Kerlon - "Seal Dribble", fair?

[GalaxyOne]

So far every time he's done it he's sent off an opponent and gotten a direct free kick in a promising spot. It's intentionally inciting, he's relying on the opponent to get pissed at him and hack the shit out of him for his smugness.

Well, that's a different subject altogether...defending him legally. Of course if you flatten or kick him like a couple of those defenders did, there will be a free kick and a card.

But actually, the 2nd play of the first video, it looked like the defender just stood his ground and bumped him, and the ref waved play on.

Really, I DO NOT see this move catching on, it really is just serving the ball up on a platter for defenders to go take it. There is no need to foul the guy to stop him...just shoulder charge him or head the ball away.

[FNU]

Speaking as a defender I would knock him on his a** as hard as I could every single time he tried that garbage, it is an absolute joke, if you stand your ground he can just run around you, so I would go after him HARD intending to put a hurtin' on him, hopefully that will make him play the way the game is meant to be played. As a famous quote in soccer stated "If god wanted us to play football in the sky, he would have pit a pitch up there."
lol You are just one angry dude, but I hear where you're coming from since I also play FB and wouldn't stand for that circus shit either. I don't think I would level the guy unless I knew he was doing it as provocation. Seal dribble Fair? Yes. Sportsmanlike, I don't think so.

So it's a foul on the defender for just standing there and getting run over when a player is playing with the ball above his head? Maybe the rules need to be updated now?

[Kulspruta]

You guys are making such a big deal out of it, he's been stopped countless times. There are probably videos out there from gremio and Uruguayan defenders taking the ball legally.

[canadianscout]

Kerlon's father, Silvino had shown him the technique at a young age and Kerlon began to master the technique. Kerlon did not want to use the technique, but has been pressured by coaches and managers. Kerlon has said that he wishes that he had never shown the technique because he wants to be known for his great soccer ability not his, "seal dribble''. He has also said that he hopes to one day play in Europe, and put his controversial technique behind him.

All that being said, it doesn't make his dribble fair or unfair, but one can see that decision is not completely his to make. Rules do not state that the technique is illegal, so for now the dribble is legal/fair, in my own opinion.

[ArtVandelayLFC]

If this were a few decades ago, all you people saying Kerlon deserved to get leveled would probably have had the same reaction to a guy doing a couple of stepovers. There's nothing even close to illegal about Kerlon's move, and the bottom line is that the guy who fouled Kerlon severely hurt his team by willingly getting himself sent off, which was incredibly stupid no matter how pissed off he may have been. There's no way the "seal dribble" is going to made illegal, nor should it be, so defenders should accept the fact that it's well within the rules and just try their best to defend it.

[Moishe]

I don't see it as unfair, illegal or un-sportsman like. The rules say you can use your head so whats the big deal? As far as I'm concerned any ball in the air is playable by anyone so as a 6'2 defender with a hard head, I'm going after the ball. If we bump heads so be it, the defender has every right to play the ball. As far as I'd be concerned, he can juggle the ball on his head all he wants so long as he gets crowded enough to have no where to go. Shooting and passing options are limited due to the lack of force you can create from those angles.

Much ado about nothing.

[onefineesq]

Kerlon's father, Silvino had shown him the technique at a young age and Kerlon began to master the technique. Kerlon did not want to use the technique, but has been pressured by coaches and managers. Kerlon has said that he wishes that he had never shown the technique because he wants to be known for his great soccer ability not his, "seal dribble''. He has also said that he hopes to one day play in Europe, and put his controversial technique behind him.

All that being said, it doesn't make his dribble fair or unfair, but one can see that decision is not completely his to make. Rules do not state that the technique is illegal, so for now the dribble is legal/fair, in my own opinion. Where did you get that from? I was reading on the tvglobo site the day after the incident. This incident was all over the website that day. The site had a video up of the incident with commentary .......... including commentary from Kerlon (yes, in Portuguese). And Kerlon flat out said that it was a legal play and that he would continue to use the seal dribble to his advantage, regardless of defenders who took exception. He was basically laughing while he commented. Hardly a guy who seemed like he was being pressured or who hated using the move. I feel for the guy to be honest. But I feel for him because he is already been shown to be injury-prone, and he is going to keep getting clobbered if he doesn't pull back on some of the antics.

[Kempa]

I don't think that blocking his way is obstruction. Obstruction would be standing in front of a player's path when the ball isn't there.
He makes a series of short headers, mostly forward. If you just stand there you would be between the ball and the goal. The fact that he is so close to the ball is irrelevant. In my opinion, a perfectly legal defensive move.

[Kebbie Gazauzkas]

I don't see it as unfair, illegal or un-sportsman like. The rules say you can use your head so whats the big deal? As far as I'm concerned any ball in the air is playable by anyone so as a 6'2 defender with a hard head, I'm going after the ball. If we bump heads so be it, the defender has every right to play the ball. As far as I'd be concerned, he can juggle the ball on his head all he wants so long as he gets crowded enough to have no where to go. Shooting and passing options are limited due to the lack of force you can create from those angles.

Much ado about nothing.

I agree, I don't have a problem with this and the referee did not find it necessary to warn Kerlon. The opposing players should be able to control their temper and not start ugly fights.

Daniel Braaten seal dribble, Kerlon is not the only one:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uaNNdwblvC8

[TKORL]

Unless you've played beach soccer in Rio.

I don't deny the skill that it takes, but this move is all too easy to defend; Elbow to throat to ground.

The REAL problem with that kind of a skill move is that the player performing the move is defenseless. They won't survive long if they persist in taking the ball "out of play", because the defender will put it back into play...as you saw.

And NO, I'm not advocating that this is what should happen, I'm simply acknowledging that, as the clip so amply demonstrated, it's what will happen.
And you'll get sent off and banned for a few games.

[TKORL]

Speaking as a defender I would knock him on his a** as hard as I could every single time he tried that garbage, it is an absolute joke, if you stand your ground he can just run around you, so I would go after him HARD intending to put a hurtin' on him, hopefully that will make him play the way the game is meant to be played. As a famous quote in soccer stated "If god wanted us to play football in the sky, he would have pit a pitch up there."
And that's why you're not a footballer.

[Martininho]

And you'll get sent off and banned for a few games.

No, I won't. Others might.

[kingkong1]

And you'll get sent off and banned for a few games.He sure will TKORL!...

That's what's great about his dribble: he knows from he start he'll be fouled and that his aggressors will be sent off and banned (and that, the more often it happens, the severest will get the condemnations).

Even better when those coward fouls start happening within the box, since, besides sending off the aggressor, his team will still have a penalty kick in its favour!...

This Martininho guy plays nothing (either on grass or on sand) if he only knows how to stop a play with that ridiculous 'elbow to throat': that's why he is in US selling pizza instead of playing football in a serious team! :rolleyes: ...

[TKORL]

yeah, especially if he plays in a knockout tourney, game is tied, and he does the seal dribble in the penalty box....

it's a great tactical weapon rather than a staple skill. and people who think it's unsportsmanlike are idiots.

[Martininho]

He sure will TKORL!...

That's what's great about his dribble: he knows from he start he'll be fouled and that his aggressors will be sent off and banned (and that, the more often it happens, the severest will get the condemnations).

Even better when those coward fouls start happening within the box, since, besides sending off the aggressor, his team will still have a penalty kick in its favour!...

This Martininho guy plays nothing (either on grass or on sand) if he only knows how to stop a play with that ridiculous 'elbow to throat': that's why he is in US selling pizza instead of playing football in a serious team! :rolleyes: ...

First of all, if you had read my posts more closely you would immediately see that I'm not advocating dirty play. Since you know nothing of my ability or ethic, you might wish to be a bit more measured in your replies.

FYI, I'm a Yank of british descent, in my mid-forties, born and raised in the USA. My footballing backround is a very lucky one, as my teachers came from various international backgrounds. As a result, I was exposed to different styles and philosophies from subtle to the most rugged. My coaches, teammates, and opponents have played in World Cups, the European Championships, and have played for various professional and national sides around the world.

Personally, I don't believe in punishing a player for developing a unique move, and would instead have used it as motivation to develop a defensive counter within the spirit and laws of the sport. My posts above simply observe the obvious truth that not every other player thinks that way.

I took on a Brazilian name in BigSoccer because Brazil was the first team I ever saw play (taped delayed WC '70), and because I have always admired the Brazilian flair. On the other hand, I was also trained how to protect myself and my teammates from the butchers that my ability would inevitably encounter, and to deliver "message" fouls with varying degrees of consequence. I could break an opponent's bones or blow his knee apart with great style. However, because I have know the joy of rehabbing a reconstructed knee (four times, and never resulting from dirty play), only twice in thirty years of playing did I fully unleash that ability. Both times, it was in retaliation when an opponent tried to severely injure a teammate.

As to TKORL, I learned a hard but valuable lesson from one of my coaches, an Argentine who played for Boca Juniors in his youth (I don't know if he made the senior team, or stayed there long). While playing in a scrimmage with a local select youth team we coached together, I nutmegged him and then delivered a through ball to my forward. A step after, he came smashing into my plant ankle.

He immediately apologized, and admitted that it was pure ego. He just couldn't accept being beaten (especially being nutmegged) by a player he had coached, and was frustrated by his loss of speed. I don't believe that he intend to injure; he simply no longer had the reflexes to make such a hard tackle skillfully, and being only a fraction slow got the ankle instead of the ball.

The damage, however, was done. His recklessness cost me half of my senior season in college in rehab and match fitness. I determined from that experience that I never wanted to become the "bitter old man" on the pitch that became a hazard to others. Accumulated injuries forced me to retire
from playing at age 37.

Your post deeply offended me, and I had prepared a much more scathing response. I then looked up your profile. Based on your background, I would like to give you the benefit of the doubt that a man (I assume you're male) of 60 years might appreciate knowing more about the poster he so quickly dismisses, and that you have either misinterpreted what I had posted before or simply not seen it.

I would also hope that you have figured out by now that I don't sell pizza for a livng. I would enjoy continuing the debate on this and any other subject, but insist that you be more respectful in your postings.

[kingkong1]

Martininho,

My post was more against an unacceptable and for me even inmoral procedure (used by Atlético's and other teams defenders), more against an icon of violence (that you - maybe involuntarilly - incarnated when made that affirmation) than against the concrete, flesh-and-bones, human being Martininho.

I frankly thought it was a gross, disgusting and unfortunate comment the one you made using that 'elbow to throat' expression.

I think we must once and for all sweep violence from the fields of football: why not let the guy do his damn stunt?...

Pelé did it (enjoy it: http://media.putfile.com/ImmortalUNCUT, see 2:00-2:05 min), others also did it...

If you are a good player, you'll know how to (legally) deal with it!...

I think Kerlon knows what he's doing, and is quite aware of the risks.

But it's a valid, calculated risk, you better believe: kamikases could end up dying, but they were able to sink a whole American fleet in Pearl Harbor...

Sorry for my distemperate reaction though: it wasn't directed, believe me, to your person.

(Although I really wondered if you might not be a Brazilian from Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais State, and a fanatic Atlético Mineiro rooter living in US)...

You yourself is not a child anymore either, and I'm sure you won't take it personally.

I'm sure all this insignificant imbroglio will end up in pizza ***...

(*** If you don't know, a Brazilian expression meaning: 'everything will end up in peace') :D...

[TKORL]

Yes, I'm sure he injured your ankle, but by that logic Mr. Lionel Messi would be dead due to violent injuries inflicted upon him by angry defenders.


The seal dribble will be an excellent way to draw fouls.

[kingkong1]

Yes, I'm sure he injured your ankle, but by that logic Mr. Lionel Messi would be dead due to violent injuries inflicted upon him by angry defenders.


The seal dribble will be an excellent way to draw fouls.You're absolutely right.

Only the receptivity (this thread is a small example) of this issue in the world football community is enough to show that the world is in awe simply because that's happening - how sad - in the 'so-called' País do Futebol...

Anyway, World, Kerlon is arriving!...

[Martininho]

Yes, I'm sure he injured your ankle, but by that logic Mr. Lionel Messi would be dead due to violent injuries inflicted upon him by angry defenders.


Well, you certaintly couldn't have missed the point more cleanly. Nice whiff.

[Martininho]

You're absolutely right.

Only the receptivity (this thread is a small example) of this issue in the world football community is enough to show that the world is in awe simply because that's happening - how sad - in the 'so-called' País do Futebol...

Anyway, World, Kerlon is arriving!...

Funny, how you and your fellow hypocrite demonize others for make the same point. But surely, now that it has been blessed by your footballing omniscience, the rest of the world will fall in line. :rolleyes:

Like other interesting moves, e.g. the somersault throw-in, the seal dribble will fade into oblivion as an interesting quirk rather than a revolution. Worthy of a few posts on an internet blog, but hardly something that's going to cause FIFA to re-write the laws.

You folks truly need to get over yourselves.