When dribbling and executing moves?

[Derk]

whenever doing elasticos, feints, stepovers, etc. are you suppose to keep the ball as close to you as possible or move it around alot?

[Sain1]

Whatever works. Keeping the ball close is preferable, as it makes it harder for a defender to use their body to seperate you form the ball. But also moving the ball to to sell your fakes is essential too.

But what ever you do do it quick, because ive seen countless peopel do a stepover or feint, have the defender off balance then throw in an extra 2 and dig themselves in a hole.

[Derk]

Whatever works. Keeping the ball close is preferable, as it makes it harder for a defender to use their body to seperate you form the ball. But also moving the ball to to sell your fakes is essential too.

But what ever you do do it quick, because ive seen countless peopel do a stepover or feint, have the defender off balance then throw in an extra 2 and dig themselves in a hole.

I guess I'd have to record myself to see if my fakes sell or not. And what you mean they dig themselves into a hole? Do you speak of the attacker or the defender?

[JoseP]

whenever doing elasticos, feints, stepovers, etc. are you suppose to keep the ball as close to you as possible or move it around alot?

You do want to keep it close, but at the same time you are trying to get the defender to bite. He, probably, won't take a stab at the ball if your close to it. So, lay it out for him a little and then make sure you get it back.

[loden]

Keep it close so you could propell the ball into space and accelerate when the defender bites.

[Litmanen]

Many times players make their moves too late. They take the ball too close to defender --> easier to tackle and to move in front of the player making the move. Other mistake is that people lose their speed while executing their moves. Even with the smoothest moves, you still have to go past the defender and that is a whole lot easier if you have more speed than he/she does.

so my basic tips to work on would be:

1) keep the comfy distance so the d-man can't get to you. (this is especially good to remember when trying to get a shot off right outside the box)

2) don't waste your speed if you don't have to. Make the d-man suffer and turn around against a player who's making his move "too far to strike" and who has a speed advantage over him. Many times the defender has to turn around and start their acceleration from zero... while you get a sort of flying start.

3) About keeping the ball close or far... that's something that you have to learn to read. It depends on the situation. Where is the defender and what are his options. If you are inside the box and there aren't room to move around you should keep the ball close. After all there is nothing you can do to controll the ball if it doesn't touch you...
So read the defender and make him do decisions... I've learned over the years that you should always do things that make defenders' situation as uncomfortable as possible. ;)

[schmuckatelli]

I guess I'd have to record myself to see if my fakes sell or not. And what you mean they dig themselves into a hole? Do you speak of the attacker or the defender?
The only true test you need to see if your fakes sell is to play against opponents. Did your fake gain you an advantage? If yes, then it worked, if no, then it didn't.

What our friend means by "digging themselves in a hole" is that sometimes you'll see an attacking player make a move that freezes the defender for an instant -- that's what you're looking for, just something that gets you a moment and a yard of space -- but then instead of using that time and space to run by or get a shot on goal, the attacker puts on another move or even two. So, the defender recovers and the moment is lost. The attacker has "dug himself in a hole" by squandering the time and space he needed.

Regardless of how close to the ball you are (and I'd agree that closer is better), the key is change of pace and change of direction. Those are what make moves work.