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Believe it or not football, in its best element, does have an air of grace and elegance – after all, it’s a form of entertainment. While managers try their upmost to morph their team into a unit and negate their team playing as a group of individual showboaters, for the fans the odd spark of skill is paramount in igniting the imagination. Some of the finest players in the world have mastered, and some even created, signitature moves to dodge opponents or leave defenders snapping at their heels. As with some of the finest players to grace the international stage, these fancy flicks and maneuvering moves may offer some a linguistic tango and, therefore, few recognise what is meant by them. So I have compiled a list of football skill terms you may have heard of, maybe even appreciated the poetic value, but have seldom been able to identify.
#1 Elastico
Also known as la culebrita or, less excitingly, ‘the flip-flap’, the Elastico really is your bog-standard footballing feint. The move has become a paramount weapon in an attacking player’s arsenal, as it allows an individual to elude a host of defending players with a single touch.
Popularised especially by the string of Brazilian showboaters of time gone by, but invented originally by Japanese-Brazilian Sérgio Echigo, the Elastico is used to trick an opposing player such that the individual in possession of the ball is intending to go one way, but is, in fact, heading in the other direction. Ultimately, this piece of trickery requires sound balance, clinical agility and an explosion of pace.
In order to carry out this famed move, you must firstly place the ball behind your favoured foot, which you then use to prod the ball to your preferred side. As the ball rolls, slip your foot underneath and past it and tap it the other way with the inside of your boot.
It was Rivellino who pioneered this magical move, after being taught by Echigo in a Corinthians youth-team training session. Today it really is a mere shadow of some of the astounding aesthetics we marvel at in a game of football, but it still remains one of the most important. The Elastico was the first of its kind and, after the likes of Rivellino himself both Ronaldo and Ronaldinho mastered it, and this set the foundations for many of the silky skills we see today.
#2 Rabona
Cast your mind back to Tottenham’s Europa League clash with Greek side Asteras Tripolis last October, when Erik Lamela left the Lane speechless with his stellar rabona goal. It was a moment of pure genius from a man who has helped spearhead the move’s progression and, before the confused lot among you begin rattling the keyboard as you type said move into a translation engine, let me outline for you exactly what the move entails.
Quite simply a ‘rabona’ movement involves an individual kicking the ball whereby the leg used to strike the ball is wrapped around the back of the standing leg. Essentially, the legs are crossed.
The trick screams quality and while it has been used to capitalise on a lapse in concentration by goalkeepers to bag worldies in the past, more often than not the ‘rabona’ is utilised by wingers deployed on their un-favoured side. It allows a right-footed player to implicitly play the ball with their left foot or vice versa.
Descended from the Spanish meaning ‘to skip school or play hooky’, Argentine Ricardo Infante was the first to carry out the ‘rabona’ and it prompted the release of a front-cover by an Argentinian magazine at the time showing Infante (whose name means ‘infant’) in school attire with the headline ‘infante played hooky’, giving rise to the move’s namesake.
#3 La Croqueta
With all the hype surrounding our South American imports so far, perhaps it’s time for a move developed closer to home, albeit, Spain. La Croqueta has been mastered most notably by Andres Iniesta, but arguably the most effective execution came from Angel Di Maria, in the pulsating Champions League final of 2014, who navigated through a stubborn Atletico backline before seeing his shot deflected and the ball fell to Gareth Bale who lashed home the decisive winning goal.
The bare bones of the move are very basic – it entails a simple exchange of the ball between either foot, rolling the ball across the floor in-front of you before meeting it with the other and playing it ahead of you with the other. Used to draw defenders in to make a challenge, only to be deceived, La Croqueta is an innovative method of winding one’s way through a string of defending players.
Most tailored to those on the shorter side who boast razor-sharp agility and pace, this is one footballing illusion which can be altered to suit you, perhaps by rolling the ball with your stronger foot before the switch. However it is deployed, La Croqueta is a Spanish favourite and one which continues to capture the imagination.
#4 Roulette
Look no further than the host of alternative names for the ‘Roulette’ to appreciate the fame this tricky manoeuvre boasts. Also referred to as the Marseille, Zidane or Maradona turn, this move is comprised of three parts; a drag back with the stronger foot, the 90-degree body rotation, and then, the weaker foot drag-back.
Essentially a 360-degree pivot, the Roulette allows an individual to glide past their opponent. Practically impossible to defend against when the player utilises it at pace, the turn combines the physicality of shielding the ball with a swift change in direction.
The dizzy dynamics of said move can be narrowed down to this – an individual simply stops the ball abruptly and rotates their body on the spot in order to shield it from an opponent. Zinedine Zidane stamped his marker on the skill, altering it to use the instep of his foot as opposed to his sole to drag the ball back initially but the most significant user of the ‘Roulette’ was Diego Maradona. His meandering runs often came courtesy of the odd ‘Roulette’ thrown in and it’s a move many struggle to master today, due to the intricate details that need attending to and the awareness of space.
#5 The Cruyff Turn
While this move’s namesake may not bear origins as grand or as exotic as the aforementioned quartet, the Cruyff turn still requires as much, if not more skill. Heavily reliant on balance yet again, but also coherent coordination, the ‘Cruyff Turn’ involves feinting to shoot or pass, before dragging the ball behind your standing leg with the inside of your boot, turning 180-degrees and then accelerating up the pitch.
The elusive trick proved a defining image of the 1974 World Cup, capturing the heroics of the great Dutch team of the 1970s. After subjecting Swedish defender Jan Olsson to a torrid game already, legendary Johan Cruyff left the right-back in a cloud of dust with this ingenious piece of improvisation which today serves as a symbol for the Dutchman’s balletic brilliance. It allowed Cruyff to navigate his way out of a tricky situation, as Olsson had jockeyed him down the byline and serves as a method of forcing defenders off balance.
Many will try but few will succeed in executing the Cruyff turn today – a move which has stood the test of time and remains an iconic symbol for the elegance and creativity still brimming in the world of football today.
