Boffins say they have finally explained the science behind Roberto Carlos' amazing free kick goal against France in 1997.
The goal scored by the Brazilian in the Tournoi de France is widely regarded as one of football's best ever free-kicks.
Some commentators joked it "defied physics" and keeper Fabian Barthez was embarrassingly left standing still and red-faced by the strike.
But while some thought it was a fluke, physicists have now computed the trajectory equation and shown that Carlos' goal was all skill… and science, obviously.
They claim any ball kicked hard enough, with the right spin and from far enough away will follow the 'spinning ball spiral' -- so prepare to see lots of dodgy long range attempts this weekend.
As Christophe Clanet and David Quéré, researchers from École Polytechnique, write, "When shot from a large enough distance, and with enough power to keep an appreciable velocity as approaching the goal, the ball can have an unexpected trajectory.
"Carlos' kick started with a classical circular trajectory but suddenly bent in a spectacular way and came back to the goal, although it looked out of the target a small moment earlier.
"People often noticed that Carlos' free kick had been shot from a remarkably long distance; we show in our paper that this is not a coincidence, but a necessary condition for generating a spiral trajectory."
Using tiny plastic (polypropylene and polyacetal) balls and a slingshot, the researchers varied the velocity and spin of balls travelling through water to trace different trajectories.
The friction exerted on a ball by its surrounding atmosphere slows it down enough for the spin to take on a greater role in directing the ball's trajectory, thereby allowing the last moment change in direction, which in the case of Carlos' kick left Barthez defenceless.