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If you’re committed to being a good soccer player, you’ll always look for more ways to improve your game. And in a sense, your development as a player will never end. There will always be new techniques, new drills, new strategies, and new ways to win. The greatest players always find something to improve in their game. They are always learning from every practice, game or even kick around.
Getty Images: New Real Madrid signing Sergio Canales.
Amateurs practice until they get it right - pros practice until they can't get it wrong.
There’s a constant influx of new information across the Internet, as people share their experiences and lessons learned. For those of you who are eager to add a new twist to your play, this is the spot where you can access the most recently added tips and tricks.
Training Ground
In the videos below, world class players like Kaka, Robinho, and Ibrahimovic show you how to make those crucial passes and do those amazing moves or tricks.
To start, let's take a look at some keys for young players who are moving from the youth level to the elite level, and eventually want to take that next step and become a professional soccer player someday.
In soccer though, the same rules that apply to a small sided game on a Sunday afternoon, or a youth soccer game, are the same rules that apply in a English Premier League match that is at a 100 mile hour pace. Rather, the same rules should apply if you want to become a top soccer player. It's about respecting the game.
What are those rules? Play one and two touch soccer. Play crisp passes. Change of pace when you dribble by someone. Play hard all the time no matter who you're playing against.
Soccer is the beautiful game but it is also the simple game - the two work together. The simpler the game the more beautiful it is. Think of about a goal that's scored after five or six one touch passes. Think Spain in the 2010 World Cup with Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa working together. These three players combined for some incredible goals during the tournament and helped their country win the World Cup for the first time.
How do you make the game simple? First, you have to have perfect control of the ball with both feet and all parts of your body. You're able to receive a ball and control it with your right foot or your left or your chest. So accomplishing this comes with practicing juggling and smacking a ball again a wall so your touch is sharp.
Next, you have to play the ball quickly and know where your teammates are on the field - it's all about playing the ball in one or two touches. Playing the ball and moving into space. Pass and move is a refrain that's heard at an under 13 practice in Iowa and at a Real Madrid practice's coached by Jose Mourinho. The ability to play one and two touch soccer comes with playing on a daily basis, whether it's with friends or at your team's practice.
Thirdly, you have to have that extra ability to make things happen, whether it's a talent for dribbling, crossing, making that killer pass, or playing defense. Top players have some skill that sets them apart from all the other players. It could be the skill and willingness to take players on in the attacking third. Think Cristiano Ronaldo. The ability to make that long diagonal pass. Think Xabi Alonso or David Beckham. The ability to whip in a cross after beating your man down the line. Think Arjen Robben. What skill do you have that sets you apart from everyone else?
And finally, you have to be fit. If you're not in shape you can't make those runs or passes when the game moves into the last ten minutes.
In the end though it's all about desire. The desire to win. The desire to work for your team. The desire to get better every time you step on the field.
Raise Your Soccer Game
Below are some links to other pages that will give you some tips and ideas on how to improve your game.
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