Mastering PES 2008 Game Guide – The indirect (layoff) free kicks

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Introduction

Sometimes you become desperate when your PES08 opponent is defending well and you can’t penetrate into the penalty area. Often he fouls you 20-25 meters away from goal – just to stop your attack flow. Top teams have good free kick takers – such as Beckham or a Pirlo to take the free kicks from a dead ball situation. But what if you don’t have such a player – or maybe the opposition has figured out a way to stop them - What do you do here? You could perform the layoff shot – taking your opposition completely by surprise.

Performing a Layoff

You should have two good – but not necessarily the best - free kick takers on top of the ball. This would give the impression to the opposition that one of them will be shooting the dead ball straight from the position. Have one player position a bit far away from the ball, maybe 5-10 meters laterally. This guy should be the strong free kick taker.

Now, you have set the position to employ an indirect free kick. On your PC, you could do this by pressing the left arrow key. Get the player who was supposed to take the free kick running from a distance before taking the free kick. This would give the impression to the opposition that Player 1 would be taking the free kick. As you close in on the ball, press the Pass key – and deliver the ball to the expert free kick taker.

Shoot!

You have successfully sold a dummy to most opposition teams. As you run in to shoot the ball, the opposition would be ready to jump to save the ball from going on to the net. In passing the ball to the relatively unmarked expert free-kick taker, you present him with a golden scoring opportunity. Scoring free-kicks using this strategy has proven to be highly successful, both in real life and in PES.

The only thing you got to ensure is the power of the pass. Press the UP key until the power reaches a maximum of 20-25%. With this power, pass the ball to the expert free kick player, and he would do the rest. But remember not to take your shot power too high – the kick will go above the bar and into the stands.

Summary

This summarizes the free kick taking options. Either direct or indirect – be sure you master them both and take full advantage of your opponent’s fouls near the penalty area. Both these procedures have proved to be potent enough for scoring goals.

This post is part of the series: PES 2008 - Practical tips and hints

If you are a fan of Pro Evolution Soccer - or just a beginner in the PES 2008 version - in this series you will find interesting and useful tips to improve your scoring record in the PES08 game. Read and enjoy!

  1. PES 2008 Practical Tips – Crossing
  2. PES 2008 Practical Tips – Heading the Ball
  3. PES 2008 Practical Tips - Overpowering Opponent Players
  4. PES 2008 Practical Tips – The Long Range Shot
  5. PES 2008 Tactical Tips – Stopping the Header
  6. PES 2008 Practical Tips – Penalty kicks
  7. PES 2008 Practical Tips - Free kicks – Part I
  8. PES 2008 Practical Tips – Free kicks – Part II - Layoff free kicks