Free kick practice at the training ground of Real Madrid, the reigning Champions League and LaLiga champions, and Luka Modric is standing over the ball.
He takes three short steps before striking the ball right-footed. The five-man wall jumps to meet the delivery but it curls high, up and over their heads and into the net.
But wait a minute. That’s no ordinary defensive wall. It isn’t made up of real players, for a start, despite their humanoid form — sculpted torsos bearing this season’s Real Madrid kits — and perfectly-timed upward movement.
This is Madrid’s new robotic free kick wall, which caused quite a stir when the club posted a video showing off their fancy new gadget on social media last week.
