In the Be Like Ronaldinho book I teach the reader how to do various tricks and techniques to get past defenders, however, many footballers I know are proficient tricksters, but still lack that skill of ball control and speed when doing these techniques. This is a big mistake many footballers make, that is why they need to master their ball control and speed on the ball before they can accurately and effectively get past defenders using Ronaldinho style tricks and techniques. Now you’d think that I’m doing a plug for the book, but bear with me here as I explain what I’m getting at. The book teaches you how to develop the following before you even get to the tricks section:

• Ball Control
• Balance
• Agility
• Running With The Ball

So this means before you even think about addressing your ‘want’ of being able to do tricks, you need to make sure the skills I have listed above are at least above average.

Don’t Get Too Fancy

So I hope this helps you understand that being able to pull off these tricks does not necessarily make you a great football player, but rather an entertainer. But don’t get too fancy, especially in a game, because that is where your team counts on you to deliver the goods when you’re playing. I can just remember all the times I’ve screwed up trying to do some kind of fancy move and as a result I’ve let the whole team down. You don’t want that kind of incident haunting you for the rest of the week, believe me on that one. Only do them when it comes natural to you, and that means don’t over do it. When an opportunity comes along to do a Step Over and sprint, much like Cristiano Ronaldo, then go right ahead and if the opportunity comes to leave a defender staring at you like a lemon while you execute an Elastico, then go for it. Just as long as you do it in the right place at the right time.