dribbling help

[penguin_007]

does this ever happen to you?

when i do moves, i would move back and forth in front of the defender, ,i would do cryuff turn or change directions, but every time the defender is always in front of me, its like i go left, he goes left, i go right, he goes right...any ideas?

i tend to slow down when i reach a defender, is this right?
also i dont seem to be able to react fast enough, like i am kinda slow to decide on which move to use.

when u do a move, do u think of it before, or does it come natrually?

thanks for all the help.

[Dizzee Wahil]

It sounds like you're thinking too much. When you beat a player with a move, its gotta come naturally. That's why using tricks and step-overs and spins, should only b done occasionally in matches (unless, of course, it just flows so naturally).

You shouldn't be slowing down as you approach a player, thats just wasting all your pace, the pace that you can use to really catch the defender and leave them flat-footed. It's because you are slowing down that they are always able to move left/right as quickly as you. If you have the pace when you move left, you're already past them.


also i dont seem to be able to react fast enough, like i am kinda slow to decide on which move to use, the fact that u r having to decide is bad, just start with moving left or right of the player, thats the best 'move' in soccer.

[Rema]

What dizzee gave ya is good advice so i'll just make my little add on.

If you're doing the move so slow, chances are you aren't good enough at it (on your own or in match situation). Nothing too fancy is really that needed anyways - stepover or a lunge is great. You should keep up your pace though (as mentioned before) and when you do your move, you accelerate away. However, after you've accelerated away, make sure you cut back into the defenders path so they either foul you or have to go around you to get the ball.

Anyways, sometimes you'll always just find a good defender who can keep up with you. Not always, but sometimes.

[SaberWolf]

Well one good move I like to do which isn't really a move, is slow down right when I get near a defender, and as soon as I slow down, then I just blow right by them, I don't know why but if you slow then you just burst speed they are always caught off guard.

[penalty_20]

yeh changes of pace r good but when i do sumthing it comes naturally when u think u mess up when ur coming to them u shouldnt know what move ur gonna do wait till see how ur positioned

[rio_georgio]

the thing is, its a defenders job to be rite infront of you. if they're not standing in ur way, then they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing. its the same thing with ur defenders and the other teams forwards. all you need to do is like what everybody else has been saying. either you make a move (something quick and not so flashy, but its up to you) and go around the guy then run as fast as you can, or you use ur speed and don't even pay attention to the defender, unless he can match you, then you'd be in some trouble.

or...

you can just turn back, pass to ur supporting mids and have them lob it over or pass it through the defenders so you can go run after it. you don't have to go through everybody you see on the field. it may be fun, but its not always possible.

[penguin_007]

hey thanks for all the help buddies :D

today i was going at full speed, it worked wonders !!!
much better than yesterday, but i find that sometimes when i sprint, the ball is a lil ahead of me and gets taken by the defender.

so can i practise dribbling by myself? i usually practise by myself.

thanks agin

[SaberWolf]

Use the outside of your foot when you dribble, yea I just bust out dribbling at full speed and use the outside of my feet, and it stays considerably close.

[Dizzee Wahil]

Use the outside of your foot when you dribble

Very important. The quickest and smartest way to dribble is with the outside of the foot. When you're dribbling, try and keep the ball a bit behind you. Then, at your own discretion, you can put it a bit in front when you want to show it to the defender, hence making them commit to a challenge and then allowing you to skin them, easily by goin left or right.

Watch Ronaldo's best runs, there's one for Barca, he really is great running with the ball

[SaberWolf]

BEHIND YOU? I've never done that, but I do act like I out-ran my dribbling skills (like get infront of the ball) and then when the defender runs around you to get the ball, you just reach behind you and grab it.

[penguin_007]

wow...thanks for all the help guys,
so, just to clarify, when i dribble, i tend to use my right foot most of the time..would dribbling with both feet be easier to beat a defender?

thanks

[SaberWolf]

Both feet? Nah...Its good to know how to dribble with both, but usually I just dribble with both UNTIL I get to a defender then use just my right, and go to the outside so my body is in between him and the ball.

[Dizzee Wahil]

BEHIND YOU? I've never done that, but I do act like I out-ran my dribbling skills (like get infront of the ball) and then when the defender runs around you to get the ball, you just reach behind you and grab it.
NO! Not as a trick! I mean, you should always have the ball on that trailing leg. This is very hard 2 explain, but; say you're dribbling with your right foot, LEFT foot steps forward, RIGHT follows through, pushing the ball along with it, LEFT foot steps forwards, RIGHT follows through.

Comprendes?

Having that ball dragging behind you makes it impossible for ppl to tackle you from the other side, and the idea is that you always dribble with the foot opposite to the defensive player. Watch Ronaldo 98 World Cup :D

[SaberWolf]

Alright I got ya, just basically dragging the ball with you when you run. But how do you do that when you sprint?

[chaingangchicky]

does this ever happen to you?

when i do moves, i would move back and forth in front of the defender, ,i would do cryuff turn or change directions, but every time the defender is always in front of me, its like i go left, he goes left, i go right, he goes right...any ideas?

i tend to slow down when i reach a defender, is this right?
also i dont seem to be able to react fast enough, like i am kinda slow to decide on which move to use.

when u do a move, do u think of it before, or does it come natrually?

thanks for all the help.

I slow down a bit when I reach defenders... All I can say is be fast and use your whole body... Don't use just your feet, as it will be completely obvious that you're going to go the other direction. :thumbsup:

[karl-lrak]

what i usually do is like i do a step over and then the defender most likely will go the way the step over is directed to and then just go the other way, that way i catch the defender of guard.

[penguin_007]

when i dribble, there is a tendancy to look at the ball, what should we look at when dribbling?

thanks agin.

[Dizzee Wahil]

Alright I got ya, just basically dragging the ball with you when you run. But how do you do that when you sprint?
That's the skill ;). Try it. U'll actually find you can go surprisingly fast. Then compare how in control of the ball you are the whole time, especially in comparison to using other parts of the foot. Once you get good at this, you become virtually untacklable

[Dizzee Wahil]

when i dribble, there is a tendancy to look at the ball, what should we look at when dribbling?

Everywhere!!! Its best to minimise how much you look at the ball, I know Figo is always praised 4 this - tho I dont rate him. But you wanna be looking at all your options to distribute the ball or score

[Rema]

Everywhere!!! Its best to minimise how much you look at the ball, I know Figo is always praised 4 this - tho I dont rate him. But you wanna be looking at all your options to distribute the ball or score

Yep I agree. You need to look at your teammates, look how/where they're making runs, look to see if there's space in behind a defender to make a pass to or allow you to go 1v1 - this is all having good "field vision". But really, you can be dribbling and see the ball in your peripheral vision basically the entire time and it just takes lots of practice and getting used to the feel of the ball. You can glance down every once in awhile but you want to keep your head up alot.

Editing to add: Alot of the time, a defenders job is to get the dribblers head down (ie: if the defender puts on alot of pressure, the dribbler may put their head down). When the dribbler has their head down, it means the defender did their job and now the dribbler can't see their options. You'll notice that once you get your head up, you'll lose posession alot less and make much nicer passes.

[Dizzee Wahil]

Alot of the time, a defenders job is to get the dribblers head down (ie: if the defender puts on alot of pressure, the dribbler may put their head down). When the dribbler has their head down, it means the defender did their job and now the dribbler can't see their options. You'll notice that once you get your head up, you'll lose posession alot less and make much nicer passes.

Yeah good point. I know that if I am jockeying a defender (trying to hold them), I wait for their head to go down and then BANG jump in as quick as I can for the tackle. So keep ya head UP!

[SaberWolf]

I love using the outside of my feet, one of my major problems in a game, IS that I look down to much. But I'm out growing that, very quickly, now I look at my opponents hips (for 1v1) and look around when not in 1v1.

[Rema]

I love using the outside of my feet, one of my major problems in a game, IS that I look down to much. But I'm out growing that, very quickly, now I look at my opponents hips (for 1v1) and look around when not in 1v1.

Look at your opponents hips... while on defence or offence? I hope the latter!

[szyslack]

I heard u say u go left n right but what about goin forward no matter u makin lots of moves if u not makin an inch forward

[penguin_007]

yeah, lots of improvements, i can now sprint aawy, helps alot, thx guys. but somehow when i am under pressure, i tend to focus on the ball and have really crappy aim. so how can i look at the bal less?

[SaberWolf]

I heard u say u go left n right but what about goin forward no matter u makin lots of moves if u not makin an inch forward I would honestly rather go left/right to get by a defender THEN run forward, then just run forward and slam into the defender.


so how can i look at the bal less?
Just don't...I know it sounds stupid, but its amazing how much you can still control the ball while you aren't even looking at it.

[szyslack]

I didn't say run forward into the defender but he saud he just move sideways but don't matter if u move left and right if u don't move forward then u r just playin defenders game thats what he needs to gain sum time to get sum help of their teammates