It might be a stretch to say that heading is a dying art in football, but it is not exactly privileged ahead of entreaties to play the ball on the deck, and anecdotal evidence would suggest that young players are rarely given the schooling in aerial duels undergone by those in older generations. There was plenty to admire, then, about Paris Saint-Germain’s two goals at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. David Luiz and Thiago Silva both produced finishes right out of a textbook that is in danger of gathering some dust, both showcasing the different qualities a perfect header requires – power, direction, timing of jump – while demonstrating that it can come in all manner of different varieties.
David Luiz – the bullet header
This was a classic of its kind and instantly brought to mind Didier Drogba’s history-changing header in the 2012 Champions League final. PSG had hardly put in a decent set-piece all night but, when Ezequiel Lavezzi finally put that right with an outswinger that screamed “attack me”, David Luiz obliged. His run started on the edge of the penalty area and ended, virtually without distraction and with Branislav Ivanovic an all-too-late hindrance, seven yards out; the corner had been played in at reasonable speed but the power generated by the Brazilian was stunning and meant that the placement, high to the left of Thibault Courtois, was virtually irrelevant. Nobody stops those, and it is worth watching David Luiz’s header again on the slowest of slow-mos to fully appreciate the hanging, twisting beauty of his technique – and the speed at which it was all carried out. As the ball rocketed in off the bar, you wondered exactly how fast the most powerful headers move at.
Thiago Silva – the looping header
Chelsea had been warned. Not by the succession of corners that had been dollied into Courtois’ arms during the first hour, but by David Luiz’s thunderclap and then, six minutes from the end of extra-time, by a sharp header from Thiago Silva that the goalkeeper had to save down to his right. But Wednesday night’s heading masterclass had one more module to run. This time the delivery, again outswung, came from Thiago Motta and the difference between what followed and PSG’s first goal was marked. Silva, standing just beyond the penalty spot, appeared to get into the briefest of tangles with John Terry before the Chelsea captain became embroiled in something far worse with Gary Cahill – inexplicably manhandling himself and his team-mate too far in front of the ball’s flight. All of which gave Silva, now 11 yards out, just enough time and space to take an unopposed standing jump, with Terry unable to atone for his misjudgment and mount a timely challenge. But the header was a thing of beauty: Courtois, who had retreated to within two yards of his goal line when it became apparent that he could not claim the ball, was blameless as the ball arced up, over and into his far corner with stunning accuracy. Silva, who at six foot was by no means the tallest player on the park, had leapt a metre into the air and produced something genuinely artistic.
But those are only two of the many and varied ways in which a header can be deployed in front of goal …
The diving header
This needs little introduction and one of its better cheerleaders of recent times was Alan Shearer – or rather Alan Shearer 2.0, into which he morphed as one of the best all-round targetmen in memory after his early incarnation as a nippy young thing. Henrik Larsson was partial to them as well. You don’t even need to get off the ground to score one of these, but Robin van Persie showed what can happen when you do last summer and leads us seamlessly to …
The long-range header
Van Persie’s effort was just inside the penalty area but, admit it, you feel something of a frisson when somebody manages to nod one in from beyond the penalty spot. And not least the 18-yard line. He couldn’t have meant that, could he? Jone Samuelsen might have, in what is surely the record-breaker for this genre of header, and it’s fair to say that Marcello Trotta definitely did. Meanwhile this, by Luis Suárez for Liverpool, was just wonderful.
The glancing header
Sometimes the faintest of touches is enough. Chris Sutton knew that as well as anybody. This is the header used for subtle good, the gossamer touch deployed to defeat the agonisingly outstretched reach of goalkeepers’ arms, the intentional deflection designed to carry the ball just beyond. Sometimes the attacker has had time to plot this most deliberate of moves; sometimes he is simply getting what he can on a delivery in the tightest of spots.
The guided header
This one is for when you want to pick your spot. Oliver Bierhoff was outstanding at this. And Jared Borgetti, with a header that defies categorisation really but demanded inclusion in this list, did not even need to be facing the goal in order to find the far corner.
The inadvertent header
Sometimes a striker just needs a ball to go in off his backside to start him off on a run of goalscoring heroism, right? Perhaps his head can do the job too. Bafétimbi Gomis had not scored in 13 Premier League games before Swansea faced Manchester United last month and this intervention broke the duck pretty smartly. Sometimes you only need to be standing in the right place and it goes all Thiago Silva for you. And every now and then, you don’t even need an assist.
