Skill Moves of the Week
Welcome to our third Skill Moves of the Week discussion where we will continue highlighting different skill moves for players to work on complete with explanations and instructional videos! This week, we will focus on three moves: the outside cut, la croqueta, and the L turn.
Soccer is an amazing game for people all over the world to enjoy and to show their skills. Every player from the grassroots up to the professional level plays the game to express themselves and show what they are all about on the field.
As a modern soccer player, it is essential to have several different skill moves easy for one to use during the game to create time and space, beat a defender, or advance the ball up the field. As with anything in life, to improve at any of these the key factor is repetition. It is commonly understood that to master a technique in soccer, one must repeat an action 10,000 times before the brain memorizes the pattern into muscle memory and it can be performed without any additional thought. Some skill moves are more difficult to execute than others but with hard work and practice, even the toughest skill moves can be mastered!
The Importance of Skill Moves
Often in soccer, it is not simply easy to beat defenders by attempting to dribble straight at or past them. If you consider great soccer players with amazing 1v1 skills you can imagine the players such as Marta, Messi, Alex Morgan, and Iniesta. These players redefined the game with their creativity and ability to get past multiple defenders with ease, regularly applying skill moves and getting out of dangerous situations on the field. All modern soccer players need 2-3 readily available and easy-to-perform skill moves to beat defenders in 1v1 scenarios. Along with skill moves, it is crucial that players execute a change of direction and a change in speed after performing their move to ensure they can get away from any defenders.
The Outside Cut
The outside cut is a simple change of direction move that when executed correctly, can be deadly. When performing this move it is imperative that the outside cut is performed as sharply as possible to truly confuse the defender momentarily. While dribbling the ball at any amount, the player uses the outside of their foot to sharply cut the ball back 90 degrees before speeding away. Ideally, the attacker in this scenario is traveling at a fast speed and after executing this move, is able to shake a defender and speed away in another direction. For a visual aid and several different techniques to master the shot fake technique, please see the video below!
La Croqueta
The next move, La Croqueta or the Foundation, is extremely popular and a fun way to trick a defender before beating them. This shifting move is a fantastic way to deceive defenders and change your body momentum from one foot to the other before accelerating away. Keys for this move include being light on your toes, using the inside of both feet and maintaining speed after executing. La Croqueta can be particularly useful for getting out of a tight space with multiple defenders and combining this move with a sharp change in speed can make any player extremely effective in 1v1 attacking scenarios. For a visual demonstration of this move, click on the link below!
The L-Turn
The last skill move we will focus on is the L-Turn or Half Cruyff. You have to use the sole and the inside part of the same foot. For this skill, the player first puts the sole of their foot on the ball before rolling it behind their standing leg and finally using the inside of the same foot to push the ball behind the standing leg, therefore creating the shape of a capital L. The lower your center of gravity and balance while performing this move, the better. It can be helpful to include a body feint or shot fake before executing this turn to further confuse a defender. The dribbler's ability to shift the ball quickly from left to right or vice versa and unbalance the defender is key to the success of this move. For a visual demonstration and practice, please click the link below!
Conclusion
Now that you know more skills moves, practice them until you can perform each with either foot comfortably. Being a soccer player without a nondominant foot can give any modern player a large advantage over their opponents in 1v1 attacking scenarios. The only way to get better at skill moves and to improve ball control is lots of repetition and building muscle memory with both feet. As your skills improve, continue challenging yourself by practicing on different surfaces such as grass and concrete as well as practicing with different-sized soccer balls such as a skills ball or even a futsal ball.
Let us know your favorite skill moves and which skillful players of the game have inspired you! Tune in to our next skill moves post to learn more skills and add additional creative ideas to your dribbling!