Club football has barely restarted after the World Cup and summer break, yet we may already have witnessed the assist of the season. In a largely empty stadium during a match in the Russian second tier, 29-year-old centre-back Nader Mohammadi produced a move that wouldn't look out of place in a gymnastics competition.

In just his second appearance for his new club, the Iranian defender — known back home for his somersault throw-ins — set up a team-mate on Sunday with his speciality move in Spartak Kostroma's clash against SKA-Khabarovsk.

A rare skill with a rich history

Front-flip throw-ins are not new, but they are rarely seen — and even less frequently lead to goals. Voga Wallace, a soccer player at the University of Virginia, was one of the first proponents in 1982. In English football, Newcastle United's Steve Watson used the technique in the early 1990s, while Estonia's Risto Kallaste took it to the international stage.

While the flip provides greater momentum to fling the ball further, it is a high-risk, high-reward manoeuvre — great when it works, but slightly embarrassing when it doesn't. Cue Iran's Milad Mohammadi, who did the roll but didn't release the ball in added time during a 1-0 loss to Spain in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup.

But Nader Mohammadi has shown it can still be an effective skill. He even scored from one of his throw-ins in the Iran top tier in 2020 when a goalkeeper tipped the ball into his own net.

How the flip works

Mohammadi spent his entire career in Iran's top division, the Persian Gulf Pro League, before moving to second-tier Russian team Spartak Kostroma in July. On Sunday, Spartak — third after five games — played bottom-of-the-league SKA-Khabarovsk. Mohammadi came off the bench in the 67th minute with his team 2-1 up after coming back from going a goal behind.

When the ball goes out for a throw-in, the defender takes the ball and backs up as far as possible. He puts his right leg forward and falls onto the ball head-first, using it to spring back up as his head narrowly avoids contact with the ground. After he's flipped, he swings the ball from behind his head and releases it when his arms straighten, using the momentum of the flip.

Was it legal?

It does appear that, when he lands, one of his feet is close to being over the touchline and entering the field of play. For a throw-in to be legal, each foot should be on the ground either on the touchline or behind it when the ball is released — so, if the officials had taken a closer look, it could have been ruled out. Lucky for Mohammadi, there is no use of VAR in the Russian second tier.

The finish

The ball flies about 40 yards (36 metres) into the opposition's box. Mohammadi's jersey ends up over his head, adding a comical touch, but the effectiveness was no laughing matter for the SKA defenders as Sergey Bugriev was left with a free header and glanced it past the keeper to extend Spartak's lead to 3-1 in the 83rd minute.

The SKA defenders don't cover themselves in glory. They outnumbered the attackers two to one in their box, but their non-existent marking meant Bugriev was first to the ball.

Front-flip throw-ins have been, and still are, probably too risky to be used more routinely, even with the recent rise in set-piece importance. But Mohammadi can consider himself an expert in what is one of football's hardest skills.