Lionel “Leo” Messi makes great defenders look stupid. His dribbling is reminiscent of greats like Diego Maradona, and his ability to keep the ball close to the body and change direction of movement explosively is why he is widely recognized as one of the greatest players of his generation, and perhaps one of the greatest players of all time. If you want to learn how Messi dribbles, you can start by practicing the basics of dribbling and the nimble maneuvers he uses to take your game to the next level. See Step 1 for more information.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Building the Basics
Step 1. Keep the ball in your possession
Messi and other great dribblers always keep the ball very close to their bodies, as if the ball was tied with a short rope around the ankle. To improve your close dribbling skills, practice passing cones as fast as you can. You will force your body to control the ball and keep it close.
You should also train your speed. It's easy to keep the ball close as you walk, but it becomes very difficult when you run. Gradually increase your speed and stamina, trying to hit the ball every 2-3 steps
Step 2. Keep your head straight
Good vision becomes very important for ball control and dribbling style like Messi. Train your eyes to keep your eyes on every action around you, focus on your opponent's hips to see which way they are moving so you can throw them off balance or even make them slip, this will destroy their morale.
Step 3. Create a low point of gravity
It's not fair: Messi is a great dribbler because he's short. It's not really height that makes you a great dribbler, but for Messi, he takes more steps each time he dribbles than any other dribbler, and he insists on keeping the ball close to him, making quick little steps when he moves. Taller players can do the same, but it takes more practice and try to keep your center of gravity low, by crouching a bit.
Step 4. Keep your arms out to the sides
Remember the way Jack Sparrow walked in Pirates of the Caribbean, hands out to stay steady when drunk? Check out some clips of great dribblers like Messi dribbling like that. Keeping your hands slightly away from your body can keep you balanced during transitions and changes of direction and keep you in the best position.
Step 5. Be faster
Speed is one of the keys to Lionel Messi's style of play and ball control. Keeping the ball close at high speed is what sets Messi apart from other players.
- To train your speed, sprint/sprint while dribbling. Try to run as fast as possible and touch the ball as much as you can. Count the time you make and train to be faster from end to end of the court.
- Practice your running hard. To develop your explosive power, try to run back and forth across the court, from the goal line 5.5 m, 18 m, to the center of the court and then reverse.
Step 6. Play continuously
In the interview, Messi was asked what it takes to become a great player like him and he said that the key is to love the game and do it constantly. Since the age of 3, Messi has played every day, from morning, afternoon, evening, to night. He plays in the house and gets into trouble for starting to break things in the house. As soon as he started to walk, he started to dribble. Do the same thing.
Part 2 of 2: Trick Your Opponent
Step 1. Cover the ball with your body
Place your body between the passes you receive and the opponents around you. Turn your hips and try your best to keep the ball away from your opponent. Messi will often look up and at his opponent when he receives the ball.
Step 2. Receive the pass using the foot farthest from your opponent
When you receive a pass, try to control the ball using the foot farthest from your opponent. Even though Messi is often close to opponents, he always keeps the ball close to himself and his center of gravity. Accept the pass and make room for it to work.
Step 3. Find the room
Keeping your eyes on the front, determine which direction will allow you to have enough room to maneuver past your opponent. The hips won't lie: Look at your opponent's hips to see which way they're turning and what they're expecting from you.
If you're right-handed, your opponent will guess that you're going right-handed, which may be your natural tendency. Use the scam to your advantage
Step 4. Escape from your opponent by stepping in the opposite direction
Control the ball with your foot in the direction you are going then take a step with the other foot. Messi's signature moves happen very quickly, which makes him effective against opponents. Basically, to trick the opponent, Messi takes one step in the opposite direction, pretends, then dribbles with his outside foot.
Step 5. Approach the opponent slowly
Messi brings the opponent in and forces the opponent to make mistakes. Messi is not a dribbler like Ronaldinho or a cornering expert like Cristiano Ronaldo, he just makes simple changes of direction and ball control to do magic.
Step 6. Blow up
Do it with all your might when you decide to change course. Bend your opponent by flicking the ball in the direction you want to go and then dribbling like you're training.
You don't have to be super fast to find space, you just need to dribble intelligently and confuse your opponent. He won't be able to touch you
Tips
- Be unyielding.
- Always try to control the ball
- Always be ready to kick the ball past your opponent when he is trying to get the ball
- Most importantly, you must have a flexible body.
- When you run, run slowly and then roll the ball quickly, then overtake your opponent.
- Keep practicing, until you get better at dribbling.
- Be careful. The dribbling technique (which you learn with a lot of practice) will be lost if you pause too often…. even after 5-6 months of practice, this can still happen.
- If you keep training every day, one day you might become like Messi.
