Yes, I might just give up and lie down behind the wall if Messi was going to take a free kick too. But really, players are lying down behind the wall so Messi doesn’t strike the ball under the wall when the wall jumps. And this is due to his former teammate, Ronaldinho, who scored off a free kick when the wall jumped.
Thanks goes to ESPN FC for the image at the top.
Four man jumping wall. Player lying on the ground. Player on the post. Goalkeeper going the right way.
Still can't stop a Lionel Messi free kick 🎯 pic.twitter.com/u8mxed1hEv
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 6, 2019
Still, it’s funny to see, players lying down behind wall as Messi steps up to take a free kick. Can’t really blame them though. Messi has scored 49 goals from direct free kicks for Barcelona. The lying down behind the wall I think started pretty recently, perhaps with a Sevilla defender lying down behind the wall like he was going to take a nap. Now though, it’s spread through out world football, with players in England and Germany doing the same.
Sevilla Defender Lies Down Behind Wall For Messi Free Kick
Lionel Messi: Under the Wall Free Kick Versus Girona
I’m not sure how long this phenomenon is going to last, players lying down behind the wall when Messi steps up to take a free kick, but if the wall plans to jump Messi might just sneak the ball under the wall and past the goalkeeper.
There is a foul drawn in a dangerous position by Girona. Of course Lionel Messi steps up to take the free kick. Instead of going over the wall, he goes under the wall and it settles nicely into the bottom left corner. Lying down behind the wall might seem like a clever idea to stop Messi but not this time.
