David Beckham's sensational goals are the culmination of "very sophisticated physics calculations", researchers said. Scientists at the University of Sheffield uncovered the complex forces involved after analysing the England captain's goal against Greece in the World Cup qualifiers.

It is hoped the findings will enable soccer stars of the future to learn how to "bend it like Beckham" and to reproduce "the optimum free kick".

Dr Matt Carre, of the university's sports engineering research group, described how his team developed wind-tunnel experiments to analyse Beckham's ability to make the ball bend, swerve and dip in his goal against Greece.

He added: "We know that the shot left his foot at 80mph from 27 metres out, moved laterally over two metres during its flight due to the amount of spin applied and during the last half of its flight suddenly slowed to 42mph, dipping into the top corner of the goal.

"The sudden deceleration happens at the moment when the airflow pattern around the ball changes (from turbulent to laminar mode), increasing drag by more than 100 per cent.

"This crucial airflow transition is affected both by the velocity and spinning rate of the ball and by its surface seam pattern. So, working from instinct and practice, Beckham was instinctively applying some very sophisticated physics calculations in scoring that great goal."

Other studies on airflow patterns and ball spin were carried out by project partners Fluent Benelux in Belgium and the Yamagata University in Japan, using computer simulations and high-speed video analysis.

Dr Keith Hanna, a UK spokesman for Fluent Benelux, said: "I believe that it would now be possible to design an optimum free kick for any given point outside the penalty area, and to train young players to reproduce these optimum kicks. There's exciting work ahead."

The scientists hope the findings will also be used to fine-tune the aerodynamics of soccer balls and to design boots that impart spin to the ball more effectively.