Maximilian Arnold’s wonderful free-kick in the frantic finale to the match against 1. FC Köln over the club’s birthday weekend means the VfL captain now holds the record for the most long-distance goals in the Bundesliga. No other player in the league’s history has hit the net more times from outside the box. We take a look at the top five long-range shooting specialists.
5. Hakan Calhanoglu – 18 long-range goals
His Bundesliga career was comparatively short, but Hakan Calhanoglu still managed to leave a lasting impression. After turning pro at Karlsruher SC, he scored a total of 28 goals in 111 Bundesliga appearances for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen. The Turkish international was particularly feared from dead balls: 11 of his goals came from direct free-kicks. It’s therefore no surprise that he’s up there with 18 goals from outside the box.
4. Robert Lewandowski – 19
It’s rare for Robert Lewandowski not to be at the top in a goalscoring category. That’s the case when it comes to his goals from distance – at least compared to his overall tally, as ‘only’ 19 of his 312 Bundesliga goals were scored from outside the penalty area.
2. Marco Reus and Diego –21
Like Calhanoglu (now at Inter Milan) and Lewandowski (Barcelona), Marco Reus (LA Galaxy) and ex-Wolfsburg midfielder Diego (retired) are no longer playing in the Bundesliga. Reus registered 156 goals in his Bundesliga career for Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund, while Diego netted 57 times in 161 games, with over a third of those coming from outside the box. Most memorable of those was his spectacular strike for Werder Bremen against Alemannia Aachen in 2007, when he scored from over 60 metres out.
1. Maximilian Arnold – 22
Arnold had already drawn level with Reus and Diego on Matchday 30 of last season with his thunderbolt from 30 metres at Mainz. From then on, it seemed only a matter of time before the VfL skipper claimed the record for himself. Since the 2019/20 campaign, the 31-year-old has scored at least twice from outside the box in every season. Then, deep into added time in the club’s anniversary match against Köln, he placed the ball for a free-kick just to the left of goal and curled it beautifully into the corner. A moment that sent the sold-out Volkswagen Arena into ecstasy – at least for a few minutes – and finally crowned Arnold as the king of long-distance strikes.
