4 Situations When Dribbling a Soccer Ball is Not a Good idea

Recognizing situations when dribbling a soccer ball is a good idea is equal to knowing when to dribble. Being able to decide whether you should or should not dribble can be a though thing. However, there are situations where you can’t just afford to lose the ball. So, let’s start to look at these situations.

Playing as fullback - While playing as fullback your main mission is to defend. The last thing you should do is to take the ball and start to dribble in your penalty area (18 yard box). In this type of situations your main option should always be to either pass the ball to one of you teammates or clear the ball away if you are put under high pressure.

Playing as the goalkeeper - This is the position where dribbling a soccer ball is something you shouldn’t even think on. Losing the ball as goalkeeper is equal to scoring an own goal. Simply, as a goalkeeper your mission is to save goals and not to score them. Therefore, as soon as you receive the ball at your feet, you should either clear it directly or find a teammate with a quality pass. Once again, never dribble while playing as the goalkeeper no matter the type of situation. Play safely and you will be fine.

Having 3 or more opponents in front of you - Trying to get around 3 or more opponents is pretty difficult. In 99 of 100 tries you will lose the ball to your opponents. Of course, this will also depend on the type of opposition that you will face. However, the general rule is to pass the ball to a teammate when you have 3 or more opponents in front of you. But if you have same skills as Maradona or Lionel Messi then you should of course go for it :-)

Being the last man in defense - As I mentioned in the beginning of this article, the golden rule is to avoid dribbling while playing as fullback. However, if you find yourself being the last man in defense you will usually have 3 options. The first option is to pass the ball safely to a teammate. The other option is to kick the ball at your opponent’s 18 yard box. The third and last option is to clear the ball away if you have several opponents chasing you.