When talking about improving your skills as a football/ soccer player, everyone may only think of the obvious, which is training. Correctly so, that is THE best way to get better, especially with the right trainer/coach! However, this MAJOR part goes unnoticed for a lot of football/soccer players, and that is none other than ...
Watching & Studying Soccer Matches Game
Nowadays professional games are typically available year-wide. This summer we have the EURO 2020, which is a tournament between the European countries only. We also have the Copa America tournaments taking place, which is only ten selected countries from the South American continent. These tournaments have many world-class teams and players therefore any young player can take away so much, just from watching these games!
We have the leagues such as La Liga, Premier League, and Bundesliga kicking off in August, and next summer we even have the World Cup!
There are multiple ways you can watch the game outside of professional as well. You can watch live games of your local high school, college, or club team. It can even be Youtube clips. So there are a lot of options to watch soccer games/film.
Now I’m going to give you some examples on what you can take from analyzing a soccer game.
Watch A Player Who Plays The Same Position As You
Let’s say you are a CAM(Centre Attacking Midfielder). This is a very tough position to play, you often are the creator of chances for your team, and they usually play through you. You have to have great movement, and awareness for this position.
For example, a player who has these traits is Bruno Fernandes. He plays for Manchester United and the Portugal National team. Take the time to watch Bruno Fernandes play and see how he creates space for himself. He is always moving whether it is dropping deep to receive the ball, or moving from wide positions back centrally. This allows him to always be an option for his team and is why he gets so many goals/assists.
Watching a player like this can help you take tips and moves and take them to the field to ultimately help you to improve your game.
Visualize Yourself
Always picture yourself in that certain game. Ask yourself “What would I do in that situation?” “What move should he have done to give himself separation?” Not only are you engaging, but you are getting as close as possible to simulating a practice/game experience.
You might find yourself in the same position as that certain player you are watching, so if you’ve seen that and processed it in your brain already it can lead to immediate success on the pitch.
Styles of Play
Let’s say you are watching a game where a team is playing a 3-5-2 formation. You notice that it’s a good formation and it's very hard to break down in possession. However, you do notice that it’s very susceptible to counter-attacks.
Next week you have a game and the team you are playing deploys a 3-5-2. Boom! There you go you already know what to do...
By knowing what formation the opposing team is in, you will be able to exploit their weaknesses. You will know what spaces the opposing team is giving up, so you will know what spaces to attack!
Some other questions to ask:
What is their playing style(s)?
How do they adapt their style depending on the circumstances of the game?
How We Can Help:
At FuturElitez Soccer, we encourage all of our players to watch games in their free time as well as educating them about different players and teams during our sessions. We also provide valuable content on our social media platforms to which any player can use to take value from!