10 things that improved my game

If you are not into football, you probably want to stop reading now. There is zero cyber security/IT content in this blog post.

I’m in my thirties and I feel like I am playing better football than at any point in the past. I’ve always played small sided games, 5-aside, 6-aside, 7-aside.

Here are 10 things I have consciously worked on that actually work for me. Shout out to Taiseer, Efaz, Safwan, Zayyan, Abyan, Nehan, Waheed, Eshaan, Abthahee, Ihsan. Let me disclaim, I don’t play at any sort of respectable level. Just playing for fun and fitness locally.

1. Make it easy for your teammate to pass to you.
2. Shoot with your head over the ball.
3. Don’t just run for the whole game.
4. Eyes on the ball for your first touch.
5. Closing down as a goalkeeper
6. Don’t be afraid. It’s just a football.
7. Use the half turn.
8. 1v1 with no pace.
9. Don’t dive in.
10. Shape = Stability

Let me expand on these points.

Make it easy for your teammate to pass to you

Lot of players hide behind opposition players. There is no way your team mate can pass to you with an opponent in the way. Move to a position where your team mate can see you and pass to you easily. You are more likely to receive the ball.

Shoot with your head over the ball

In small sided games the goals are much smaller. Keeping your shots low is key. The way to do this is to put your head over the ball as you shoot it. If you lean back as you shoot, your shot is likely to go high.

Don’t just run for the whole game

I’m not a fan of constantly pressing the whole game, running without any gains and tiring myself early. I guess different players have different preferences. I only like to press selectively e.g. when I know there’s a good chance of getting a tackle in. Otherwise I either cut the passing line or stand off and slow the opposition down to make them think about what they are going to do.

Eyes on the ball for your first touch

My first touch has never been something to be proud of. But what has helped me recently is simple. As the ball is dropping down from the sky, keep your eyes on the ball the whole way down right onto your foot. I hear it all the time in punditry but never thought about it. It works. Literally watch the ball all the way onto your foot.

Close down the striker when you are keeper

Goal keepers are crazy. Most players are not keepers but we all have to take turns going in goal. When we go in goal the tendency is to stand around and try your best or just watch the goals fly in and explain “I'm not a keeper”. But you can actually save a lot of goals just by being a little bit more brave and closing down the striker in a 1v1. As soon as a 1v1 situation arises, literally run out and get a little bit low. It narrows down the space in which the ball can get past you into the goal. And it also makes the attacker panic a little bit and make the wrong decision. Watch some Alisson comps on YouTube. You’ll see what I mean.

Don’t be afraid. It’s just a football.

It really baffles me that some players wince when blocking shots or going for headers. It’s a false fear of getting hurt by a football. Make yourself big , throw your body in front of the ball or at least stick out a leg. It really doesn’t hurt much. At this level, the shots are either not hard enough or off target to cause any real damage. Yes, there is a chance you get one where it hurts if you are a male but chances of that happening is quite small.

Use the half turn

Playing on the half turn is a trick I wish I had used much earlier. I can’t do tricks and step overs and all that stuff to beat someone 1 v 1. As the ball is coming towards me, instead of taking a touch to trap the ball and turn, I’ll use the pace of the ball to let it run past me and then i’m already turning and facing the way I want to go automatically. This makes for a quicker turn giving you a few yards advantage and often tricks defenders.

1v1 with no pace

I don’t have much pace. And I don’t have many trickster style skills to beat a player. So what can I do in a 1v1?

• Fake shots.
• Stop starts.
• Early shots.
• Dummies where you fake to go one way , the defender falls for it then you quickly go the other way.
• Do nothing and wait for an option.
• Shield the ball and wait for an option.

Don’t dive in

This is just my preference but I don’t like to dive into tackles unless I know I have a good chance of being successful. Especially against tricky players, I prefer to stand them up, slow them down and let them think about what to do next forcing them to pass backwards or safe or wait for the chance to get a tackle in. So many times I see players just diving in for tackles like a headless chicken and the attacker just dodges it with ease, shoots and scores.

Shape = stability

If you haven’t guessed already, I'm more in favour of being cautious and calculated rather than Jurgen Klopp. I prefer to be in a team full of defenders rather than a team full of all out attackers.

I’ve been in teams where players are just running forward to attack leaving nobody at the back except me. The opposition just breaks on a counter and it’s 5 v 1. If the defenders just hold some sort of defensive shape or we just cover each others positions if players go for an attack, we leave no gaps at the back. It doesn’t mean we have to just stay in one position. It just means we have a shape that gives us stability. Just having bodies in place, no matter the defensive ability of the players, it gives the attackers more to think about and often slows them down and breaks down counter attacks.

Bonus - Don't crowd a fenced in team mate.

When the ball is the corner and your team mate is fenced in, don't just run up close to him thinking that is helping them in any way. Instead, stand a bit further back, in a position where they can pass the ball back to you. Leave enough space so they can actually play a pass. Let them know you are there and the pass is on. Crowding the corner usually leads to dead situations with no options.

If you got this far, thanks for reading!