Bicycle Kick

A bicycle kick or scissor kick is a physical move made by throwing the body up into the air, making a shearing movement with the legs to get one leg in front of the other without holding on to the ground. The move can either be done backwards or sideways. Performed in ball games, when the move is done with one leg high over the head to reach the ball (located in the original head height), it is also called an overhead kick. The move is generally linked with association football, but bicycle kicks are also used in various other sports. It is the iconic movement in the game of Sepak takraw, a popular sport played in Southeast Asia (especifically Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia); and also rarely occurs in Australian football where it is commonly categorised as a snap kick.

Regarding the origin of the move, there exists a controversy among the different claims of invention from the countries of Brazil, Chile, Italy, and Peru. Attributions of invention have been given to people such as Brazilian Leônidas da Silva, Basque-Chilean Ramón Unzaga, Italian Carlo Parola, and the Afro-Peruvian people of Callao. The controversy is particularly great among the Peruvian and Chilean positions, both which consider their respective terms (chalaca and chilena) as the legitimate ways to name this move. However, despite these claims, FIFA does not hold a registry of ownership.

In association football, the difficulty of the bicycle kick in football is such that even Pelé, one of professional football's most renowned players, describes it as "not easy to do". Due to its difficulty, only a few players have been able to perform the move (either as a defensive or offensive play) in an official football match. As such, the move is one of the most praised plays in the game, especially when a goal is managed to be scored from it.