Hakan Calhanoglu admits that working on free kicks has not been a major priority for him while he’s been at Inter Milan.
The Turkish international spoke to Copa90, via FCInterNews. He noted that he nevertheless still has the technique from dead ball situations.
Calhanoglu is actually Inter’s second top scorer this season.
The fact that the former AC Milan midfielder is the main penalty-taker is chief reason for this. He has yet to miss a single spot kick since joining the Nerazzurri.
Calhanoglu has also shown that he can score goals from open play.
That was clear with the 30-year-old’s excellent strike to open the scoring against Torino last weekend.
Calhanoglu is also a player whose quality from set pieces is undeniable.
The Turk is one of Inter’s main takers when it comes to corners and free kicks into the box.
But one form of set piece where Calhanoglu’s quality is yet to really shine in a Nerazzurri is direct free kicks.
Hakan Calhanoglu: “Haven’t Trained Free Kicks As Much At Inter, Still Have The Technique”
During his time in the Bundesliga with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, Calhanoglu earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most proficient direct free kick takers.
The Turk scored one of his most famous goals directly from a dead ball for Hamburg.
But as the years have gone by, that early reputation has not necessarily translated to direct free kicks being a consistent source of goals from Calhanoglu.
“I train a lot on how to strike the ball,” Calhanoglu said.
“It’s like tennis,” he continued. “You have to train every time on the movements. It’s the same in football, but with your feet.”
Calhanoglu noted that “When I was at Hamburg and Leverkusen, I trained free kicks every day.”
“Since I arrived at Inter, and in Italy as a whole, I’ve learned a lot tactically,” the Turk went on.
“Because in Italy, football is more tactical as we know.”
“But I’ve stopped training free kicks as much,” Calhanoglu added.
“Because I have other things to do. But the technique is still there.”
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