In the last round of the Turkish championship, Besiktas striker Demba Ba scored a stunning goal against Istanbul - the ball reached a speed of 125 km/h after his shot. "SE" recalls other powerful blows in the history of world football.

Demba BA
9.11.2014. "ISTANBUL BB" - "BESIKTASH" - 1:2
BALL FLYING SPEED - 125 KM/H

Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba has found a second wind in Besiktas, consistently appears in the starting lineup and consistently contributes to the team. His goal against Istanbul is as magnificent as it is important - after this powerful shot, the guests equalized the score in the middle of the second half.

Obafemi MARTINS
01/14/2007. TOTTENHAM - NEWCASTLE - 2:3
BALL FLYING SPEED - 135.2 KM/H

The Nigerian forward did not really show himself at Rubin Kazan, but Newcastle fans will probably remember him. Athleticism, strong style of play, endurance and a super-powerful strike in the game against Tottenham in January 2007, which allowed the Magpies to level the score for the second time in the match. A minute later, Newcastle scored the third goal and snatched an away victory.

Kerimoglu Tugay
3.11.2011. SOUTHAMPTON - BLACKBURN - 1:2
BALL FLYING SPEED - 135.6 KM/H

Tugay is remembered by English fans primarily for his nine seasons at Blackburn. The Turkish midfielder was good in everything - he could play as a defensive midfielder and gnaw away all the balls in the center of the field, or he could act closer to the attack, provide passes to the attackers and, if necessary, demonstrate his amazing shot. One of his goals, scored in a match with Southampton, broke into the hit parade of the most powerful shots in the Premier League - the ball was launched at a speed of 135.6 km/h. Unfortunately, his video was lost on the Internet, but another goal was preserved - no less beautiful.

Roberto CARLOS
3.06.1997. FRANCE - BRAZIL - 1:1
BALL FLYING SPEED - 137.2 KM/H

If fifteen years ago a poll had been conducted among fans: “Which football player has the strongest shot?”, then Roberto Carlos would have received the undisputed majority of votes. The legendary South American has scored countless beautiful goals. Including one of the most memorable free kicks in history. The ball, fired from 35 meters during a friendly match between France and Brazil, flew past the surprised “wall” and the discouraged Barthez at a speed of 137 km/h. But the most unique thing is not even the strength, but the flight trajectory, which was then studied for a long time by specialists from all over the world.

Alan SHEARER
02.02.1997. NEWCASTLE - LEICESTER - 4:3
BALL FLYING SPEED - 138.1 KM/H

The English Premier League's top scorer, Alan Shearer, has scored many stunning goals during his illustrious career. His scoring instinct, ability to choose a position, excellent technique and powerful shot were simply amazing. In 1997, in his first season at Newcastle, Shearer, with the score 1:3 in favor of the opponent, scored a truly amazing goal - the ball, after he had taken a free kick, stuck into top corner With escape velocity. By the way, in that very match, the legendary captain of the England team scored a hat-trick.

Matthew LE TISSIER
01/18/1997. SOUTHAMPTON - NEWCASTLE - 2:2
BALL FLYING SPEED - 139.8 KM/H

Le Tissier, nicknamed "God", devoted his entire career to one club - Southampton. He went down in the memory of fans as an amazing scorer and the real king of his team. Matthew became the first midfielder to score 100 goals in the Premier League and was remembered for his excellent penalty kicks - 47 out of 48 shots. And his thunderous strike in the final seconds of the Southampton - Newcastle match, which brought the Saints a draw, also went down in history. Watch it one more time and you will be convinced that no one will be called God.

Ritchie HUMPHRYS
08/17/1996. "SHEFFIELD Wednesday" - "ASTON VILLA" - 2:1
BALL FLYING SPEED - 154.4 KM/H

You may never have heard of Ritchie Humphreys. The English striker did not have the brightest career and played most of it in the lower divisions. But his debut in senior football turned out just right - in his first match for Sheffield Wednesday, he scored a goal of rare beauty, volleying the ball into the top corner.

David Trezeguet
03/18/1998. MANCHESTER UNITED - MONACO - 1:1
BALL FLYING SPEED - 157.3 KM/H.

At the beginning of his career, the French striker played for Monaco along with Fabien Barthez and Thierry Henry. In the spring of 1998, in a Champions League match against Manchester United, Trezeguet appeared throughout Europe. His goal against the English club at that time was recognized as the strongest in the history of the Champions League. The ball reached a speed of 157.3 km/h, which was recorded by special sensors. By the way, that missed goal cost Manchester United elimination from the tournament.

David BECKHAM
02/22/1997. CHELSEA - MANCHESTER UNITED - 1:1
BALL FLYING SPEED - 157.6 KM/H.

Once upon a time, Beckham not only graced the covers of glossy magazines, but also made goalkeepers around the world turn white with horror. His shots were strong and accurate, and once the ball sent by David rushed over Kevin Hitchcock's head at a speed of 157.6 km/h. The goalkeeper only managed to helplessly raise his hands up.

Stephen REED
12/31/2005. WIGAN - BLACKBURN - 0:3
BALL FLYING SPEED - 189 KM/H

Irish defender Stephen Reid hasn't scored very often for Blackburn. All the more valuable is his goal against Wigan on December 31, 2005. The ball flew out from under his foot as if from a cannon and stuck straight into the “nine”. It was real New Year's gift team and own fans.

Lucas PODOLSKI
06/13/2010. GERMANY - AUSTRALIA - 4:0
BALL FLYING SPEED - 201 KM/H

In 2010, in South Africa, the German team was not yet destined to win gold medals. But the owner of a personal record was the forward of the German team, Lukas Podolski. After his killer kick, the ball managed to reach a speed of 201 km/h and went right through the hands of the Australian goalkeeper.

Ronnie ABERSON
November 26, 2006. "NAVAL" - "SPORTING" - 0:1
BALL FLYING SPEED - 210.9 KM/H

Now 28-year-old Brazilian Ronnie Eberson plays in the Bundesliga for Hertha. His first foreign country in his career was Portugal, where he spent five years as a member of Sporting. In his debut season, Eberson scored a fantastic goal against Naval. Was the goalkeeper capable of helping in any way here if the ball whistled past him at the speed of a foreign sports car?

HULK
09/13/2011. "PORTO" - "SHAKHTER" - 2:1
BALL FLYING SPEED - 214 KM/H

When he was a Porto player, the Brazilian from Zenit scored a cosmic goal against Shakhtar - the ball at some point managed to reach a speed of 214 km/h.

And even though data on the strength of this blow differs in different sources, we all know: the Hulk’s mallet is really what you need. He also demonstrates it in the Russian championship from time to time. As, for example, it happened in the match between Zenit and Amkar this season, when the ball, after being hit by the Brazilian, accelerated to 176 km/h.

In no other game does the rotation of the ball play such a big role as in table tennis.

This is explained by the fact that a lightweight celluloid ball has a relatively large surface area with relatively low weight. Due to this, it experiences significant resistance in flight. air environment and the influence of rotation affects it very strongly, much more than, for example, a football or hockey ball.

It is not surprising that when playing outdoors in an unprotected place, even a slight gust of wind significantly affects the flight of the table tennis ball.

Air resistance increases if the ball, except forward movement, is also given rotational, and the trajectory of the ball changes greatly under the influence of rotation. This is not difficult to verify. You need to hit the ball without giving it any intentional spin, and then make a second hit of the same force, giving the ball as much spin as possible. The trajectory of the ball in this case will differ sharply from the trajectory of the first hit.

Consequently, the trajectory of the ball depends not only on initial speed and the direction of the impact, but also from the rotation of the ball.

The advent of a racket with a rubber surface made it possible to influence the trajectory of the ball precisely by changing the force and nature of rotation. Thanks to this, ping-pong turned from an uninteresting game of throwing into table tennis, into a full-fledged sports game with a wide variety of techniques and a wealth of tactical combinations.

In order to understand why this happened and to evaluate the impact of ball rotation on the playing technique, consider the following specific case.

The ball is hit below the net without any spin being given to the ball. This type of kick is called flat. These shots were typical for ping pong in the past, since the rackets that existed at that time did not allow for a strong enough spin on the ball. It is obvious that in in this case The player's options are very limited. If the blow is too strong, the ball will inevitably fly off the table (Fig. 8, lower trajectory). In order to change the trajectory of the ball, for example, to lengthen or shorten your response to the opponent (Fig. 8, upper trajectory), there was only one means: to regulate the force of the blow.

Rice. 8. When hitting the ball flat below the net, the impact force is limited.

Indeed, before the advent of rubber rackets, strong hits were made only on balls that bounced off the table above the level of the net. This greatly impoverished the table tennis technique. The racket, covered with a special rough or spongy rubber, gives the ball very strong rotation. And since the trajectory of the ball depends on rotation, shots that were previously completely impossible have become possible (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Hit the ball hard, below table level. A racket with a rubber surface imparts a spin to the ball below the table level that keeps it within the table even with a very strong blow.

Modern technology The game is largely based on the ability to spin the ball. The pace of the game, the strength and depth of shots (closer or further from the net), the trajectory of the ball, the nature of the rebound (fast or slow, high or low, sluggish or rapid) vary widely with the rotation of the ball.

The better a player can spin the ball, the more varied his game.

It is not uncommon to see a beginner make mistake after mistake due to not taking into account the rotation of the ball. Some of his balls systematically fly over the table, others, on the contrary, only go into the net.

To understand why these errors occur, consider how the nature of the spin imparted to the ball affects the flight of the ball.

All types of ball rotation can theoretically be reduced to three main ones: top, bottom and side.

This classification is based on the interaction between the ball and racket discussed above during impact. If the racket at the moment of hitting the ball is given some additional upward movement, then as a result of the interaction of the ball and the racket moving upward, the ball receives rotation around a horizontal axis in the direction of its flight. This type of rotation is called top rotation. We will call top-spin kicks twisted.

If the racket moves downward at the moment of contact with the ball, then the ball receives a different rotation - in the direction opposite to the flight of the ball. Hence the rotation itself gets the name bottom. We will call blows with bottom rotation cut.

Finally, the third type of rotation - lateral rotation - is imparted to the ball when the racket at the moment of contact with the ball has a lateral movement: from right to left or. vice versa, from left to right. In accordance with this, lateral rotation, in turn, is divided into right and left. Lateral rotation is characterized vertical axis rotation.

However, practically no type of rotation in pure form does not apply. Both top and bottom rotation are usually accompanied by some degree of side rotation. The stronger the side rotation with its vertical axis of rotation, the more tilt the horizontal axis of the top or bottom rotation will receive.

We do not need to study in detail the interaction of all the forces that influence the flight of the ball in the air. For our purposes - to study the technique of table tennis - it is quite enough to know the final result, which is achieved separately by the upper, lower and lateral rotation of the ball.

Upper and lower rotations are directly opposite in nature. They differ sharply in their execution technique, in the nature of the ball’s flight and, as we will see later, in their tactical application in the game. Therefore, it seems appropriate to consider these two types of rotation simultaneously, contrasting them with each other.

Rice. 10. The bottom half of a topspin ball experiences less air resistance, since the direction of rotation coincides with the direction of the air resistance force to the moving ball

Imagine a ball moving in the air. The air resists the movement of the ball and presses on its front wall. If the ball rotates, then this pressure will be least where the rotation of the ball and the resistance force of the air environment coincide in direction (Fig. 10, point A). The difference in pressure experienced by the top and bottom halves of the spinning ball bends the ball's flight path towards the reduced pressure.

It is obvious that the nature of the phenomenon remains exactly the same for any rotation of the ball, no matter in what direction the ball moves.

With top rotation, the pressure is less at the bottom and the ball seems to fall down, the line of flight of the ball shortens and becomes steeper. This makes it possible to keep the ball within the table even when strong blows on the descending ball, giving it top rotation (for example, in the case shown in Fig. 9).

With bottom rotation, the top part of the ball experiences less pressure, and we are dealing with the opposite phenomenon - bottom rotation, countering the force of gravity, slows down the fall of the ball and makes the trajectory flatter.

A ball with strong top spin, moving away from the racket after being hit, begins its flight relatively slowly, as if climbing an airy mountain, after which it quickly rolls down from it. Having passed the highest point of rise, the curved ball falls sharply and quickly onto the table; The stronger the rotation of the ball, the more pronounced this phenomenon is. Curls are characterized by a rapid, high rebound from the table surface.

For balls with bottom spin, the speed of flight slows down noticeably as it approaches the point of impact. With a sufficiently strong downward rotation, the ball seems to hang in the air for a moment, after which it falls powerlessly onto the table, having almost no forward movement. The rebound from the table surface of cut balls is sluggish and low.

The different nature of the rebound of a twisted and sliced ​​ball is very clearly revealed when it is received with a simple racket stand with a flat half-flight strike or a push strike.

A curved ball, which has a large supply of energy, with a rapid high rebound, energetically moves away from the racket and rushes upward, going far beyond the table, unless the upper part of the racket is tilted forward towards the net (Fig. 11).

The cut ball falls heavily on the racket, as if sliding along its surface, trying to roll down onto the surface of the table. Many cut balls, met by a simple racket stand, do not go over to the opponent’s side at all, but end up in the net, unless the racket is given a forward movement with a tilt back from the net (Fig. 12).

Balls with top rotation - twisted - are used mainly in attack, since top rotation makes it possible to keep the ball within the table, despite great strength blow.

On the contrary, balls with bottom rotation - cut balls - are predominantly used in defense, since after the cut the ball with a good defensive hit usually flies to the opponent’s side almost above the net and bounces low off the table surface, which makes it difficult to develop an attack.

A visual representation of the most typical flight trajectories of a ball with top and bottom rotation is given in Fig. 13 and 14, compiled based on the study of filmograms.

Rice. 13. Typical curve of a curveball

Rice. 14. Typical cut ball flight curve

A few words about lateral rotation. As already indicated, lateral rotation in its pure form is not used. However, in order to study the effect of side rotation on the flight of the ball, we will consider this type of rotation in its pure form. This will help us understand how the additional lateral rotation imparted to it affects the flight of a curved or sliced ​​ball.

Lateral rotation shifts the flight path of the ball in the horizontal plane; due to the rotation of the ball around a vertical axis, it slightly deviates to the side and bounces to the side. If the player, when receiving the ball, does not take into account the influence of lateral rotation, then the ball will go sideways, beyond the table (Fig. 15).

Rice. 15. A ball with sidespin, deflected by a simple racket stand, goes sideways.

Many players have more or less side spin on all their shots. The elements of lateral rotation introduced into a regular twist or slice kick, when playing against a strong opponent, rarely lead to an immediate win of a point; An experienced player recognizes the strength and direction of rotation of the ball from the movement of the opponent’s racket and manages to take countermeasures. At the same time, the systematic use of a sufficiently strong lateral rotation forces the opponent to be in constant tension, tires his attention, and prevents the player from making his best shots and building tactical combinations.

In conclusion, here is a small table that compares characteristics three types of rotation.

By skillfully combining the force of blows with the strength and direction of rotation, a player in modern table tennis has the opportunity to widely change the line of flight of the ball, attack the opponent with strong twisting blows from any ball, diversify the pace of the game, sending the opponent balls with a fast, high and strong rebound, sometimes slow and sluggish, sometimes deep into the table, towards the back line, sometimes very short, towards the net itself, etc.

Free kicks and corner kicks, in which a football player manages to throw the ball not in a straight line, but along a twisted path, always attract the attention of fans, making them admire the player’s skill. Consider one of the most spectacular goals in the history of football, scored in 1997 by a Brazilian in a match against the French.

Then the future player and director of Anzhi Makhachkala hit the goal, although the goalkeeper did not even budge.

Many fans believed that the blow was contrary to the laws of physics and the hit was accidental.

Scientists know that key parameter, which is responsible for the ball's controllability, is the smoothness of its surface. The Jabulani ball, designed by Adidas for the 2010 World Cup, was smooth. The edges of the new Brazuca ball used at the 2014 FIFA World Cup are more than half as long, making the surface less smooth and the flight more predictable.

“In the other direction” literally means that

that absolutely smooth and non-smooth balls spun with same speed, will deviate in different sides.

The point here is not a matter of chance, but of the Magnus effect, which was first described by observing the flight of a tennis ball.

This effect is due to the fact that different sides of a ball rotating in the oncoming air flow are blown with at different speeds. However, it is the unevenness of its surface that determines in which direction the ball’s trajectory will spin. The Aerodynamics of the Beautiful Game study is devoted to this factor.

“The Magnus effect can change its sign. Usually people do not perceive this fact,” says the author of the article.

The reason lies in the way the spinning ball entrains air in the so-called boundary layer. The rougher the surface of the ball, the easier it is to create the classic Magnus effect and deflect the counter-clockwise ball to the left. “The boundary layer can be laminar (without mixing), when the air flows smoothly, or turbulent, when vortices are formed. The transition between modes depends on how fast the ball is spun. And where this transition occurs depends on the roughness of the surface, on how the ball is stitched. If you change the pattern of the sections, the pressure distribution changes,” Busch explained.

What's the opposite Magnus effect almost never observed in football, due to the fact that the balls are never made completely smooth. And while sports like cricket and baseball have strictly regulated ball shapes, the design of soccer balls is constantly evolving.

Another interesting effect, discussed in Bush's article, occurs when a football player launches the ball with minimal spin. In this case, the ball can fly, swaying left and right. Among Brazilians, who have played soccer since infancy, this is called pombo sem asa, or “pigeon without wings.”

This movement of the ball, Bush argues, occurs due to the fact that the change in the flow regime in the boundary layer on both sides of the ball constantly occurs at different points. “The ball moves according to a pressure distribution that is constantly changing,” says the researcher. This is how the ball flew the Saturday before last by the Italian in the match against the English. His shot confused the goalkeeper, but the ball hit the crossbar.

Over its century and a half history, football has seen many innovations. But nothing has impacted the game as much as technological changes in the aerodynamic properties of the ball. For almost 40 years the ball had classic shape and consisted of 32 panels of pentagonal and hexagonal shape. But in 2006 its design changed radically.

At the World Championships in Germany that year, the Teamgeist ball had only 14 panels. Then at the championships in South Africa in 2010 the Jabulani ball with 8 panels was introduced. And in 2014 in Brazil, the Brazuca ball had only 6 panels. The ball used at Euro 2016 in France is called Beau Jeu and is essentially a variation of the Brazuca with an identical panel design. So on this moment six panels on a soccer ball seems like the perfect number.

The configuration of a soccer ball's panels affects its speed and flight through the air. The German Teamgeist had a number of problems, say, a variable flight path. These shortcomings have been largely eliminated in the new balls. However, new technologies have produced a ball that has a significantly reduced frontal aerodynamic drag. This means the ball travels faster and stays in the air longer. Increased speed is highly desirable when taking penalties, but in other important set pieces, such as a direct free kick, this property does not have of great importance. Here it is more important to get around the defensive wall, to make the ball “go up and down,” as football experts among television commentators say.

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Going around the wall is not very good a big problem. What's more important here is that the ball comes down quickly enough to force the goalkeeper to jump to catch or save it. This requires a special technique for performing a free kick, and the one taking it must give the ball the correct rotation, that is, spin it.

There are three important forces acting on a ball in flight: gravity (the weight of the ball), aerodynamic drag caused by air flow over its surface, and a special force that occurs only when the ball is spinning. It is called the Magnus effect after the German physicist Heinrich Magnus, who discovered this force in the century before last. This is a force acting on the body and is always directed perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the ball and the direction of its flight.

A player can spin the ball differently depending on how the shot is intended to be. When he gives the ball the opposite rotational movement, he rises quickly. Goalkeepers use this method when they kick the ball at a distance of 60-70 meters. But it is absolutely useless for a free kick, which is usually taken from 20-30 meters to the goal.

Lateral spin of the ball is a favorite technique of skilled servers. But problems cannot be avoided here either. The sideways Magnus force produced by a perfect sidespin can take the ball too far to the side for the goalkeeper to reach when he jumps. But the most important thing is different. Once past the defensive wall, the ball must drop quickly to force the goalkeeper to shoot behind it. Lateral torsion does not help lower the ball in any way, and therefore, after being hit, it very often simply flies above the crossbar.

Top rotation requires special equipment blow. Few players have mastered this technique of kicking from the ground in modern football. Even a weak topspin shot creates a downward Magnus force that brings the ball down quickly and very effectively. Another benefit is that the ball can be hit harder, giving it initial lift to clear the wall even as defenders jump up to try to block the shot.

Spinner Sorcerers

Now let's see what the impact is Various types rotation can affect the flight of the ball when taking a free kick. Let's take free kicks with side and top spin, using the aerodynamic data of the ball approved for Euro 2016. We will assume that the impact speed in both cases is 28 meters per second, and the rise of the ball barely ensures the passage of the defensive wall. Graphs compiled from these kicks show that a backspin free kick is not dangerous at distances less than 25 meters, while a topspin free kick is effective at 20 meters from the goal, or slightly less.

What lessons can footballers take from this? Well, side spin can be used when the blow needs to be weak enough to reduce the speed and ensure accuracy of the hit. But when you're full of adrenaline, it's not easy to do. In addition, the disadvantages of this method will be acceptable if you need a powerful blow, which is carried out from a greater distance, for example, over 25 meters.

Alongside this, scorers can take cues from the superb technique demonstrated by Wales' Gareth Bale, who mastered the skill of a topspin groundstroke to the required distance. Doubters can watch slow motion footage of his superb free kick against England at Euro 2016. This is a pure top twist that doesn't raise any questions. Whether he knows the physics behind such a strike or not, there is little doubt that Bale has discovered a winning formula.