It goes without saying that doing tricks and fancy moves makes the game of football a much more exciting game to watch. Let’s face it, Ronaldinho would not be the best in the world if we saw him playing the style of football the English play. If you don’t know what I mean, it’s something along the lines of long balls sent all the way to the attackers who run with the ball using pure strength and speed to get past the opposition, which compared to the other leagues, lacks technical ability. Now, it’s the techniques that Ronaldinho knows and practices that make him a great player. What’s more, he knows when it’s the right time to use these different tricks and techniques during a game. How is this? Because he tries these moves whenever he can, however, understands the importance of being in the right place at the right time.

Time And Place Is Important

I’m going to use scenarios now to get you thinking about when you would execute the technique you want to do, and seeing as how this is a blog dedicated to Ronaldinho, lets go with the classic Elastico. But before I list the scenarios, here is a quick look at the Elastico for those who don’t know what I’m talking about.

So now that you see what I’m talking about and what the technique entails, I want you to figure out which ones seem to be the better situations to try the Elastico or any other technique for that matter. Remember we are talking about the situation for the team, not field position and how many people you’ve come up against on the field. So, here they are:

1. Scoreline: You are winning 1-0
Time: 79th minute
Story: The opposition is fighting to draw up the game. Your team is struggling to land that final blow to secure the win.

2. Scoreline: You are losing 1-0
Time: 33rd minute
Story: The opposition is defending everything you throw at them. Your team needs something to happen.

3. Scoreline: You are winning 3-0
Time: 69th minute
Story: The game is in the bag and right now you are playing a relaxed game.

4. Scoreline: You are losing 3-0
Time: 44th minute
Story: The opposition have thumped three goals past your team before the half time whistle has gone

Which One(s) Did You Choose?

If you went with 2 and 3, you are wise and congratulations is in order for you. Let me explain both situations. For number 2, If you have thrown everything at the defense, an Elastico is something they won’t see coming and being only 33 minutes into the game, it’s not a bad idea to try it. On the other hand, for number 3, being 3 goals up allows you to try different things, but as a wise footballer, you would only try the Elastico when the right field position and opposition numbers presented themselves to you.

What About The Other Situations?

For number 1, there is only a lead of 1 goal and that means no risky business, especially when the technique possesses such difficulty. Your team still needs to attack, but there are safer ways to get that last goal you need. For the last situation I’ve listed there, if you are losing this badly, you probably haven’t got the passing and the finishing down pact. So that means, no moves, just pure two touch football which should see you get back in front. I hope many of you realise that Ronaldinho can do any trick he wants at any time, however, being a professional footballer means that you need to be responsible and put the team ahead of you own personal glory, that way when you wow the crowd, you do so while you’re also winning the game for the team.

When you read the title, I’m sure a whole range of different things come to mind. A football for one, because you cannot be a footballer without a football. But in this case, we are going to be limited to the context of playing good football. So I ask again, what is the one thing a footballer cannot be without when he/she wants to play a great game. They need adequate rest.

What Is So Important About Resting?

If you didn’t know already sleep deprivation is a real nuisance and can severely have effects on your health. But for many of us, this isn’t the case, so I move on to say that, much like sleep deprivation, when you lack rest, your football gets affected severely for the worse. So what exactly does rest do to you on the field? You will get tired and fatigued much easier than normal, which is one of the worst nightmares any footballer would face. Being in front of a crowd to realise that you lack that extra strength to go after the ball with all your might and being. This restlessness becomes a lob-sided game for you as every 50/50 ball becomes a 70/30 ball, in favour of your opposition.

One Good Example Is Me

Many tell me I have great talent when I play on Saturday afternoon, but this gets thrown out the window on Sunday afternoon. Why? Because on Saturday, I go out onto the field and play my heart out, risking limbs and joints to make every ball count. This helps the team secure a victory. Most the time it works and we are victorious that afternoon. I feel good about the way I played and all that cheesy stuff that goes along with it. After hitting the showers, I realise that I have a lot of bumps and bruises, and overall I feel like my legs are about to collapse. Then it hits me. In around 18 hours I have another football game I need to play. I will tell you now, 18 hours is no where near enough after the ferocious and tiring representative games that I play. So Sunday rolls around and my performance on-field is sub-par due to the tired state my body is still in. I can still play, but no where near as good as the day before. The only decent rest I get all week is between Sunday and Tuesday, even then I do my own training, but it’s much lighter.

Ronaldinho Realised This

And that is why he pulled out of Copa America, so that he could get the rest he needed after a whole year of playing football. I hope this post has really opened up your eyes to how important having rest really is in the world of football. Many tend to throw this idea out the window thinking that rest is for the weak, but if you do come across anyone like this, straighten them up. Preferably by showing them how well you play all rested up

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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.