The scorpion kick, also known as a reverse bicycle kick or back hammer kick, is a physical move in

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

that is achieved by diving or throwing the body forwards and then placing the hands on the ground to lunge the back heels forward to kick an incoming ball. Sports historian Andreas Campomar praises the maneuver as remarkable, noting that it "demonstrated that the spectacle had not died: that the game, in spite of its many flaws, could provide moments of glory that had little to do with just victory or defeat." Although René Higuita is often credited with popularizing the move, the scorpion kick was first performed by Paraguayan forward Arsenio Erico on August 12, 1934, when he scored a goal for Independiente de Avellaneda in a match against

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, in front of 50,000 spectators. Following a cross from Antonio Sastre, Erico attempted a header by diving forward, but as he failed to connect with the ball properly, he resolved the play with an aerial backheel, scoring a goal that surprised the crowd. Initially referred to as the "''balancín''" (translated as 'seesaw' in English), the move was later associated with Higuita after his iconic performance in a 1995

international friendly An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

match between

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and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

. The move gets its name from the player's resemblance to a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

's tail while performing the kick. On top of the regular diving scorpion kick, there are also other variations such as standing scorpion kick and spinning scorpion kick, neither of which necessarily result in the hands being placed on the ground. Swedish forward

Zlatan Ibrahimović Zlatan Ibrahimović (born 3 October 1981) is a Swedish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Ibrahimović is known for his acrobatic strikes and Volley (association footba ...

is a notable exponent for the standing scorpion kick, while the Italian defender Giuseppe Biava is a notable exponent for the spinning scorpion kick.

References

Kick (association football) Association football skills Association football terminology {{soccer-stub