 meters away from the ball in a stationary

position (Thoughtco.com, Stewart Coggin, 2017). A longer run-up is more likely necessary if the

ball is a long way from goal. A good tip for striking the ball is putting the valve towards you so

when you kick the ball it gives you more power since it is the hardest part of the ball
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(dailymail.co.uk). Taking enough steps back is crucial so you do not end up wrong-footing

yourself so take about three, four, five, steps back so its pre-measured.

Before taking a free kick makes sure you are calm and your head steady. Your eyes should be

on the ball and before shooting the ball start a measure run up from the side on. You generate

more power by swinging your leg back quick and by moving your foot forward quickly; the

harder the ball will go. Using more of your hip can inject more curl of the ball by moving it on

your non-kicking side as you strike and the other hip will automatically withdraw. Approaching

the ball from the side will mean more curve of the ball and remember to use your arms to keep

balance.

Shooting the ball with the inside of your foot will ensure more spin and curl of the ball. To

get even more curl and spin when shooting the ball, kick the outside of the ball. Planting your

foot slightly behind the ball can result in more accuracy if done right (goalden.com). Cutting

through the side of the ball can be useful when closer to goal because you dont need that much

force and power.

To enable the ball going from left to right or vice versa, the foot should come across the ball

from inside to outside, and finally makes contact with the right side of the ball (the left side if

you are left-footed). Doing this enables the ball from swerving left to right.

The direction of a free kick is very important. If you are aiming for any post, the ball should

swerve outside the post than going into the designated target. To do this properly, your ankles

should turn upwards to get the most connection when striking the ball. When taking a free kick it

is best to get the ball over the defense wall so it makes it harder for the goalkeeper to tell where

the ball is heading to.

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Players can approach the ball at any angle depending on playing style, but generally, players

approach the ball at an angle of around 45 degrees (Thoughtco.com, Stewart Coggin, 2017). An

ideal free-kick will finish up in the side of the net. The more you lean back, the higher the ball

will go, so if you are aiming to keep a free-kick low, try to avoid leaning back as much. To

perfect your free kick abilities, the best thing you can do is practice. Curving a ball may not be

easy but practice will help you out a lot.

It all comes down to the fact that, when a ball spins, its movement is spiral-like. Most of the

time soccer players will strike the ball with the inside of their foot and you rarely ever see them

shoot with the outside of their foot. Carlos was about 35 meters away and kicked the ball hard

enough with the outside of his foot to bend it around the opposing team's defense wall. This

means that anyone can perfect this spiral trajectory if theyre able to hit the ball far enough and

with enough force, which might explain why Carlos has pulled off this supposed once-in-a-

lifetime fluke so often.

C B Daish 1972 The Physics of Ball Games (The English University Press, London)

S J Haake (ed) 1996 The Engineering of Sport (A A Balkema, Rotterdam)

RD Mehta 1985 Aerodynamics of sports balls Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 17 151-189

http://www.soccerballworld.com/Physics.htm
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A Wilkins 2010 Impossible Soccer Kick Leads to New Physics Equation [New Journal of

Physics]

https://www.wired.com/2010/09/impossible-soccer-kick-leads-to-new-physics-equation/

S Coggin 2017 Free Kick Masters "How to Take a Direct Curling Free Kick." ThoughtCo, Jun.

12, 2017, thoughtco.com

https://www.thoughtco.com/take-direct-curling-free-kick-3557658

Dr. E Garty 2015 Physics-behind-soccer-kicks Davidson Institute of Science Education

Weizmann Institute of Science

https://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/en/online/.../physics/physics-behind-soccer-kicks

N Hall 2015 Forces on a soccer ball airplane/socforce.html

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/socforce.html

Epic Sports 2007

https://www.epicsports.com/

Soccerballworld 2003

www.soccerballworld.com/Physics.htm