Some Of The Best Skills In Football

Best Football Skills And Their Names.

One of the best aspects of watching football is the individual brilliance, creativity, and memorable moments the game provides. Football skills are one of the major attractions of the sport, loved by the young and the old alike.

If you have been a football fan all your life, at some point or the other you may have thought about pulling off skills on the field.

We’ve put together this list of what we reckon are the 10 best football skills, however, there are so many more that should be in your armory of skills. How many of them have you heard of and how many of them can you do?

1. The StepOver

The stepover is one of the most commonly used skill moves in the world of football. This move has been made popular by many including Ronaldo Delima, Robinho, Christiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho who often used it to beat defenders, especially early on in their careers.

This is popularly called Legover in the local palace.

2. The Rainbow

Nobody knows where the Rainbow originated from, but it was Jay-Jay Okocha who brought it to the Premier League regularly during his time with Bolton Wanderers. It was also used by Neymar Jr in his beat days at Corinthians and Barcelona.

It involves using one foot to roll the ball up the back of the other leg and then flick it over an opponent’s head before collecting it on the other side. This is the ultimate piece of showboating and you will often see it in 5-a-side games or street football.

This is called Follow Me in street football.

3. The Elastico

One of the hardest skills in football to pull off. Elastico was a favorite of Ronaldinho. It involves rolling your foot over the ball in such a way that when you bring it down on the other side, you can knock the ball past an opponent in one swift movement. When done right, it allows you to quickly skip past the defender in front of you. Zinedine Zidane was also a fan, but nobody could pull it off with the pomp of Ronaldinho. It is also known as the Flip Flap.

We called it The Snake Bite.

4. The Maradona Turn

The Maradona Turn also known as The Roulette or Zidane Pirouette

The Maradona Turn is something every player practices and its beauty comes from its simplicity of it. With a swivel of the hips, the great Argentinian forward could dance around the ball, change direction and take multiple opponents out of the game. Done at full pace, it’s breathtaking to watch.

Also known as The 360 here.

5. The Cruyff Turn

Johan Cruyff was one of the best technical players ever to play the game. Aside from winning virtually every trophy, crowning his achievement was the invention of the Cruyff Turn. It’s now one of the first skills that children are taught and that’s the genius of Cruyff, he made the difficult become simple.

6. The Ronaldo Chop

The Ronaldo chop can also be called the Heel Chop.

Critics will argue that the Cristiano Ronaldo chop is nothing more than a watered-down version of the Cruyff turn, but the trick is used in slightly different circumstances.

The skill is an effective way of changing direction on the run without telegraphing the move to the defender.

The outside leg ‘chops’ the ball 90 degrees behind the inside leg, allowing the player to dart to one side without breaking stride. The Chop is an extremely effective skill move, popularised and perfected by Cristiano Ronaldo at his peak.

This move can also be used to cut inside from the flanks when up against an opposition full-back. This is also often used by wingers.

7. The Rabona

A skill that was first used by Pele, the Rabona has become a much more frequent sight in football over the last 10 years or so. Players such as Eden Hazard, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Angel Di Maria, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Erik Lamela have all put it to good use in competitive games, wrapping one foot around the other to score and assist some classic goals. Erik Lamela won the Pukas Award with it, his goal against Arsenal.

8. The Seal Dribble

Such a ridiculous skill that it’s never really caught on, but we love it anyway! It was perfected by Brazilian forward Kerlon and it involved him running forward with the ball perched on his forehead, just like a seal. A modern-day example would be Nani in the Premier League. Not something you see every day, but fun to try and master nonetheless!

9. The Pullback V

You might not have heard of the pullback V, but you’ve almost certainly used it at some point as it is more of a natural movement. This is the move whereby you stop the ball, drag it back, and then flick it behind your standing leg to release a teammate into space, all done in the shape of a V.

The pullback or the drawback is an extremely simple yet efficient tool that can give footballers room to move into when being marked.

The great Ferenc Puskas is the player who is sometimes credited with spreading the Pullback. It is now a common sight to see players use during games.

10. Hocus Pocus

What do you get when you combine a Cruyff turn, an Elastico, and a Rabona? It’s a unique move that will leave your opponents impressed and wondering how you did it! This skill was made popular by Ronaldo Nazario and Neymar Jr. The Hocus Pocus is an advanced attacking move usually done from a standstill position; it’s not done at full speed.