Curl (football)

Curl (football)

Curl in football (soccer), is spin on the ball which will make it change direction, called a 'screw shot' in the 19th Century. When kicking the ball, the inside of the foot is often used to curl the ball, but can also be done by using the outside of the foot. Similar to curl, the ball can also swerve in the air, without the spin on the ball which makes the ball curl. Curl is especially evident from free kicks, shots from outside the penalty area and crosses. Differences between balls can also affect the amount of swerve and curl: traditional leather footballs are too heavy to curl without great skill, whereas the lighter modern footballs curl with a much lower effort threshold. As a general rule, the lighter and smoother the ball the more deviation there is. Making the ball curl in the air was first developed in Sheffield during the late 1870s. At the time it was referred to as a screw shot.