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Although each great soccer player has a unique playing skill set, attributes, and style, there are essential soccer skills you need to master. Iconic soccer players like Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo work hard and take a lot of time to master their skills.
Check out these soccer skills to master
There are various skills you need to master to be an accomplished soccer player. You require more than just great ambition and technique. It takes game intelligence, proper mindset, stamina, and more. Read on to find the 6 skills required to play soccer.
1. Ball control
The world’s best soccer players can control the ball on the ground and in the air using any part of the body. If you watched Ronaldinho in his prime, you know the Brazilian can work magic because he perfected his ball control skills.
It is a universal skill cutting across all the aspects of the game. Ball control is essential for tackling, passing, and shooting. To develop into an elite soccer player, you need superior ball control skills.
Ball control makes it hard for an opposing player to take the ball off you. So, you should work on improving your first touch and ball control. It can be with your chest, feet, head, shoulder, or thigh.
Your first touch should be neat enough to halt the ball in its tracks where you intend. The ball control should perfectly place the ball precisely for your next shot or pass. Otherwise, you will quickly miss an opportunity as opponents swarm around you.
The way you receive the ball is an important part of ball control as it is the ability to guide the ball into space in one touch. It takes a lot of skill. Professional soccer players make it look simple as they control the ball mid-air and accelerate in just one swift movement.
2. Passing
Just like ball control, passing both short and long is integral to any soccer player – especially if you are playing midfield. You need to work on improving your short and long passes. The ability to spot and pick off a teammate on the opposite side of the pitch is a skill you need to develop.
Accuracy is key. You need to consider your body shape over the ball, which part of the ball to strike in every pass, and follow-through after striking the ball. It is deceptively difficult to master this skill.
If you are unable to get your passing on point, you will not thrive in soccer. Even though you are perhaps good at casually striking the ball around the pitch, it is more difficult to pass right when under pressure.
Various factors contribute to the accurate passing of the ball in soccer. As a player, you must consider the opposition players as well as the speed and distance from your teammate among other factors. It all takes considerable skill to accomplish.
Almost always when passing, you will have an opponent breathing down your neck. This leaves you with a split second to make a decision. The ability to pass long and short balls is important for each game.
3. Positioning
You need to develop your positional play if you are interested in being an indispensable soccer player. Regardless of whether you wish to be a defender, midfielder, goalkeeper, or forward to assist your team win.
Also, practicing positional play if you want to know when to break forward and when to track your man. All the best soccer players must know when to transition down and up the field.
It is crucial if you are a striker since you need to know where to stand and when to break to get into goal-scoring positions. Knowing where to position yourself helps you to be in the correct place at the right time all the time.
If you are constantly out of position, you will hurt the team. You will open up gaps across the pitch since your teammates will be trying to cover the area you leave open.
Also, smart opposition will exploit a player who is poorly positioned. Each position has various responsibilities attached so knowing which position to take up is important.
4. Dribbling
Perhaps Messi stands out when dribbling comes to mind. In soccer, having an idea of how you can get out of a sticky situation is a great idea.
Although professionals in the game make dribbling appear simple, running while doing it complicates it. The skill allows you to maneuver opponents and increase your time with the ball before passing or shooting.
5. Shooting
If you learn to hit the ball with precision and power, you will improve your potential in soccer. It will not only help you score but also propel your team to victory. After all, scoring is the only way to win a soccer match.
There are various ways of shooting the ball, making it a tough skill to master. Hence, the best goal-scorers are highly sought after. Make sure you practice different shooting drills with both feet to make it easy to slot the ball home.
The skill is important to both attacking midfielders and strikers. You religiously need to work on this skill since you will have few scoring opportunities.
So, you need to take advantage of each opportunity to help your team win the match. Shooting is about accuracy and defeating the keeper.
6. Stamina
At every level of the game, players must be fit to move around the pitch. Although it may not be a skill per se, you must work on your stamina if you want to develop other skills. If you struggle getting around the pitch, you will not play the best soccer.
Most coaches are also really counting on soccer conditioning drills to improve physical fitness. Lack of stamina will negatively affect other skills. When tired, players’ concentration and focus drop, too.
Wrap-Up
Soccer is a technical game. To be a competent soccer player, you need to be very skilled regardless of where you play on the pitch. It takes time to train and master these skills.
Once you master the 6 skills, you will become an indispensable player in your team. Soccer is a beautiful game, so as you play ensure you have fun.
