How to Trick People in Soccer
Work on dribbling with both feet., Learn the Matthews and the reverse-Matthews., Practice rollovers and reverse rollovers., Do a step-over., Try the Zidane spin., Do a rainbow., Try a rabona., Make tricky passes by keeping your head up at all times.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Work on dribbling with both feet.
Nothing makes a player more one-dimensional than always going to the same side.
Becoming an ambidextrous dribbler is a great way to fake out your opponents.
If you’ve got the ability to be strong on both your left and right sides, you’ll be a dominant player and a great faker.Do cone drills with both feet, going down on one side, and coming back the other way going the other side.
Switch to the other side of the field every other practice, so you get experience playing from other angles and forcing yourself to take shots with the other foot. -
Step 2: Learn the Matthews and the reverse-Matthews.
The most basic juke-move in the dribbler’s arsenal is the Matthews, followed up quickly by the reverse-Matthews.
Learning to integrate these little jukes into your basic dribbling will significantly improve your game.
It’s the easiest to learn–you might even be doing it already without knowing it.
Practice the Matthews slowly and gradually bring it up to game speed.
To do the Matthews, you make two quick touches on the ball with your dominant foot.
On your first touch, bring the ball in across your body with your in-step, and with the second, kick it back away from you to that side with the side of that same foot.
This is often done while stationary, facing off with a defender, and can be a great way to make space.
To do the reverse-Matthews, you’ll also make two quick touches on the ball with your dominant foot, but in the opposite order.
Fake like you’re going to one side by touching with the outside of your foot, then bring it back in across your body with your in-step.
At high-speed, it’s a great fake out., Rollovers are a great way to vary your touches and keep a tremendous amount of control on the ball.
Learning to do rollovers quickly and with an economy of movement will keep your defender off balance, making it very difficult to tell where you’re going.
It’s also an extremely easy touch.
To do a rollover, use the instep of your dominant foot to roll up and over the ball in toward your body.
Don’t kick it, but roll it.
To go back in the other direction, use your other foot, rolling it back the other way.
Practice doing this going forward, around cones to get the timing right.
To do a reverse rollover, you pull the ball back toward you while moving backwards.
Start with your dominant foot on top of the ball, then step back, rolling the ball toward you and moving quickly enough so that you’ll be ahead of it.
Then, pull back with the other foot.
This can be a great way to change direction and make space. , Maybe the flashiest move in the soccer player’s dribbling arsenal is the step-over, in which you juke to one side quickly before cutting back in the other direction.
To complete the move, start dribbling forward at a normal pace.
With your dominant foot, step over the ball from your weak side to your strong side.
In other words, if you're right-footed, step over the ball as it's moving, from your left to your right.
Plant your dominant foot and use the outside of your opposite foot to kick the ball in the opposite direction quickly.
The step should fake-out the defender, leaving them flatfooted and mis-directed, and you can cut around in the opposite direction.
In a double step-over, you'll step over the ball with both feet before going in the original direction.
If you're right-footed, step over the ball with your right foot from the left to the right, then with your left foot from the right to the left, then use the outside of your right foot to kick it back to your right.
Lightning speed! , No, you don’t walk up to a defender and headbutt them in the chest.
Instead, this is a 360 spin with the ball that’ll leave your opponent in the dust.
It's easy in practice, but somewhat more difficult to pull off in a game.
Still, used correctly, it can be a devastating move.
Use this when an opponent is coming straight for you.As you're dribbling at a comfortable speed, step on the ball with your dominant foot to stop it and pivot your body 180 degrees in that direction.
If you step on the ball with your right foot, swing around your left shoulder until you're facing the opposite direction.
Then, continue swinging around another 180 degrees, but switching your touch on the ball.
Use your other foot to do a reverse roll-over, pulling the ball back with you and you turn and head in your original direction. , A rainbow is super-flashy, awe-inspiring, and almost completely useless in a real game situation.
Still, it's a cool skill to learn and practice your touch.
Who knows when it might come in handy? To do a rainbow, step with the heel of your dominant foot in front of the ball and use the instep of your other foot to trap the ball against the back of your leg.
Use the heel of your dominant foot to flick the ball up and forward, preferably directly in front of you.
Practice the move stationary, and then work on doing it at an easy forward dribble.
If you can do it at game-speed you'll be a great dribbler. , A rabona is kind of like a one-footed rainbow and a step-over combined, and is a common little chipping cut used as a part of freestyle dribbling exhibitions and occasionally in games.
To do a rabona, step with your non-dominant foot over the ball toward your dominant side, and use the inseam of your dominant foot to make a short little stabbing kick up and in the opposite direction, back toward your non-dominant side. , One of the best ways to keep the defense off-balance is to make smart passes.
Work on dribbling with your head up at all times to keep track of where your opponents are spaced on the field and fake out the defense by looking one direction and making a sharp pass to an open teammate in the opposite direction.
Make enough no-look passes and you'll be the Steve Nash of soccer. -
Step 3: Practice rollovers and reverse rollovers.
-
Step 4: Do a step-over.
-
Step 5: Try the Zidane spin.
-
Step 6: Do a rainbow.
-
Step 7: Try a rabona.
-
Step 8: Make tricky passes by keeping your head up at all times.
Detailed Guide
Nothing makes a player more one-dimensional than always going to the same side.
Becoming an ambidextrous dribbler is a great way to fake out your opponents.
If you’ve got the ability to be strong on both your left and right sides, you’ll be a dominant player and a great faker.Do cone drills with both feet, going down on one side, and coming back the other way going the other side.
Switch to the other side of the field every other practice, so you get experience playing from other angles and forcing yourself to take shots with the other foot.
The most basic juke-move in the dribbler’s arsenal is the Matthews, followed up quickly by the reverse-Matthews.
Learning to integrate these little jukes into your basic dribbling will significantly improve your game.
It’s the easiest to learn–you might even be doing it already without knowing it.
Practice the Matthews slowly and gradually bring it up to game speed.
To do the Matthews, you make two quick touches on the ball with your dominant foot.
On your first touch, bring the ball in across your body with your in-step, and with the second, kick it back away from you to that side with the side of that same foot.
This is often done while stationary, facing off with a defender, and can be a great way to make space.
To do the reverse-Matthews, you’ll also make two quick touches on the ball with your dominant foot, but in the opposite order.
Fake like you’re going to one side by touching with the outside of your foot, then bring it back in across your body with your in-step.
At high-speed, it’s a great fake out., Rollovers are a great way to vary your touches and keep a tremendous amount of control on the ball.
Learning to do rollovers quickly and with an economy of movement will keep your defender off balance, making it very difficult to tell where you’re going.
It’s also an extremely easy touch.
To do a rollover, use the instep of your dominant foot to roll up and over the ball in toward your body.
Don’t kick it, but roll it.
To go back in the other direction, use your other foot, rolling it back the other way.
Practice doing this going forward, around cones to get the timing right.
To do a reverse rollover, you pull the ball back toward you while moving backwards.
Start with your dominant foot on top of the ball, then step back, rolling the ball toward you and moving quickly enough so that you’ll be ahead of it.
Then, pull back with the other foot.
This can be a great way to change direction and make space. , Maybe the flashiest move in the soccer player’s dribbling arsenal is the step-over, in which you juke to one side quickly before cutting back in the other direction.
To complete the move, start dribbling forward at a normal pace.
With your dominant foot, step over the ball from your weak side to your strong side.
In other words, if you're right-footed, step over the ball as it's moving, from your left to your right.
Plant your dominant foot and use the outside of your opposite foot to kick the ball in the opposite direction quickly.
The step should fake-out the defender, leaving them flatfooted and mis-directed, and you can cut around in the opposite direction.
In a double step-over, you'll step over the ball with both feet before going in the original direction.
If you're right-footed, step over the ball with your right foot from the left to the right, then with your left foot from the right to the left, then use the outside of your right foot to kick it back to your right.
Lightning speed! , No, you don’t walk up to a defender and headbutt them in the chest.
Instead, this is a 360 spin with the ball that’ll leave your opponent in the dust.
It's easy in practice, but somewhat more difficult to pull off in a game.
Still, used correctly, it can be a devastating move.
Use this when an opponent is coming straight for you.As you're dribbling at a comfortable speed, step on the ball with your dominant foot to stop it and pivot your body 180 degrees in that direction.
If you step on the ball with your right foot, swing around your left shoulder until you're facing the opposite direction.
Then, continue swinging around another 180 degrees, but switching your touch on the ball.
Use your other foot to do a reverse roll-over, pulling the ball back with you and you turn and head in your original direction. , A rainbow is super-flashy, awe-inspiring, and almost completely useless in a real game situation.
Still, it's a cool skill to learn and practice your touch.
Who knows when it might come in handy? To do a rainbow, step with the heel of your dominant foot in front of the ball and use the instep of your other foot to trap the ball against the back of your leg.
Use the heel of your dominant foot to flick the ball up and forward, preferably directly in front of you.
Practice the move stationary, and then work on doing it at an easy forward dribble.
If you can do it at game-speed you'll be a great dribbler. , A rabona is kind of like a one-footed rainbow and a step-over combined, and is a common little chipping cut used as a part of freestyle dribbling exhibitions and occasionally in games.
To do a rabona, step with your non-dominant foot over the ball toward your dominant side, and use the inseam of your dominant foot to make a short little stabbing kick up and in the opposite direction, back toward your non-dominant side. , One of the best ways to keep the defense off-balance is to make smart passes.
Work on dribbling with your head up at all times to keep track of where your opponents are spaced on the field and fake out the defense by looking one direction and making a sharp pass to an open teammate in the opposite direction.
Make enough no-look passes and you'll be the Steve Nash of soccer.
About the Author
Kyle Thompson
Dedicated to helping readers learn new skills in pet care and beyond.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: