Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga history

What would you say if you were asked to describe  Bundesliga? Until a few years ago, perhaps, most people knew the Bundesliga for its Mechanical football. But this claim is no longer acceptable, given the leap in recent years in German football; The Bundesliga has become one of the most elegant and technical leagues in the world. A league whose players' technique can be a good example for other footballers in the world. One of the most beautiful football scenes is a free kick. A scene that combines football talent and artistic elegance.

Free kicks are not comparable to any football scenes, not a penalty, nor a corner. Undoubtedly, the beauty of a goal settling in a net after a powerful free-kick is incomparable to anything. We all love free kicks from the bottom of our hearts and we all have in mind a player who we think is a master of free kicks and can give life to a lifeless ball on the ground. It takes thousands, thousands, and thousands of hours to complete this mesmerizing task. And even then, probably thousands of more hours to maintain it. 

Top 10 Best free kick takers in Bundesliga history

In the art of football, free kicks have their details and elegance, and the Bundesliga, during its heyday, has had unparalleled masters whose free-kick style has been and will be a model for others. Scratch that, below is our list of

Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga history. 

Michael Ballack

• Bayer Leverkusen

  - Bayern Munich

Our selection of

Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga history

would start with Michael Ballack, a German former professional footballer, famous for his passing range, powerful shot, physical strength, and commanding presence in midfield.  Michael was born on 26 September 1976 and soon in 1983 started his amateur football which brought him into the professional world football. Throughout his professional tenure, he mainly played as a midfielder in some great football sides namely

and

. 

Ballack is still considered one of the most flawless and versatile midfielders of his generation. while his career, he played in several midfield positions and became famous for his strong kicks with both feet. His technique and intelligence were extremely high, a gift that made him the top goal scorer in the history of the German national team and be selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. 

David Alaba

• Bayern Munich

The second player as the Best ever Free kick takers in Bundesliga, is David Alaba, an Austrian professional footballer who is now playing for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. David Olatukunbo Alaba was born on 24 June 1992 and once he turned 10, he started his youth-level football. During his professional career, except for his one-year spell in Austria Wien II just plays for the Bundesliga sides and soon after the 2020 Euro competition would move to La Liga to play in Real Madrid. The 29-year-old Alaba, has played in many roles, including center midfielder and left and right-wing, but primarily as a left-back, and more recently as a center-back.

He is known as one of the best left-backs of his generation. But what puts his name on the list of Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga of all time is his amazing talents in free-kicks. In September 2019, in an interview with Bundesliga’s official website, he clearly explained his efforts. He said: "I started working on my free-kicks from a young age. Mehmet Scholl was my coach in the reserve team, and he made a lot of time for me. He really helped me refine my technique.” 

So it is not surprising that with the training of such a professional coach, Alaba becomes one of the best. Mehmet Scholl Mehmet Scholl was one of Bayern’s most legendary free-kick takers, who could manage to score at least 13 of his 98 Bundesliga strikes in that breath-taking manner. 

Ingo anderbrügge

• Borussia Dortmund-Schalke 04

The third person on our list of Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga ever is one of the most experienced  veteran players of the old generation of German football, a person who played in his country's teams throughout his career and whose name may be a little unfamiliar to the new generation. Ingo was born on 2 January 1964 and once he went through the amateur ranks, he could break into

and started his professional football. During his career, the player spent the most time with

, during which time he won the UEFA Cup in the 1996–97 season. All these years, he played in the position of attacking midfielder. and had a great impact on the performance and success of his team. He retired in 2001 and has since begun to pass on his experience to the next generation of German footballers.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu

• Hamburger SV-Bayer Leverkusen

Hakan Çalhanoğlu is the fourth player on our list of the Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga history, though he is now playing in Ac Milan. Being born on n 8 February 1994 in Germany and being of Turkish origin, he started his career with

in the 2. Bundesliga and soon he could raise the ranks to reach Bundesliga. In Bundesliga, he played in

and Bayer Leverkusen, and in both, he had a great time and collaboration. 

Hakan plays as an attacking midfielder and is widely famous for scoring from free-kicks, as a set-piece specialist. He has been compared to Mesut Ozil, another German midfielder of Turkish descent, and always expressed his willingness to be Ozil equivalent in Turkey national team, but his role model in the free-kick is Cristiano Ronaldo, the world maestro of free-kicks. 

Sebastian Deisler

• Borussia Mönchengladbach

The fifth person on our list of Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga of all time is none other than Sebastian Deisler, who grew up in German football as a child. Being born on 5 January 1980 and he was just a five-year-old boy when he started his amateur football. As he broke into

, his football talents got more serious and flourished. Throughout his professional career, he played as a right-winger and attacking midfielder and he could have turned into a legend in the football world if only his severe injuries didn't happen. In his prime, he was called the best German talent in a generation and was famous as Das Supertalent. 

Despite all this amazing talent and ability, Deisler could never manage to deliver his full potential due to several cruciate ligament ruptures and other major injuries, which led to depression. He made positive leaps and bounds in the teams he played for. During his time at Bayern Munich, he had a beautiful performance alongside Michael Ballack, both of whom are known for their free kicks. Sebastian's talent and intelligence in free kicks were so great that he was called the German David Beckham. It is a pity that he suffered such injuries that the football world could no longer take full advantage of his abilities. Sebastian's glorious era ended in January 2007 and he retired from football at the height of his youth, at the age of twenty-seven. 

Mehmet Scholl

• Bayern Munich

Is there anyone who has forgotten Mehmet and does not remember his extraordinary free kicks? The sixth person on our list of

Top 10 Best free kick takers in Bundesliga history

is none other than Mehmet Scholl, to whom German football still owes. Being born on 16 October 1970, he started his early career in SV Nordwest Karlsruhe (from 1976 to 1982) and then in Karlsruher SC. After showing his innate talent, he joined Bayern Munich and found a permanent place in the squad line-up. For the rest of his career, he stayed at Bayern wearing shirt number 7. Following his 15 successful seasons at Bayern, Scholl retired from professional football after the 2006-07 season. 

He was one of the most successful Bundesliga players who could win the title eight times. Mehmet was mainly appreciated for his technical skill, his creative playmaking, his dribbling skills, and of course his breath-taking free kicks. Perhaps the only person whose name is not included in our list due to the high number of successful free kicks is Mehmet. He is often regarded as one of the most talented players in the history of Bayern Munich, a claim that is reinforced by his extensive tricks while on duty. Despite some footballer who would prefer to curl the ball over the wall and into the upper corner, Mehmet preferred low-driven shots that curved outside the wall. He had a perfect strategy for his free-kicks and he always found a way that surprised the crowd, even when the goalie's far pillar seemed to be the most probable spot, he perfectly figured out a way to settle the ball in the nearest post. 

Rainer Bonhof

• Borussia M'gladbach-1. FC Köln 

The seventh person on our list of Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga history is one of the most experienced and veteran players of German football for many years, who not only has had significant success at the club level but also his presence in the German national football was very bright and influential. Being born on 29 March 1952, he started his youth-level football with SuS Emmerich in 1963. His time at youth football lasted seven years and he managed to join the Borussia professional team after acquiring the necessary skills and developing his talent. He was one of the main players in the squad in the seventies, the peak period of the club, and won many Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Cup titles with his team. His achievements in his club team led him to greater success, and after being invited to the national team at the age of seventeen, he became the youngest German champion after winning the 1974 World Cup.

He played as a defensive midfielder or wing-back during his football career but what sets him apart from other players in this position is the power of his shots. Throughout his football tenure, Rainer was known for his occasional bursts upfield and his fierce shot, a true blessing that brought him the ARD Goal of the Month on three occasions, twice for free-kicks and once for a 30-meter strike. The opposing team did not matter to him, it did not matter who formed the defensive wall or who was standing in the goal, his shots were so strong and technical that brought any team to its knees. In 1977, after the European Cup and the final between Borussia Mönchengladbach and

, Ray Clemence, the former Liverpool goalkeeper admitted that he feared Rainer's shots, as his strike beat Clemence once but it hit the pilar.  His fear of re-meeting with him occurred a year later as, during the spring of 1978, Clemence was hit twice by Bonhof from nearly the same locations, at the club and international level.

Thomas Häßler

• Borussia Dortmund-1. FC Köln

The eighth person on our list is Thomas Häßler, who during his professional football years shone in both the Bundesliga and Italian football. Häßler was born on 30 May 1966 and once he turned ten, he started playing football in BFC Meteor 06 in 1976. Having raised through the ranks, he could break into a more sophisticated Bundesliga side, 

. As a midfielder and also a world-class playmaker throughout his career, he was acknowledged as one of the best German players of the 1990s who was blessed with true football instinct. Häßler was a talented, dynamic, and creative midfielder who could play perfectly with the left foot and right which made him a free-kick specialist. 

Mario Basler

• Werder Bremen-Bayern Munich

Continuing our list of Best Free kick takers in Bundesliga of all time, we come to a familiar name, Mario Basler, one of the most experienced professional  Bundesliga players in free kicks. Mario Basler was born on 18 December 1968 and started his career with

in 1984. As he managed to go through the youth ranks, he broke into some more top-level German side including SV

Hertha BSC, Rot-Weiss Essen, and Bayern Munich in which he became the joint top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 20 goals during the 1994–95 season. Throughout his professional tenure, Mario Basler played as a winger, But what set him apart from the rest of his generation was his exemplary free-kick skills.

Being famous for his creativity, Mario was a dead-ball specialist, having scored numerous goals from free kicks and two directly from corner kicks during his career, which is also known as Olympic goals. He was gifted to pass the ball out of reach of the goalie in the corner of the goal. According to Bundesliga.com, "since data collection began in the 1993/94 season, nobody has scored more free-kick goals in the Bundesliga than Mario Basler with 19 conversions in 375 attempts for a 5.1% success rate. His seven free-kick goals during the 1995/96 campaign for Bremen still stand as the highest single-season record for dead ball conversions in the league till 2019. "

Juan Arango

• Borussia Mönchengladbach

Juan Fernando Arango Sáenz, a Venezuelan former footballer is the last name on our list of the best free-kick takers in Bundesliga. Reviewing Arango's career, some may be surprised to find him on the list, as he has only played for one German team in the Bundesliga. Arango was born on 16 May 1980 and started playing as a professional at the age of sixteen with Nueva Cádiz FC. He tried so hard to promote and be able to play in better sides, so as he was 29, he finally reached  Borussia Mönchengladbach. With his presence in the team, he prospered more and more. Arango was a left-footed playmaker who was famous for his technical talents, leadership, and ability both to score and create goals.

More importantly, the experts believed he had exceptional accuracy in free kicks and bending the ball which made him a dead ball specialist. During his five years in the Bundesliga, he was the beating heart of the team, and with his free-kicks, he shook the body of any opponent. His free-kicks were so precise and striking that even scientists could not give a logical answer about him, but Arango, just stood behind the ball and raised his left foot and the ball landed where he wanted.

The article above was a list Top 10 Best free kick takers in Bundesliga history. Sure, a lot of players deserve to be on this list, but we've only briefly named ten of them, ten of whom, during their years on the field, have flown dead soccer balls in the air in an exceptional way, and the ball in The excitement of the spectators and the astonishment of the defensive wall are located in the corner of the goal, without anything being done by the goalkeeper.

Whose name do you think is missing from our list?

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