{"id":709592,"date":"2026-07-07T13:33:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=709592"},"modified":"2026-07-07T13:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:33:36","slug":"what-is-magnus-effect-definition-how-to-curve-soccer-ball-709592","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/what-is-magnus-effect-definition-how-to-curve-soccer-ball-709592\/","title":{"rendered":"The Magnus effect: The science that allows soccer players to \u2018bend it like Beckham\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-embed-wrap\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bend it like Magnus\" width=\"1062\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zSbgcL7PHU8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Miracle\u2019 goals scored from seemingly impossible angles are made possible by physics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1152,"featured_media":709652,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,456],"tags":[9776,40762,43032,23312,18632,43062,41012],"class_list":["post-709592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-tech","category-society-culture","tag-athletics","tag-class-of-2027","tag-class-of-2028","tag-department-of-mechanical-engineering","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-john-lambropoulos","tag-videos"],"acf":{"external":"","hide_featured_image":true,"related":"show_related","style":[707952,706792,486392],"content_modules":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"pt-0","title":"<h2>\u2018Miracle\u2019 goals scored from seemingly impossible angles are made possible by physics.<\/h2>","content":"With the score tied late in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/\">University of Rochester<\/a> men\u2019s soccer match, midfielder Milos Bisenic \u201927 lines up a free kick near the top left corner of the penalty area, about 30 yards from the goal. Two defenders are blocking a straight shot and the goalkeeper is well-positioned. Bisenic signals he\u2019s ready to take the kick.\r\n\r\nOne moment, the ball is sailing out of bounds, the next, it\u2019s curling into the top right corner of the goal.\r\n\r\nOn the match\u2019s livestream, the announcer exclaims, \u201cOh, he scored it! It\u2019s magic!\u201d\r\n\r\nIt wasn\u2019t magic. It was physics.","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"media_text_new","anchor":"","class":"","overline":"","title":"<h3>\u2018Amazing free kick!\u2019<\/h3>","content":"<strong>October 12, 2024. It\u2019s all square in the 78th minute of a men\u2019s soccer match at Fauver Stadium between URochester and Carnegie Mellon. A foul by the Tartans gives the Yellowjackets a direct free kick in a dangerous area. Enter Milos Bisenic \u201927.<\/strong>","cta":"","bg":"#00205b","type":"video","image":"","embed":"","video":709942,"layout":"above","animation":"animation-false"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"","content":"<h3><strong>What is the Magnus effect?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nA bending soccer kick. A slicing golf shot. A tennis ball that sinks as it crosses the net. They\u2019re all the result of the Magnus effect, rooted in Bernoulli\u2019s principle.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhenever the motion of air over an object is slow, the pressure is high,\u201d explains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hajim.rochester.edu\/me\/people\/faculty\/lambropoulos_john\/index.html\">John Lambropoulos<\/a>, a professor in URochester\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/hajim.rochester.edu\/me\/\">Department of Mechanical Engineering<\/a>. \u201cWhen the motion of air around an object is fast, the pressure is low. The difference in pressure creates a force that will make the ball swerve.\u201d\r\n\r\nThat force is the Magnus effect, and spinning is essential to creating it, Lambropoulos emphasizes. The faster a ball spins, the greater the pressure differential and the more it will bend. If a ball is spinning on its vertical axis, it will curve to the left or right. If the spin occurs on the horizontal axis, the ball will sink or rise.\r\n<blockquote>\u201cThis shot is so rare that when it happens, we have to sit back and admire how a human foot can execute the miracle we have just seen.\u201d<\/blockquote>\r\nThe phenomenon is named after the 19th-century German physicist Heinrich Gustav Magnus, the first person to formally study and explain the effect; however, he didn\u2019t discover it. Lambropoulos points out that the effect was observed centuries before Magnus, most notably by English polymath Isaac Newton, who noticed that spinning tennis balls travel along a curved path.\r\n\r\nIn soccer, goals scored using the Magnus effect are special. Lambropoulos says those who catch one while watching the 2026 World Cup should consider themselves lucky. \u201cThis shot is so rare that when it happens, we have to sit back and admire how a human foot can execute the miracle we have just seen.\u201d\r\n<h3><strong>Curl it like Carlos<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nGiven how the Magnus effect got its name, it\u2019s fitting that the player most associated with the Magnus effect wasn\u2019t necessarily its first or even greatest master.\r\n\r\nFormer English soccer star David Beckham is widely considered one of the greatest dead-ball specialists of all time. He likely cemented that reputation in 2001 with a goal scored on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Fo5y3Ydyhtc\">a 30-yard, curling free kick<\/a> to secure England\u2019s spot in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Yet, there are many footballers before, during, and after Beckham\u2019s career who are equally, if not more, adept at the skill. The list of elites includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zhY9bpLTZGg\">Roberto Carlos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=GNiMxYb2oTA\">Ronaldinho<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/packaged-media.redd.it\/5cennizwsm8h1\/pb\/m2-res_1080p.mp4?m=DASHPlaylist.mpd&amp;var=sgpssan&amp;v=1&amp;e=1782352800&amp;s=06dfec29b4fd5389b2cf515784462a1b5102de71\">Lionel Messi<\/a>, and the undisputed king, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VDxgYl6ZQiE\">Juninho Pernambucano<\/a>, who netted 77 free kicks.\r\n\r\nThe reason Beckham became synonymous with bending kicks is largely the 2002 soccer-based dramedy <em>Bend It Like Beckham<\/em>. He\u2019s wholly worthy of the association, but it\u2019s worth considering that a different free-kick specialist might have been immortalized in this way had a different screenwriter produced a similar script at a different time.\r\n\r\nLambropoulos, who has been involved with soccer for more than 55 years as a player, coach, and referee at many levels, confirms that one thing about bending a kick can be said with certainty: It\u2019s <em>hard<\/em>.\u00a0\u201cAlthough we understand the physics of how this actually happens,\u201d he says, \u201cexecuting it to perfection requires a huge amount of practice over weeks, months, and years.\u201d","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"","title":"","content":"<h3><strong>How to curve a soccer ball, step by step<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-709902 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/how-to-curve-soccer-ball-Curvedkick-slomo-v2-2.gif\" alt=\"GIF of a URochester student showing how to curve a soccer ball.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/>Want to try bending a kick? Here\u2019s how to make a ball curve to the right or left (depending on your kicking foot):\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li><strong>Target.<\/strong> Determine where you want the ball to end up.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Get set.<\/strong> Line up so the ball is at a roughly 45-degree angle from your kicking foot.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Approach.<\/strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Set your non-kicking foot beside the ball, pointing wide of the target.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Lean in the opposite direction you\u2019re kicking (to hit lower on the ball and give the kick height.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Strike.<\/strong>\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>Aim just below the center of the ball<\/li>\r\n \t<li>With a swinging motion, hit it with the inside of your foot around the knuckle of your big toe.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Point your toes up to maximize side spin.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<strong>Bisenic offers a fifth step: Don\u2019t overthink it.<\/strong> When taking a free kick, his mental checklist amounts to checking the goalkeeper\u2019s position, picking his target, and taking two deep breaths. \u201cThinking about the details can be a problem in those situations,\u201d he says, \u201cso I just try to make myself feel like I'm in practice.\u201d","background_color":"#f4f4f4","width":"width-medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","anchor":"","css_class":"pt-10","title":"","content":"<h3><strong>Magnus to Mbapp\u00e9\u2026 Mbapp\u00e9 scores!<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nThe Magnus effect has assisted several goals in the current World Cup. USA\u2019s Gio Reyna <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZgrF6kPik3\/\">used the outside of his foot<\/a>, known as a \u201ctrivela,\u201d to score against Paraguay in the group stage, and Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SoQCKUDfpvo\">curled a shot around Sweden\u2019s goalkeeper<\/a> to help send France to the Round of 16.\r\n\r\nBeing able to curl a kick is one thing; doing it on demand is something else. Johnny Makula \u201928, a forward on the URochester soccer team, has been honing the skill for years and still finds it difficult to replicate the shot.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn my mind, I know exactly what I want to do,\u201d Makula says. \u201cBut even being slightly off with foot placement or where I strike the ball can make the biggest difference in the ball's trajectory. A tiny mistake leading up to the point of contact and where that contact takes place can turn\u00a0the perfect curl into a straight shot or send it wide.\u201d\r\n\r\nMakula says professionals can make it look effortless. \u201cI know people appreciate that these are great goals,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I feel that unless you\u2019ve spent time trying to hit that kind of shot yourself, it\u2019s hard to fully appreciate how difficult it really is.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_709652\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"2000\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-709652\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fea-what-is-magnus-effect-definition-how-to-curve-soccer-ball-2026-06-11_Johnny_Makula_soccer_composite2.jpg\" alt=\"URochester men's soccer team player Johnny Makula curves a soccer ball during a kick to demonstrate the Magnus effect.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1200\" \/> <strong>LEARNING CURVE:<\/strong> Men\u2019s soccer player Johnny Makula curves a soccer ball. Bending a kick \u201crequires a huge amount of practice over weeks, months, and years,\u201d notes Lambropoulos. (URochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)[\/caption]\r\n<h3><strong>C\u2019est le football<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nCertainly, no one appreciates\u2014and despises\u2014a bending or dipping kick like a goalkeeper. After many \u201cmagic\u201d goals, the keeper can be seen looking resigned and forlorn because it was only seconds earlier that they were in textbook position, with defenders in front of them, between the ball and the goal.\r\n\r\nThat\u2019s tough to swallow.\r\n\r\nURochester goalkeeper Salvador Casta\u00f1eda \u201928 focuses on what he can control: being in the right position, staying ready, and minimizing mistakes, noting that \u201cconsistency is what makes a goalkeeper great.\u201d\r\n\r\nElite goalkeepers, like Spain\u2019s Iker Casillas or Germany\u2019s Manuel Neuer, master the fundamentals <em>and <\/em>have some innate, superhuman talent that enables them to make jaw-dropping saves.\r\n\r\nCasta\u00f1eda takes solace in knowing a perfectly placed, bending kick is almost unstoppable for any goalkeeper. \u201cIf it\u2019s a great goal, I know there\u2019s nothing else I could have done.\u201d","background_color":"#ffffff","width":"width-medium"}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Magnus effect: The science that allows soccer players to \u2018bend it like Beckham\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to know how to curl a soccer ball? 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