In Brazil they are inventing different ways to perform the paradinha, literally "the little stop", an unexpected pause just before a penalty is struck that throws goalkeepers out of position with dramatic results. Street style soccer showboating. The paradinha has a long tradition in Brazil first brought to prominence by Pele and continued down the years in the Brazilian league.
However outside of Brazil, few practice it. Cristiano Ronaldo tried it against Petr Cech in the 2008 CL final and failed miserably against the unflappable Czech. Most see it as unsporting behaviour and an unfair advantage to the penalty taker. The issue seems to be vending its way into the upper echelons of FIFA with Sepp Blatter coming out against it.
The video clip shows a too clever by half paradinha that completely fails. The interesting thing is that the penalty taker after spinning around actually commits himself to taking the shot. Perhaps if he had put a paradinha within a paradinha before shooting, it would have yielded better results.
From Brooks Peck " Dirty Tackle" >>
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