Look, Henry, no hands: football freestyler breaks another record

Tim Brooks

• Last Updated: November 21. 2009 10:39PM UAE / November 21. 2009 6:39PM GMT

DUBAI // Perhaps Thierry Henry could learn a thing or two from Dan Magness.

Magness holds a world record for playing keepie-uppie keeping a football in the air by just about any means except one’s hands for 24 straight hours.

Yesterday, he broke his own record for keeping a ball aloft using just one’s shoulders, completing 515 consecutive touches during an exhibition at the Beach Soccer World Cup fan zone.

Either skill might have benefited Henry, of course. The French footballer drew international scorn last week for his handball in the closing moments of a World Cup qualifying match against Ireland.

Magness, a professional “freestyler” from the UK, has been entertaining fans at Jumeirah Beach’s Umm Seqium stadium complex since Wednesday.

He challenged his record for shoulder touches recognised by Guinness World Records yesterday after a two-hour wait for the wind to ease off.

He broke the record easily, more than doubling his old mark of 251 touches.

“I really didn’t know if it was going to happen, but I’m glad it’s over,” he said.

The 26-year-old, who has trained football stars such as Lionel Messi, an Argentine footballer who plays for La Liga’s Barcelona, for stunts in television commercials, said freestyle was becoming increasingly popular.

He taught some of his skills to children in several Dubai schools throughout the week.

In May, he kept a ball in the air for 24 hours while standing on public display in a glass box at the Covent Garden Market in London. He said the record was not so much a test of skill as endurance, and putting up with passers-by making faces at him. “The main challenge was boredom,” he said. “To maintain concentration for that amount of time was very difficult.

“Most people were stopping to encourage me but some tried to put me off. One mistake and that would have been it. The pressure was on.”

Magness’s final performance in Dubai will be tomorrow evening.

tbrooks@thenational.ae