22 Greatest Moments in Soccer Showboating History

In order to appreciate showboating, you really ought to know the history about the visionaries who first came up with the skill in the first place.

Since that would be a long history lesson for some, I decided to make things a little easier.

Here we'll see 22 of the finest bits of showboating that the football world has ever seen.

Some are the original architects at work, some are old moves with a new twist and some are just outright ridiculous pieces of eccentricity.

Whether you love or loathe showboaters, you cannot deny their entertainment value.

If you consider all the true greats of the game, they've all had a bit of extra ability in some department that set them aside from the rest of the pack.

Perhaps this montage will allow you to see something you never thought possible.

I hope you enjoy.

Cuauhtemiña

The "Cuauhtemiña" or "Blanco" trick was named after its creator, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, who is considered one of the best players to ever come out of Mexico.

Blanco first unveiled his bit of trickery on the grandest stage of them all in the 1998 World Cup.

Watch the video above and enjoy it again and again.

Blanco still plays for club Dorados de Sinaloa.

Cruyff Turn

Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff was the innovator behind the "Cruyff turn."

Like Blanco in the slide prior, this trick is relatively easy to perform and can be very effective.

Johan has long since retired but remains one of the true greats to ever the game of football.

The Elastico/Flip Flap

Invented by Brazilian footballer Roberto Rivelino, the "Elastico" (or "Flip Flap" as some call it) has been mastered by Ronaldinho over recent years.

This video shows Ronaldinho using it to great effect and ends with a reverse Elastico, which is just mind-boggling.

Want to learn it? Better get practicing!

Step Over

People who think Cristiano Ronaldo was the architect behind this move obviously have never seen the Ronaldo play.

Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima—to give him his full title—had the "step over" down to a fine art and remains the top World Cup goal scorer of all time with 14 goals.

He was a true legend in his day who has slightly piled on a few pounds since retiring.

Marseille Roulette/Marseille Turn/360

Argue all you like about what it's called, but it's irrelevant.

The move is amazing when done correctly at speed and is most notorious for being the speciality of Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane.

Since the former was responsible for cheating my beloved England out of a World Cup via the "Hand of God," I shall be declaring Zidane the master of the "Marseille Roulette."

Ronaldo Chop/Inside Chop/Heel Chop

I don't know who invented or first used the "heel chop," but Cristiano Ronaldo has certainly been its main user over the past half decade.

The Real Madrid maestro has tremendous balance—when he wants—and has this skill down to a fine art.

Bicycle Kick/Overhead Kick

I'm giving this one to the great Pele, because he even did it in the movie Escape to Victory with Sly Stallone.

In fact, let's use that footage for added drama.

There's an age-old dispute for who actually invented the move, but who cares really.

It's just amazing to watch a "bicycle kick" when executed perfectly.

Some Sort of 360

I don't know what this is called, but it is absolute genius from Dennis Bergkamp and one of my favorite goals of all time.

Some people questioned whether he meant to do this move, but the mere fact it's Dennis Bergkamp should answer that question.

The only time I've seen it close to being replicated was by Tuncay Sanli against Liverpool.

Guess what slide is next!

Tuncay Turn

So here we go—an amazing bit of skill from Tuncay that left Jamie Carragher for dead.

Tuncay never really got the appreciation he deserved for this move because he didn't score.

Imagine if he had!

Ronaldinho

Back to bicycle kicks, and here is Ronaldinho doing his best Pele impression.

The beauty of this goal is the fluid motion of chest control, turn and overhead strike that seems to be all one action.

I don't know what the commentator is saying, but he knows he's just seen something extra special.

Backheel Penalty

Yes, you are reading the title correctly—a "backheel penalty."

This effort is the first, last and only time I have ever seen anybody attempt to do this in an actual game situation.

What's more astonishing is the fact that it even worked.

I mean...how could you not save that?

Neymar

Some of the best showboating is usually done on a whim.

Neymar seems to prefer doing it intentionally as he embarrasses this defender with some fancy footwork before leaving him for dead with a burst of pace.

Neymar is the type of guy you'd end up punching on the school playground if he did that to you.

Ronaldo vs. Arsenal

Before moving to Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo used to have just as much fancy footwork when he played in the Premier League.

Arsenal weren't happy with this bit of showboating, so they just decided to kick him. That's one way of stopping him, I suppose.

Blink during this clip, and you'll miss about five "step overs."

Goalkeepers Can Have Some Fun Too

It's not just outfield players who get to showboat on a football pitch.

Rene Higuita was known as an unpredictable player. Well, you only have to look at him to know that.

Goodness knows what his coach would have said if he got this one wrong—thankfully he didn't, and the "Scorpion kick" was born.

Bicycle Kick...Again

This bicycle kick is probably better than Ronaldinho's, seeing as though it's almost 80 minutes into the Manchester Derby and the score was tied 1-1.

Wayne Rooney made this bicycle kick look like it was a walk in the park. Effortless.

The Seal Dribble

Unsurprisingly, it's another Brazilian on this next slide.

Kerlon has become synonymous with something called the "Seal Dribble."

Basically, it's running down the pitch doing little headers until someone kicks you in the chest. At least that's what happens in the video.

Pedalada

"Pedalada."

This is just a fancy word that Robinho likes to call his version of step overs.

Add a couple of defenders, some embarrassed faces and a goal, and it seems to work pretty well for him.

Aurelio

What do you mean you've never heard of the "Aurelio"? Rodrigo Taddei would be ashamed of you! You know...Rodrigo Tadd...oh never mind.

He took the "elastico," reversed it and rebranded it the "Aurelio."

The name sucks, but the move is pretty good.

The Henry

I don't know if Thierry Henry ever came up with a name for this little bit of invention, so we'll just name it the "Henry"!

Pass it with your standing foot while swinging your other foot. Dead easy!

Zlatan

Now this really is one of those moments when it's like you've been whisked back to your childhood and you're watching one of your mates messing about on the local park.

There's a certain arrogance involved when a player beats a defender only to give him another bite of the cherry and beat him again.

Credit where credit is due though. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, we bow our heads.

Backheel Finish

Cristiano Ronaldo is at it again.

It was an impossible angle to finish this opportunity, wasn't it?

Apparently not!

Somehow, the Portuguese winger wrapped his heel round this one and placed it in the far corner of the net.

Pretty impressive!

The Back Pass

I know what you're thinking, but that's not the type of back pass I'm going to show you.

How about controlling a ball with your back, knocking it past the defender and collecting it yourself, all in one fluid motion?

Yep, Ronaldo did that.

Afterthoughts

I have to admit, as I was going through the endless reels of showboating clips, I struggled to decide which was better than the other, or if two players did a trick who should make the finished article.

I've tried to come up with a variety of skills, rather than the millions upon millions of uninspiring step overs that happen each week in some divisions.

There is sublime and ridiculous, all taken care of in this article, so I hope you enjoyed it.

Now an apology.

To all you Lionel Messi fans, I'll get some of him next time.

The thing about Messi is that he is a lot more of an efficient player than a show-off, so his skillful moments have usually been done countless times before in a much more flamboyant way.

At least that's my excuse.

Thanks for taking the time to look at this article and be sure to follow me on twitter where I post all my B/R content.

FA Cup fever getting the better of you? Click here to see my top 10 FA Cup upsets.

P.S. There's a montage of skills on show in the video above; don't forget to give it a look.