Football, with all its rules, is still a sport that leaves a lot of room for individual expression and diversity in style of play. There are many ways to play football well, and each player brings their own flair to the game, depending on their strengths and weaknesses, their preferences, and their perspective of the game. If you are just starting out, you may still be working on finding and developing your own personal style. Let’s get you started!
Master the basic skills of football
Before experimenting with different playing styles, it is important that you know the basics of playing football well. After all, the fundamentals are the foundation on which you can build your other skills further down the road, and if you’re shaky in the basic aspects, you might struggle to develop properly as a football player. The essential skills in football include dribbling, passing, control, shooting, and positioning.
To practice, you should focus on each aspect individually. Get a partner to work together with you during practice. As you get more confident in each skill, you can move on and try incorporating them together. A small reminder: don’t neglect to practice these skills with your non-dominant foot as well, as having the ability to play confidently with both sides would be essential in increasing your potential as a player and expanding your limits on the pitch, allowing you to play around more with different styles!
Watch and learn from professional players
The best way to develop your football style is to watch those who have already mastered their own. There are plenty of analysis videos, articles, and commentary online on famous players and their unique playing styles. Players like Messi, Neymar, and Ronaldo have been extensively studied and their playing styles dissected. Watch football games, study their moves, the decisions they make on the pitch, the techniques they use, and how they position themselves on the pitch.
You can then try to replicate and modify what you learn to suit your own personal preferences.
Dare to experiment
After nailing the fundamentals and watching the pros, it’s time for you to get to work developing your own unique style. Try out different positions like winger, striker, and midfielder. Don’t restrict yourself to one role, as you may discover that you actually suit playing a different position and can perform even better than you imagined. Take note
of your confidence level in different positions.
As a team, you can also try out different formations to learn how you interact with each other. This will also help
you have a better perspective of the importance of your positioning on the field and how each player fits into the
larger gameplay. Since every individual player has their own unique style, it is important for the team to figure out how they interact and synchronise to present a united strategy as a team.
Get plenty of feedback
As an individual player on the pitch, you are limited to what your own pair of eyes can see, and this affects your
decision-making during games. You may not be able to get a good big picture of how your teammates are positioned on the field, whether or not you should move to a better spot to receive and give a pass, and so on. It is important to get feedback and information during and after the game from other players as well as the coach, who is able to see the entire game from the sides. Be receptive and proactive in asking for recommendations and tips, and learn how to execute the adjustments in future games. You can even ask somebody to record a video of the game itself so that you can analyse it later and learn from your mistakes.
Have confidence in your abilities
As you are at the beginning of your journey and still learning the ropes, you may have self-limiting beliefs on your abilities as a player. This is natural as you may be receiving more feedback and tips on improvements, as you will be doing more things wrong than right at the start. Don’t be afraid or lose faith, and learn to trust the process. Take criticism as opportunities to learn, but don’t let it define who you are on the field. Believe in your own skills and
instincts and don’t be afraid to try new things. Only when you push outside your comfort zone can you find your own football style and craft it to your liking. By putting in the hard work and being consistent with your efforts, your confidence level will increase as well.
Practice makes perfect
Now that you have learnt what you need to know, all it takes now is to keep practising and practising. With any learnable skill, practising the right form and techniques consistently over time will no doubt improve your mastery and confidence at it. Your football style is always evolving and changing based on your strengths and weaknesses, as you experiment and tweak it over time to make it yours. Practicing regularly and consistently will help build your skills and find what works best for you. After trying these new things, put in the work to mastering them and build yourself up consistently.
Developing your own football style is no easy feat, but it is also highly rewarding at the end of the day. It doesn’t
happen overnight, so remember to keep at it and always adopt a positive growth mindset!
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