Rooney Bicycles His Way Into History:

With 12 minutes to go in Saturday's Manchester Derby between United and City, tied at 1-1, Nani crosses the ball into the penalty area. Wayne Rooney turns his back toward the goal, launches his body into mid-air, twists it so that it's parallel to the ground and unleashes a fierce right-footed overhead kick, which rockets into the back of the net. Mr. Rooney was practically upside down when he hit it.
The overhead kick is perhaps the most iconic image on the soccer pitch. When done properly, as in Mr. Rooney's case, it's a feat of precision, coordination, athleticism and power. And, like many things of beauty, we're not 100% sure of its genesis. Many soccer historians credit a Chilean named Ramón Unzaga for first unveiling it in 1914, which is why it is also known as a "Chilena." Folks in neighboring Peru also claim its paternity, telling tales of a dockworker in the port of Callao first pulling it off in an impromptu match against British sailors around the same time. (Nobel Prize laureate Mario Vargas Llosa is among the most noted proponents of this theory.)
While these may be the fathers of the overhead kick, it was the Brazilian Leonidas, in the 1930s, and, a decade later, the Italian defender Carlo Parola who truly popularized it and supplied the feat with its common nickname: bicycle kick. (Unlike the others, Mr. Parola routinely used it as a means of defending.) And it was none other than Pelé who became so identified with the move that some call it a "Pelé kick." Not coincidentally, when Pelé starred in the 1981 film "Victory," director John Huston had him score the decisive goal with an overhead kick.
That brings us back to Mr. Rooney. If context makes such athletic highlights more memorable, he picked the right day. His goal gave United a 2-1 victory, cementing it at the top of the Premier League table and effectively knocking crosstown rival City out of the title race. Mr. Rooney had been lackluster until then, just as he has been unimpressive all season long. It was only his sixth goal of the campaign—last year he had 33—and he's on pace for his worst scoring season since joining United as a teenager in 2004. Breaking the slump in such an emphatic way only made it sweeter.
The goal instantly prompted debate. Where does it rank among the all-time greats? Was it really as difficult as it appeared? The answer to the first question is, of course, purely subjective. But the second raises an interesting issue. If we're discussing difficulty of execution, then the ability to replicate the action is critical. Otherwise, it's the equivalent of a middle-aged accountant making a half-court shot between quarters in an NBA game: It's nice, maybe even spectacular, but more indicative of luck than skill.
"You practice it in training and nine times out of 10, the ball can go anywhere," Mr. Rooney said after the match. "This time I hit it sweetly, and it went into the top corner."