Wayne Rooney, it turns out, is pretty great at soccer. Tonight for D.C. United, he produced more wizardry, beating Toronto FC’s wall, goalkeeper Alex Bono, and the forces of physics and gravity to give United a 1-0 lead direct from a free kick. You’ve probably already watched the video above (mobile users, click here), but go ahead and watch it again. We can pick this up when you’re done.
OK then. Here’s how we got to this nearly 40-yard piece of magic: Zoltan Stieber was brought down by Michael Bradley just beyond the midfield circle in TFC’s half. Stieber, who possesses a cannon of a left foot, dusted himself off and joined Rooney in standing over the ball, but there was no mystery as to who was going to strike. Rooney curled the ball over the TFC wall and briefly outside of the post before the ball bent in, going past the despairing leap of Bono, who was at full stretch.
The strike was Rooney’s second direct from a free kick, with the first coming against the Portland Timbers back on August 15th. It’s also his 10th goal since joining United on a multi-million dollar summer transfer. The Manchester United, Everton, and England legend also has 7 assists in his 18 appearances thus far, more than justifying D.C.’s choice to shatter their all-time transfer fee record.