A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.

A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team when a player commits a penalty foul, for example, pushing or tripping an opponent. However, if the offence was committed by the defending team within their own penalty area, the kick becomes a penalty kick.

The kick is taken from where the foul occurred, unless that was within the fouled team's goal area, in which case it may be taken from anywhere within the goal area. The ball must be stationary prior to being kicked. Opponents must remain 9.15 metres (10 yards) from the ball (and also outside of the penalty area if the kick is taken from within the defending team's penalty area) until the ball is in play. Observing the minimum distance limit, the opposite players may choose to form a "wall" between the ball and the goal.

Giles Gordon K. Barnes (born 5 August 1988) is an English professional footballer, who plays as a midfielder. He is most notable for his spell at Derby County, where he won the club's Young Player of the Year award in 2007 and was Championship Player of the Month in March 2007. He has played for England at Under 19 level. He plays as an attacking midfielder and can also play as a winger.

Barnes' professional career began on his 17th birthday when he signed a professional contract with Derby County after being a trainee. He made his first team debut under Phil Brown aged 17 as an 84th-minute substitute for Paul Peschisolido in a 1–0 defeat at home to Grimsby Town in the 2005–06 League Cup, with his league debut coming in a 1–1 draw away to Crewe two weeks later as a 73rd minute replacement for Marcus Tudgay. Barnes intermittently made first team appearances as Derby struggled but began to command a regular place when Phil Brown was replaced by Derby's academy manager Terry Westley in January 2006. Westley was familiar with Barnes from his time as a youngster at Derby and made him an integral part of the side as Derby managed to avoid relegation to Football League One. Barnes played a role in 16 matches under Westley, with his first start coming in Westley's first game in charge (a narrow 1–0 home defeat to Sheffield United) and his first professional goal coming in a 2–2 draw away to Watford.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro,OIH, (born 5 February 1985), commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo became the most expensive footballer in history after moving from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth £80 million (€93.9 million/$131.6 million). In addition, his contract with Real Madrid, in which he is paid €12 million per year, makes him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world, and his buyout clause is valued at €1 billion as per his contract.

Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal. Ronaldo's precocious talent caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.24 million (€15 million) in 2003. The following season, Ronaldo won his first club honour, the FA Cup. He also played at Euro 2004 with Portugal and scored his first international goal in the opening game of the tournament against Greece, in addition to helping Portugal reach the final. He was featured in the UEFA Euro All-Star Team of this competition.

Mario Basler (born 18 December 1968 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße) is a German former football winger and current manager.

In the Bundesliga, Basler played for the 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, after having played for Hertha BSC and Rot-Weiss Essen in the 2. Bundesliga beforehand.

He won the national championship with Bayern Munich in 1997 and 1999.

Basler was top-scorer of the Bundesliga in 1995 and was a squad-member of the Euro 1996 winning German National Team (Basler's shirt number was 13), but because of an injury he didn't take part in the final tournament in England. He scored twice in 30 appearances for Germany. He also scored the opening goal for Bayern Munich in their 1999 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester United at Camp Nou, Barcelona. It was a well taken free-kick in the 6th minute of the game. Bayern went on to lose the match 2–1 after Manchester United made a dramatic recovery late on in the game.

A dead-ball specialist, Basler scored numerous goals from free-kicks and two direct from corner kicks during his career, called Olympic goals.

Richard Jata (born September 21, 1985 in Dunedin, Florida) is an American soccer player.

Jata began his college career at Furman University, where he led the team in points. After one season with Furman he transferred to Campbell University. During his time at Campbell, he was a three-time All-South region midfielder, had 12 game-winning goals, was a three-time All-Atlantic Sun Conference First Team selection (2006, 2007, 2008), and amassed 71 points (28 goals, 15 assists) in 3 seasons. In Jata's senior year at Campbell he led the team to a 14-6 record, including an undefeated record in A-Sun conference play. He also achieved numerous individual awards, including being named the 2008 Athlete of the Year, the 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year, a 2008 NSCAA All-American Second Team selection, and a 3-time NCCSIA All-State team selection from 2006-2008. He finished his college career with 32 goals and 18 assists.

During his college career, Jata played with USL Premier Development League club Carolina Dynamo during their 2007 and 2008 seasons.