10 Greatest Signature Moves In Football History

The very best footballers have wide-ranging skill sets, but many of them also have a particular trick that's associated with them even after they've retired. Here are the greatest signature moves in football history. Johan Cruyff. The Cruyff Turn. Well, let's be honest, where else could we possibly begin? Johan Cruyff is one of the best players of all time. When you picture him, you don't think of a particular goal or assist. His most famous on-field moment was a piece of skill out on the left wing. Cruyff was playing for the Netherlands against Sweden at the 1974 World Cup. He was facing his own goal and being tightly marked by a defender. It looked like there was no way out. Cruyff had other ideas. He pretended he was about to pass the ball with his right foot, but then suddenly dragged it behind his standing leg, completing a 180-degree turn. Cruyff was away, and the defender, Jan Olsen, was left for dead. I still can't understand, Olsen said in 2016. Now when I see the video, every time I think I've got the ball, when he's about to kick the ball, I'm sure I'm going to take it. But every time, he surprises me. A recent example of the move in action was the brilliant goal scored by Wales striker Hal Robson-Kanu against Belgium at Euro 2016. Cruyff would have been proud. Cristiano Ronaldo. The Ronaldo Chop. These days, Cristiano Ronaldo is a central striker with an incredible knack for scoring goals. When he first broke through in the 2000s, he was a flying winger who tormented fullbacks with his speed and skill. His favorite move was the Ronaldo Chop. While dribbling in a straight line down the wing, Ronaldo would quickly change direction by leaping into the air and hitting the ball sideways, usually with the inside of his right foot. Ronaldo's supreme balance kept him on his feet. The same couldn't be said for all of his opponents. He might be a different player in 2021, but the Ronaldo Chop is still a key part of the Portuguese's armory. Just look at his fantastic assist for Edinson Cavani against Tottenham in October. CR7 still got it. Ronaldinho. The Elastico. Sergio Achigo, a Japanese-Brazilian footballer from the 60s, invented the Elastico. That's who Rivelino learned it from, and he showed it to a global audience in the 1970 World Cup Final. But the Elastico, sometimes known as the Flip-Flap, was perfected by another Brazilian. No, not Fred, but Ronaldinho. The move is performed by pushing the ball away from you with the outside of your foot, then quickly pushing it back the other way, with the inside of the same foot. One of the most skillful players we've ever seen, Ronaldinho used the Elastico to fool countless opponents. Even Portuguese defenders in Nike adverts weren't safe. The Elastico was Ronaldinho's signature move, and the one he'll always be remembered for. Zinedine Zidane, the Roulette. Zinedine Zidane was the most elegant footballer of his generation. He glided across the turf with grace and style. When he was at the top of his game, no one could stop him. Zidane's most famous move was the Roulette, also known as the 360 Turn. Approaching a defender, he'd drag the ball back with the studs of his right foot, spin his body round, then drag the studs of his left foot over the ball. Zidane often used the Roulette to get out tight situations. Sometimes the skill allowed him to get past more than one opponent. At other times, the Roulette left defenders making clean air shots. Performing this trick at full speed while wearing football boots isn't as easy as Zidane made it look. Even Brazil, the home of Jogger Benito and Samba football, had no answer for it. Andre Iniesta, La Croqueta. Barcelona and Spain's extraordinary success in the late 2000s and early 2010s was underpinned by two midfielders, Xavi Hernandez and Andre Iniesta. Neither player was fast, strong or powerful. If you walked past them in the street, you might not think they were top-class sports stars. But Xavi and Iniesta's technical quality and footballing intelligence made them one of the best midfield duos of all time. Xavi was probably the better passer, but Iniesta was a more proficient dribbler. When he passed the ball with one side foot to the other and then accelerated into space, as well as good feet in a tight area, the move requires balance and subtle shifts of bodyweight. The Croqueta isn't particularly flashy, but then again, neither was Iniesta. That didn't stop him becoming a Barcelona and Spain legend. Ricardo Caresma, The Traveller. When they came through the Sporting CP Academy together, youth coaches thought Ricardo Caresma was a more talented prospect than Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet there's no comparison between what the Portuguese pair have achieved in the game. Caresma's had a decent career, though, and he was one of the most entertaining wingers to watch in his peak. His signature move was the Traveller. Caresma scored some magical goals and provided some fantastic assists with the outside of his foot. How about this stunner at the 2018 World Cup? If you wanted to be unkind, you might say Caresma pulled out the Traveller so often because his left foot wasn't up to scratch. But then again, when the outside of your foot is this good, why wouldn't you use it? Antonin Panenka, The Panenka. These days, we see several Panenkas every season. That wasn't the case in the 1970s, though. Back then, penalties that were sent down the middle tended to be hammered rather than chipped. Antonin Panenka wrote his name into the history books in the final of Euro 76. A penalty shootout would decide the winner between Czechoslovakia and Germany. After Uli Hoeneß missed for the Germans, Panenka had the chance to win the trophy for his country. It was an incredibly tense moment to unleash his trick, but Panenka had been practicing regularly in training. He felt confident as he stepped up to face the legendary German keeper Sepp Maier, and his technique didn't fail him. Panenka coolly dinked the ball down the middle, and Czechoslovakia were European champions. Numerous players have tried Panenka penalties since then, but it isn't as straightforward as it looks. Isn't that right, Sergio? Francesco Totti Il cucchiaio Francesco Totti was born in 1976, the same year that Antonin Panenka made headlines with his cheeky penalty. Perhaps that's why Totti scored so many Panenkas during his career. The Roma legend didn't just wait for spot kicks to pull out the dink, though. In fact, he loved chip shots so much that the cucchiaio, which is Italian for spoon, became his signature move. Sometimes Totti used it when he was one-on-one with the keeper. Keepers often crouched down low in those situations, so Totti would just dink the ball over them. His most impressive cucchiaio is that it was from further out. Totti's goal against Empoli in 2003 came from the edge of the box. Another time he pulled out his spoon from 30 yards. The title of his autobiography says it all. Mange faccio e cucchiaio. I'm gonna chip him now. Yannick Bellassi The Bellassi flick Yannick Bellassi isn't on the same level as some of the players in this video, but his signature move involves just as much skill as Ronaldinho's elastico or Zidane's roulette. Bellassi played the best football of his career at Crystal Palace. He was an off-the-cuff entertainer. The only predictable thing about him was that he'd always do something unpredictable. Just ask Dejan Lovren. His most jaw-dropping moment came against Spurs in 2014, penned in on the touchline with nowhere to go. Bellassi rolled his studs over the ball with his right foot, then with his left, before flicking it up with his right again. Christian Eriksen didn't know what had just happened to him. The Bellassi flick soon appeared on FIFA as El Tornado. Bellassi wasn't happy. He thought it should be named after its inventor. Thierry Henry The fake pass Thierry Henry could do everything. He scored goals and created them. He beat defenders with pace and with trickery. The Arsenal legend is arguably the greatest player in Premier League history. Henry wasn't a showpony. Most of what he did was highly effective, but sometimes he liked to have fun on the pitch. His signature fake pass was the best example of this. Henry didn't pull the move out too often. It's a bit of a gimmick, and his managers wouldn't have appreciated him doing it when his team was losing or drawing. But when the time was right, Henry bamboozled opponents, teammates and supporters with the fake pass. Shaping to kick the ball with his right foot, Henry would instead nudge it in the other direction with his left. It was like a magic trick. Now you see it, now you don't. Which other signature moves would you add to the list? Drop a comment below and then hit subscribe so you never miss a video.