Lionel "Leo" Messi is capable of making professional defenders look very strong as well as beginners. His dribbling techniques are very reminiscent of Maradona's. His ability to keep control of the ball close to the body and explosive changes of direction are the reasons why he is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation and possibly ever. If you want to learn to dribble just like Messi, then you need to learn and consolidate the basic moves, feints and improve your game. Read on to learn more.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Learning the Fundamentals
Step 1. Always keep the ball close to you
Messi and many other champions are able to keep the ball very close to the body even while running. Sometimes one gets the impression that it is glued to their feet or attached with a rope to their ankles. To develop your dribbling skills, practice slalom between the cones as fast as possible. This exercise helps you improve ball control by keeping it close to you and moving smoothly.
It is important to train on speed. It's not hard to control the ball as you walk, but it's not as easy as you sprint at full speed. Try to gradually increase your speed of movement and endurance by trying to touch the ball every 2-3 steps
Step 2. Keep your head up
A good view of the playing field is essential for good ball control and to imitate Messi's style. Train with a high gaze to control the action and what is happening around you. You have to focus on the defender by observing the movement of his hips so you can guess which way he will go and anticipate his moves. This allows you to make him lose his balance or to go through a "tunnel" with Tunnel that will break his morale.
Step 3. Lower the center of gravity
This aspect is not for everyone, Messi is great at dribbling also because he is quite short. It is not the height that determines the skills, but in his case the lower stature forces him to take more steps (and smaller) to jump an opponent than the other players, keeping the ball closer to the body. Tall players can do the same thing, but they will need more practice; if you want to lower your center of gravity, bend your knees as if to squat and try to keep your body above the ball.
Step 4. Open your arms
You know how Jack Sparrow walks in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" to keep his balance when he's drunk? Watch some videos and you will notice that the great forwards who dribble (Messi included) assume this posture. The arms bent and slightly spread at the hips help you to maintain balance during quick changes of direction and passages, always allowing you to be in the best position.
Step 5. Get faster
Speed is one of the hallmarks of Lionel Messi's playing style along with ball control. What sets him apart from other players is the ability to keep the ball close to him while running at great speed.
- To train on speed, sprint with the ball. Try to run as fast as possible by tapping the ball several times. Time yourself and work to improve your travel time from one side of the pitch to the other.
- Do the exercise called "suicide". This allows you to develop explosive speed; to execute it you have to run from the goal line to that of the small area and go back, then to the line of the large area and go back, finally to the half way line and go back.
Step 6. Play consistently
In an interview, Messi was asked what it takes to become a champion like him and he replied that the key is to love football and always play. From the age of three, Messi has been playing every day, morning, afternoon and evening. He played at home and went through a lot of trouble because he broke objects. Ever since he learned to walk, Messi has dribbled with the ball. You have to do the same.
Part 2 of 2: Deceiving the Opponent
Step 1. Protect the ball with your body
Stand between the pass you receive and any defender near you. Rotate your pelvis or back towards the opponent and try to protect the ball as best you can. As soon as he receives the ball, Messi often looks up over his shoulder towards the defender.
Step 2. Stop the ball you receive in the pass using the foot furthest from the defender
In this situation you have to control the ball with the foot that is not close to the opponent. Even though Messi is often close enough to touch the defender, he always keeps the ball close to him and has a lower center of gravity than his opponent. So, first, you have to control the pass with the foot farthest from the player hindering you, so that you have "room to maneuver".
Step 3. Search for space
Always keep your eyes up and decide which direction to move in order to have more space around the defense. Always check the opponent's pelvis, this part of the body does not lie! The direction in which it rotates will let you know where the player will move and what they will want to do to anticipate you.
If you are right, most defenders are instinctively led to believe that you will move to the right (and that may be your natural tendency). Use this false belief to your advantage
Step 4. Trick the defense by taking a step in the opposite direction to where you really want to go
Control the ball with the foot corresponding to the direction you want to follow and take a step forward with the other. The typical movement of Messi is so fast that it is easy to miss it and this is why it is so effective against the defense. In practice, to jump the opponent, Messi gestures a step in the wrong direction, feints with his body and then dribbles in the opposite direction while controlling the ball with the outside of his foot.
Step 5. Approach the defender slowly
Messi pushes the defense towards his own area and forces the opponent to show his intentions by misleading him before passing him like a lightning bolt and finding his space. Messi is not a lightning-fast forward like Ronaldhino or a master of the double step like Ronaldo. He uses simple changes of direction and ball control to dribble superhumanly.
Step 6. Snap suddenly
When you decide to change direction, do it with a lightning bolt. Overcome the opponent in a second by quickly tapping the ball in the direction you want to take while performing the quick dribbling you have trained so much for.
You don't have to be very quick to find your space, you have to dribble intelligently trying to take advantage of the moment when the defender is out of balance to catch him off guard. He won't even be able to touch you
Advice
- Never give up.
- Always try to keep control of the ball.
- Be ready to hit the ball to overtake the defender at the exact moment he moves towards you to try to take possession of the ball.
- The most important thing is to be agile, use your body language to keep the defender from perceiving what you are about to do.
- When running, don't do it at full speed, be ready to sprint lightning fast when the defender attempts to counter you.
- Always train, as hard as you can, and remember that practice makes perfect.
- Be warned, dribbling techniques (which are only learned with a lot of training) are easily lost if you can't train due to injuries, even after practicing consistently for 5-6 months.
- If you train consistently, you could one day play like Messi.
