I disagree that the goalie was "not properly positioned".
He was properly positioned for the things that were most likely to develop from that play:
1. Pass the ball to the player running to the corner
2. Cross to the player with the had raised in front of the goal
3. Keep the ball and drible.
4. Shot to the near post.
5. Pass the ball back
...
From that positon maybe 1 in 1000 players will take a shot on goal, and out of those 1 in 10000 will have the perfect speed, trajectory and placement (far upper corner!!) that Hagi's shot had.
For that shot to be saved the goalie should have been positioned in a pretty bad place, one in which he would be scored a lot more often.

I believe that less than 10% of the professional players have (or can ever achieve) the technical ability to actually execute that shot. They know that, and they won't even try it. The goalies know that and will not position for that shot. The coaches know that and will not coach it.

I think that what makes a player great, is trying things that nobody would think of, and sometimes, not always, succed.

PS I watched Hagi playing live many times, and I was always shocked by the incredible speed of his left foot shot, and he also did that without a perceivable swing back.

>England was knocked out of a recent World Cup (2002?) in a game in which their keeper made a similar mistake. He strayed too far out from the goal and an attacker arced the ball over his head from 30-40 meters out. As you say, the shot in this video was a very nice play that would not have been possible if the keeper had been properly positioned.
>
>
>>I understand perfectly.
>>Well in this case he noticed goalkeeper on a 'wrong leg' and
>>made sudden shot at goal and he scorred. But he did while running
>>with great precision. This was not free kick where more less everybody
>>can hit within goalpost. So first he managed to score within goalpost
>>suddenly from full run and shot was purposely arched (parabolic?) in order to overpass goalkeeper.
>>If goalkeeper was correcty set, he would hv of course saved this one easily
>>but he was not, while Hagy spotted that and striked right type of a shot.
>>
>>Not meny soccer players can do this.
>>
>>
>>>Like I said to Sylvain, I don't mean to belittle soccer or take anything away from the game. I just don't yet really understand the nuances. I've seen clips of players doing what I consider some amazing things with the ball that ended in goals, and I can see calling those cases great. But this goal, I just don't know what makes it great. He didn't do much of anything except kick it at the goal. At that distance, I'd have thought the goalie should have been able to get to it, but like I said, it's the subtleties of the game that appear to be escaping my understanding.
>>>
>>>Any hockey player should be able to hit the goal from anywhere in the ice, just as I would think a soccer player should be able to hit the goal from any reasonable distance.
>>>
>>>>>>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVMdkhn0NHo
>>>>>>
>>>>>>probably one of the finest of the tournament.
>>>>>
>>>>>Somebody has got to explain this stuff to me. I did not grow up with soccer, so when I see something like this, I'm unsure what makes it great. He kicked it a fairly long way, but in the final analysis, all he did was take a pass and kick it at the goal. It went in.
>>>>>
>>>>>I compare this to hockey where a player shoots the puck from the blue line and it goes into the goal. I don't see that as anything particularly terrific, so I'm really not sure what makes this sort of goal in soccer different.
>>>>
>>>>Well if you did you would know :)
>>>>
>>>>It is the same relation as me watching american footbal and looking
>>>>at guy running along the line with ball in his hands, and then putting it to the ground. What is so nice about that ??
>>>>
>>>>Probably If I watched it all my life and played in high school it would be
>>>>something to appreciate. In Europe we play, watch and admire this.
>>>>
>>>>Soccer aldough can be violent, it require much more technique with the ball,
>>>>ability to kick the ball corectly , speed, coordination of the body then physical power required for US football.
>>>>In Europe we prefer soccer.
>>>>
>>>>To each his own :)

gVMdkhn0NHo