10 signature moves of famous footballers

Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho is known for his incredible tricks with the football

There are numerous reasons to love the beautiful game: scintillating gameplays, young talents, amazing set pieces, moments of individual brilliance, emotions, passion and the list goes on. One such thing that the ardent fans cannot get enough of are signature moves, especially of their favourite players.

Although the footballing greats boast of a variety of skillsets, they possess a move that they have mastered, execute it on a regular basis and have a better success rate in pulling it off than any other player. These moves have an impact so huge that the names of these players often come up when any footballer performs it on the big stage.

Let us take a look at 10 top footballers and the signature moves they made their own.


#1 Johan Cruyff – Cruyff turn

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Johan Cruyff is considered to be one of the greatest footballers in Dutch history. The Barcelona legend is famously known for his 180-degree turn, known as the Cruyff turn. To execute this move, whilst looking to cross or pass the ball, he would drag it behind his planted foot with the inside of his crossing foot.

This evasive move leaves the defender hopeless as the player accelerates away after performing it. He executed this for the first time in the 1974 World Cup, however, it is now one of the most commonly used dribbling tricks in the modern game. A recent instance of it being used is the goal by Hal Robson-Kanu against Belgium in the quarterfinals of Euro 2016.

#2 Ronaldinho – Elastico

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Ronaldinho is one of the most skilful players to have donned the beautiful game. Known for his skill and trickery, he always kept the defenders on their toes. A unique football move he perfected was the Elastico.

The Elastico is a dribbling move used to fool the defender into believing that the offensive player will move in a direction he doesn’t intend to move in. This is performed by pushing the ball away from the defender with the dominant foot and quickly moving the foot around the ball and pushing it away and accelerating forward.

#3 Andres Iniesta – La Croqueta

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Andres Iniesta is one of the best midfielders in the world today. Known for his inch-perfect passing, composure and dribbling, a move that he executes on a regular basis to get past defenders is the La Croqueta. This move was also extensively used by Michael Laudrup, whom Iniesta considers as his footballing hero.

In order to perform the La Croqueta, the player plays the ball across the body with the inside of one foot and then plays it forward with the other foot. A famous instance of when it was used includes Real Madrid’s winner against Atletico Madrid in the 2014 Champions League when Di Maria executed it to get past two defenders and his deflected shot was headed into goal by Gareth Bale.

#4 Cristiano Ronaldo – Ronaldo chop

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A pacy winger makes life tough for any full-back. A pacy winger with a bag full of tricks becomes a nightmare. Yes! We’re talking about Cristiano Ronaldo. While several players perform the chop while dribbling down the flanks, what makes Ronaldo special, is his ability to execute it with perfection inside the penalty box and thump a thundering shot at goal.

This move uses the momentum of the defender and helps players to quickly change directions and gives space to continue the attack while defenders go the wrong way.

#5 Lionel Messi – Body feint

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Despite not doing fancy stepovers, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner uses his body to deceive defenders. He fakes a move with a dip of his shoulder or a subtle body feint in one direction and accelerates in the other direction as soon as the defender commits to his fake.

Lionel Messi executes the move both during motion and with a stationary ball. A few notable moments include his goal against Bayern Munich in the 2015 Champions League semi-final and the one against Athletic Bilbao which was among the top three for the 2015 FIFA Puskas Goal of the year award.

#6 Diego Maradona / Zinedine Zidane – Roulette

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The Roulette, also known as the 360 turn or Marseille turn was founded by the legendary forward Diego Maradona and was later developed by Zinedine Zidane. This move consists of three parts: the master foot drag-back, the body spin and the weaker foot drag-back.

The move is particularly effective when the defender approaches head-on or from the side of the player’s strong foot. When performed at speed, it becomes almost impossible to defend against as the move incorporates a sudden change in direction with continuous shielding of the ball and hence draws fouls.

#7 Ricardo Quaresma – Trivela (Outside foot)

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While many players have mastered the art of curling the ball with the inside of the foot, very few players have been successfully able to use the outside of the foot for the same. Roberto Carlos’s famous free-kick against France is one example of using the outside foot to curl the ball.

A player who has used this move umpteen times to find the back of the net or to make key passes is Portugal international Ricardo Quaresma. His shots often leave the goalkeepers helpless as the winger utilises the least of spaces to execute the shot.

#8 Angel Di Maria – Rabona

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Angel Di Maria is one of the most single-footed football players in the world today. However, this doesn’t hinder the pacy winger, thanks to his famous trick Rabona. During this move, he pivots his weaker right foot before the ball and uses his special left foot to execute the shot.

Although this move has been performed by several players, Di Maria has used it in the most effective manner having scored a goal and made multiple assists using the Rabona.

#9 Xavi – La Pelopina

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Xavi’s La Pelopina is a simpler version of the 360-degree turn, but highly effective. It is a well-timed turn while holding on to the ball with such close control, almost making it impossible for the defender to win the ball.

The highlight of the move, is that he uses it to hold the ball in midfield or to produce a creative pass in the attacking third. He locates the player where he wants to deliver the pass while making the turn, leaving the defender clueless.

#10 Thierry Henry – Fake pass

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The former Arsenal forward executes the fake pass to deceive and delay the response of the defender. This is performed by faking to pass or shoot the ball with the right foot before playing it to a teammate with his left foot.

Having played it multiple times in his career, he was spotted performing it even a year ago in Steven Gerrard’s testimonial at Anfield a year ago.

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Edited by Staff Editor