Dribbling football drills

The only move where the ball stays still during the fake. Drop the shoulder, lean hard, then push it the other way and go.

Cone drills end at the last cone and the game does not. Adding a finish forces the head up at the exact moment it usually stays down.

The only move on this list that protects the ball for its whole duration. Built for pressure arriving from behind, where you cannot see it.

Dribbling is taught as a way to beat someone. Here it is a way to make a pass exist that did not exist a second earlier.

Reversing direction is faster than going around. Drag it back under the sole as he commits, push it off to the side and go.

Young players panic and pass back the moment a defender touches them. This practice teaches the alternative: get side on, protect it, and spin out.

Whoever reaches the ball first sets the terms of the duel, which means the race decides more of these repetitions than the dribbling does.

The unopposed rep behind the drag-back. Groove the sole-then-outside pattern on both feet until the turn survives a real defender.

The sharpest direction change available to a dribbler, and it costs you all your speed. Only worth it if there is space to cut into.

Rings force more touches per metre than cones do. That is the whole reason to use them, and it is the number worth measuring.

No feint, no direction change, nothing to read. Take the pace off until he settles, then go. The hardest move to defend.

Read the feet and go only when the gap is there. The nutmeg works because a defender square to the ball leaves a passing lane through him.

Push the ball out with the outside of the foot and snap it back inside in one motion. Close to a defender it freezes him going the wrong way.

This one works on good defenders precisely because they are good. Threaten the shot, wait for the block, then go past the other side.

Swing the foot over the ball, drop the shoulder, push it away the other way. The step-over only works if the defender believes the lie.

No feint and no lie. The croqueta simply moves the ball across your body faster than a defender who has just planted his foot can reach it.

Carrying out of defence is the riskiest thing a centre-back does and often the most effective. A carry removes a presser a pass cannot.

This one trains the head, not the feet. The next gate has to be chosen while the ball is still moving, so the eyes come up by necessity.