How to - Soccer Dribbling

Soccer Dribbling - goals are the essence of soccer and a goal makes the entire game go around, but I consider the dribbling the salt and pepper in this beautiful game.

If you go take a look at a kids match, say aged 10ish, you'll notice almost all of the kids will want to take the ball on themselves and dribble with it as far as possible. That's an instinctive response, they want to be the heroes, they want to make the difference and passing the ball to another player would mean giving him the chance to become the hero in your place. Obviously, in professional soccer things are different, but I was just noting the natural fascination we have in the soccer dribbling.

You've seen Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry or Cristiano Ronaldo dribble countless of times and stood in awe in front of your TV screen, or on the stadium. The sheer "magic" that a soccer dribble outputs is incredible and you'll hear a wave of cheers (even from the opposing team's fans) whenever a player manages to perform a spectacular dribble.

But dribbling in soccer does not always have to be spectacular. A successful
soccer dribble doesn't always mean a fancy rainbow backheel kick over your head, a double spin a-la Zidane, or a flipover trademarked by the Brazilian soccer school.

There are often less spectacular dribbles in a match, but those dribbles are usually the most effective. For example, when a player receives the ball and simply traps it avoiding the defender's tackle, he managed to take out his direct opponent with a short, effective dribble that isn't necessarily spectacular, but one that managed to create offensive superiority. But let's take a look at some of the basic rules and fundamental laws of the soccer dribble.

Fundaments of the Soccer Dribbling

The Angle – the way you position yourself on the pitch when having the ball, opens up (or closes) dribbling opportunities. Theoretically, the easiest way to dribble is by moving parallel to the goal lines, which allows you to get some space and delays the defender's tackle. You don't actually create offensive superiority with this type of side-ways soccer dribble, but it does open up several passing opportunities and maybe even a shot.

Luring Opponents and Creating Offensive Superiority – a soccer dribble is efficient against both zone and man-marking defenses, considering the way you can destabilize both of these defenses.

Zone defenses require one defender to cover a specific zone of the pitch (central left area, central right area, etc) so if you manage to outwit one defender with a dribble, another one will have to leave his zone and cover you (since for defenders, the rule of thumb is that the player with the ball is always the most dangerous). This can easily destabilize an entire defense, leaving you with offensive superiority. Same goes for man-marking defenses, with the addition that these are even easier to confuse with a well timed dribble.

Dribbling Technique – Soccer can employ tactic to a point, but after that it's the player's own creativity and inspiration that comes into play. Therefore the dribbling technique you will use will have to be "invented" right there on the spot, seconds before you actually initiate the soccer dribble. There are of course certain guidelines and certain "trademarked dribbles" you can try out, but ultimately the dribbling technique will be based on your skills and your skills alone.

Types of Dribbles
The Angle Creator – I'm sure no one has a trademark over this type of soccer dribble, since it's far too common and widely used. The Angle Creator dribble is a quick burst move where you move the ball slightly sideways when facing an opponent, in order to clear an angle for a pass or a shot.

Note that this type of dribble doesn't really fit in the definition you may find in the dictionary under soccer dribbling, which says that the dribbler must be on the opposite side of his opponent, between him and the ball. With the Angle Creator, you don't actually pass the ball behind your opponent; however you do take him out of play for a second or two, which is your window of opportunity to pass or shoot.

The Scissors – The scissors dribble is equally effective as it is spectacular and hard to counter by the opposing defender. It involves moving one foot over the ball in a quick motion, allowing your entire body weight to press on this foot, then immediately cutting the ball with the outside of your other foot and accelerating. In order for it to be effective, the scissors dribble must be done quickly and it's usually more efficient against defenders that stay "on guard", rather than a defender that attacks you decisively.

Once you've mastered the scissors move, you can try practicing with the double scissors soccer dribble, which involves two faking motions over the ball. This move is especially popular with Brazilian players , some of the most famous ones using it frequently include Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or Robinho. Cristiano Ronaldo also makes good use of the scissors dribble.

The Fake Kick – This is one of the most effective dribbles in soccer when you're near the enemy penalty box. I'm sure you've all seen it: the attacker fakes a shot, making the defender jump or attacks him to try to block the would-be shot, but instead of actually releasing the shot the attacker stops the initial move and cuts the ball past the defender and accelerates.

You can make good use of your body to make the initial fake shot more believable, for example using your hands to "charge" the fake shot and so forth. If you want to learn how to dribble in soccer, this should be one of the first moves to try and master. If you've seen the "best goal in the history of soccer" scored by Maradona against England in the 1986 World Cup, he uses a quick fake kick to trick the goalkeeper into throwing himself on the ground, then dribbles him and pushes the ball in the net.

The Lunge – One of the basic one-on-one soccer dribbles that every player should start with. The lunge is all about using your body to trick the defender into thinking you're going one way or the other. Simply take a small sideways jump around the ball, pushing your shoulder and your entire body on the sustaining foot, and then cut the ball in the opposite direction, with your other foot.

It's sort of a scissor dribble, but without faking a stepover of the ball. The ball should roll gently forward during this trick but you shouldn't really touch it during the dribble, only redirect the ball once you've confused the defender with the body movement.

The 360 – I'm sure this move has been used before in the past (I remember seeing Nigerian wizard J.J. Okotcha using it a few times), but the 360 has become a trademark move of French idol Zinedine Zidane. What this soccer dribble involves is placing your sole on the ball in front of you, pushing it slightly further, "climbing" on the ball and spinning, then pulling the ball back with the sole of your other foot.

I know it sounds complicated, but once you try it you'll realize there's not really much to it and you can master it in a few minutes. However, the hard part about this dribble is using it effectively in a real match. It can be a great way to dribble past 2 or even 3 opponents that give you a short gap in between them to make the 360 move.

Practicing Your Soccer Dribbling Skills
These are just a few examples of dribbling in soccer, but there are obviously a lot more that you can practice and use. Some of these dribbles will come in naturally in a match, but you can always prepare something special for your opponent beforehand. Just don't think like "I'm going to make a 360 dribble next time I have the ball" during the match. It almost never works that way, unless you have the perfect setting, perfect body and ball positioning and so forth.

Remember, in a match environment, no defender will give you the time to think out what dribble to use, so you'll have to be quick on your toes. Some of the best soccer dribbling skills are acquired naturally by professional players, they are not studied beforehand.

Soccer Dribbling How you can train your dribbling skills individually? I'd say that unlike other skills in soccer, dribbling is best trained in pairs, because that way you'll learn how another player reacts against your dribble. Sure you could dribble around a pole or a trashcan or something all day long, but in a real match setting the defender in front of you will try to counter your moves, unlike the pole or trashcan.

Grab a friend and take turns in dribbling: this way you will improve the way you counter dribbles as well and you'll also learn to think like a defender, which improves the way you set up your dribbles. Oh and one last thing. There's really no "I can't do that" when it comes to soccer dribbling skills. Sure, you might never be able to hit a shot like Roberto Carlos, or a free kick like David Beckham, but with enough practice you can basically copy off any dribbling you try. It's just like practicing ball juggling tricks: you'll fail miserably at first, but after enough practice you'll get the moves down perfectly and you'll be wondering how come you couldn't do them at first.