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How to Wow with an Effective Stepover technique

aaronptighe


Today, we take a look at one of the most commonly used attacking skills for one-to-one situations: the stepover, the scissor, the leg over, or one of the many names associated with the skill. Over the history of football, it has been named after great players like Brazil's Garrincha in the 1950s and Ronaldo in the modern game. 


So, why is it so popular? Well, it has flair and excitement. It's a cat-and-mouse lure of the defender to trick them. It stops defenders on the spot as your foot lifts off the ground, and if executed with real purpose, the step away from the ball with full body movement takes the defender with you—just as your movement would trick a tagger in a game of chase on the playground. 


There are multiple variations of the theme: leading with the outside foot first, or the inside foot, with doubles using both feet, or combinations of all. In this collection of YouTube videos, Best Stepovers in Football - YouTube, you'll see a plethora of combinations. The ones that show the attacker doing 4 or 5 stepovers before moving the ball are quite funny at times. Why do 5 if you can do one effectively? The longer you take, the more time other defenders have to position themselves effectively. It's not just about the one in front of you. You'll always hear centre-forwards complaining about too many stepovers by a winger for this reason. It's harder for them to get free for a cross or pass. 

 

Notice also the critical differences between when players perform the skills without much body movement, just to halt the defenders and buy time, versus when they aggressively, at speed, shift their body weight quickly and move the ball away from them to cross or shoot. 

In the One2Pro App, each video variation breaks down every step to make the move effective. Our coach will then advise on how to improve the technique from your video upload. 


Key steps of the skill include: 

  1. Point your toes down to the grass as you move your foot to the ball. This mirrors what the foot shape will be if you actually play the ball. 

  2. Sweep the grass with your foot as it moves over the ball, once again mirroring taking the ball. 

  3. Speed of movement: The foot has to move super-fast over the ball. 

  4. Land the foot in the grass away from the ball. This means your body and shoulders will shift quickly to the side of the ball, feinting that you are going in that direction. 

  5. As soon as the foot lands, bounce back to the ball and ideally take the ball with the other foot. Why? Because it's faster to play the ball with that foot. If it’s a double leg over, then repeat steps 1–4 before step 5. 

  6. Move the ball sideways or diagonally away from the defender to avoid their trailing foot. If you can, lift the ball a little off the grass to go over their trailing boot. 


Hope you enjoy the skills video and get out to practice being brilliant at this skill. Ronaldo practices this while wearing ankle weights to increase his speed of foot movement. Now, that's determination. 

 

One2Pro: 

The use of video with a coach review is fantastic for honing skills and performance. In our One2Pro online coaching app, "Techniques of the Stars" are broken down step-by-step for players to follow and practice. 

Download and subscribe to work with your One2Pro coach on all 92 skills. 

Be the One!  

Aaron Tighe 

Founder, One2Pro 

 

 

 

  

 

 

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