Ricardo - La Trivela

The secret weapon for the Champions League, which in the end actually went on to win the Champions League. At the turn of the millennium, there was a wave of players associated with a single signature trick on the pitch. In South America in particular, there was an entire tradition of players with a secret move, as if they were special moves unlocked on the PlayStation. There was Andrés D'Alessandro, with the Boba, a particular feint with which he would wrong-foot defenders from a standing start. There was Kerlon, who was also seen around these parts, nicknamed Foquinha because he would stick the ball to his forehead before setting off on a run. Inevitably, some thug would soon come along and earn himself a yellow card for bringing him down.

There was Mexican player Cuauhtémoc Blanco, whose signature move was the frog jump: an extraordinarily improbable leap with the ball held between both ankles. And then there was the trivela, a technique using the outside of the foot while imparting a particular trajectory to the ball, as if it had been struck with the inside of the opposite foot. And the trivela was Ricardo Quaresma.