The Rabona is arguably one of football's most unnecessary but most skillful tricks to learn. Striking the ball by wrapping your kicking leg around the back of your standing leg, so your feet cross in mid-air. As a cross, it's showmanship, used by some of the game's most flashy players. As a shot, it's a gamble with an enormous downside. Miss, and you might end up in a highlight reel across the internet.

The name comes from Argentina; the move is generally traced to Ricardo Infante, who pulled one off in a 1948 game between Estudiantes and Rosario Central. The magazine El Gráfico then ran an image of him dressed as a schoolboy, and the text "hacerse la rabona" is Spanish slang for skipping class. The name stuck, and so did the skill.

Plenty have been scored, although very few are worth remembering. We've ranked the best on technical difficulty, the occasion, the sheer audacity, and how long people kept talking about them afterwards.

8 Diego Perotti: Roma vs Viktoria Plzen (2016)

Roma 4-1 Viktoria Plzen, UEFA Europa League group stage, November 2016.

Perroti takes eighth for the best accident in rabona history. Collecting the ball in his box at a tight angle in the 82nd minute, the Argentine wrapped his leg around his standing foot and lobbed the goalkeeper. He admitted afterwards he had meant to cross. Intent aside, however, it was a beautiful finish, and it eclipsed Edin Dzeko's hat-trick that night.

7 Carlos Bacca: AC Milan vs Carpi (2016)

AC Milan 2-1 Carpi, Coppa Italia quarter-final, January 2016

Bacca had already done the hard part, latching onto Keisuke Honda's pass; he rounded the goalkeeper with an open net in front of him in the 14th minute, then decided a normal finish wasn't enough and Rabona'd it anyway. Pure showboating, delightfully executed. The goal helped Milan book a place in the Coppa Italia semi-final, and they went on to reach the final.

6 Mario Balotelli: Adana Demirspor vs Goztepe (2022)

Adana Demirspor 7-0 vs Goztepe, Super Lig, May 2022

Of course, Balotelli would feature on a list like this, a player who always liked to pull off moments of flair. On the final day of the Süper Lig season, already on four goals, he danced through seven step-overs, leaving defenders in knots, before sweeping a right-footed rabona across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. It was his fifth of the afternoon, a first for an Adana Demirspor player in the top flight.

5 Jaden Philogene: Rotherham vs Hull City (2024)

Rotherham 1-2 Hull City, EFL Championship, February 2024

Philogene nutmegged Ollie Rathbone, then clipped a rabona towards the top corner in the 70th minute. It took a slight deflection on the way in, so it was first recorded as an own goal. Hull boss at the time, Liam Rosenior, argued that the winger deserved the credit, and the goal was later awarded to him.

4 Jonathan Calleri: Boca Juniors vs Quilmes (2015)

Boca Juniors 2-1 Quilmes, Argentine Primera Division, July 2015

It was meant to be Carlos Tevez's night. His return to Boca after 11 years away, Calleri stole the limelight when his first effort was blocked and the rebound fell to his weaker foot; he wrapped his right leg behind his left and chipped goalkeeper Walter Benitez. He later explained he doesn't have a left foot, so the rabona, arguably the greatest rabona goal in history, was the only option. The Bombonera went wild.

3 Driss El Jabli: MAS Fes vs Wydad Casablanca (2026)

MAS Fes 1-0 Wydad Casablanca, April 2026

The newest entry, and already a viral sensation, with the game heading for a draw, El Jabli took a pass at the edge of the box and wrapped his leg round to send a rabona into the top corner in the 80th minute. It had real pace, not just flair. Media outlets were quick to tip it as a Puskas contender.

2 Erik Lamela: Tottenham vs Asteras Tripolis (2014)

Tottenham 5-1 Asteras Tripolis, UEFA Europa League, October 2014

The goal that made the rabona an overnight buzzword in English football. Around the half-hour mark, Lamela struck from the edge of the area with his left foot wrapped behind his right, sending a 20-yard shot into the top corner. Jan Vertonghen's hands-on-head reaction became the image of the night. It was named the Europa League goal of the season, and Mauricio Pochettino said it might be the best he'd seen from one of his players.

1 Erik Lamela: Arsenal vs Tottenham (2021)

Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham, Premier League, March 2021

Two entries on the list, and both take the top two spots. Lamela only came on because Heung-min Son went off injured; then in the 33rd minute of the North London Derby, he swung his left foot round his standing leg and threaded a low shot through Thomas Partey's legs and past Bernd Leno. It won the Premier League goal of the season and then the Puskas Award. Lamela was sent off, and Spurs lost, but the goal remains the most memorable moment from that game.