Know about an Olimpico goal and its meaning in football, something that happens rarely in the sport also check out the list of players who have netted off corner kick
You’ve just experienced something unusual in the game if you’ve ever heard soccer fans cheer for a “Olimpico” goal.
Explained what is the meaning of an olimpico goal in football and which all players have scored off a corner kick
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Megan Rapinoe, a star player for the U.S. women’s national team, scored a remarkable goal. However, to win the championship, an Olimpico goal need not be scored at the Olympics.
At the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, Katie McCabe of Ireland scored the most recent one that was shown in highlight videos all over the world. In a match against Canada during the group stage, she scored from a corner kick after only a few minutes had passed.
😉 Disfrutad este
ángulo del gol olímpico de Katie McCabe(🎥@102megan)pic.twitter.com/Qx81fZZ8Or
— Era Fútbol Femenino (@Erafutbolfem) July 26, 2023
What is an Olimpico goal?
A goal that is scored right after a corner kick is known as an Olimpico. Since Cesareo Onzari of Argentina scored from a corner kick against Uruguay in 1924 (although it didn’t happen at the Olympics), the nickname has endured for almost a century. Since then, a goal that is scored straight from a corner is referred to as a “olimpico” in Spanish, and it has naturally spread to other languages.
Although there was initially considerable debate as to whether such a goal should stand, they had already been allowed to be scored before Onzari’s hit by the organisation that sets the game’s rules, IFAB.
Even while it is still entirely legal, it is challenging to score immediately off a corner kick because of the angle: Only a skilled ball shooter can bend the corner kick arc past the goalkeeper and all of the players in the penalty area because it is virtually parallel to the goal line. It must be bent away from the endline and then back in towards the net with just enough swerve.
Olimpico goals can, of course, be scored inadvertently, but some players do purposefully try to score them, such as Rapinoe’s attempt against Australia in the 2021 bronze medal game:
WATCH. THIS. GOAL.
An unbelievable corner by Megan Rapinoe! #TokyoOlympics x @USWNT
Stream: https://t.co/FmEtvutDRA pic.twitter.com/jvod0GDyAB
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
Olimpico goals: Which players scored off corners?
Unbelievably, Rapinoe had scored an Olimpico goal nine years prior at the London Olympics, but she said the 2021 goal was the one that was intentionally hit.
Rapinoe curled the ball from her corner inside the near post of the goal in the thrilling 2012 semifinal match versus Canada. She accomplished this by being the first athlete to ever score an Olimpico at the Olympics.
In 2012, @MPinoe became the first to score from a corner at an Olympic Games in the semifinal against Canada.
At the #TokyoOlympics, she's done it again. @uswnt pic.twitter.com/cwDpn06TwC
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
Numerous more well-known stars, in addition to Onzari and Rapinoe, have accomplished the feat. In a 2012 Major League Soccer encounter between the New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew, legendary French and Arsenal player Thierry Henry scored an Olimpico.
In 2011, LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham, a former player for Manchester United and Real Madrid, also scored from a corner against the Chicago Fire.
However, the Chicago Fire also managed to score a goal. Another MLS Olimpico was kicked off by left-footed expert Marco Pappa:
When playing for the senior U.S. national team against Panama, American international Michael Bradley scored an Olimpico: