Soccer is about scoring more goals than the team you are facing. If your team has trouble scoring goals, you will probably not make it far in the tournament. Strikers are usually the ones deciding the outcome of the game, which is why most of the greatest players of all time are strikers, wingers or attacking midfielders. This is also why the most expensive players of all time belong to at least one of these positions. As a striker, you are in many cases the star of the team, and people will wear your name on the back of their jersey.
It takes confidence, technical ability, and determination to score goals, and the satisfaction from scoring a match-winning goal is unparalleled. The m-station football rebounder allows you to improve every aspect of your game. Here, we present a 5 striker drills as examples of how you can improve using the m-station. You can also sign up for the NEXT11 training program to receive new training drills each week. With just a few clicks, you can become a better striker. Sign up here to start scoring more goals.
1. FINISHING — FIRST TOUCH AND FINISHING
Most strikers in modern soccer are all about movement, technical ability, and finishing. Luis Suarez is a prime example of which qualities a striker should possess: pace, off the ball movement, exquisite finishing, and confidence. Most top strikers in today’s soccer are technically gifted players, because the idea of a target man in the box has faded in recent years. As a technically gifted forward, you should be able to receive the ball and finish immediately. For attacking players, the first touch is everything. If you fail your first touch, the attack slows down significantly and your chances of scoring are severely reduced. It takes determination and confidence to translate a first touch into a finish, but once you are able to do this, you are much scarier to face for a defender.
First, swing your kicking foot past your standing foot. Hit the side of the ball with the inside of your foot. Finish by bending a bit at your hip and swinging your kicking foot through the ball.
2. DRIBBLING — LAUDRUP FEINT
To be a striker in the style of Suarez, Agüero, Messi, and Ronaldo, you must be able to dribble. If you are able to drag two or more players towards you, you are creating an immense amount of space for your teammates on the pitch. In fact, dribbling is more about proposing a threat than it is about actually dribbling past the defender, because once the defender realizes he needs backup against you, you won the war by requiring an unusual amount of attention from the defending side. Michael Laudrup is one of the most technically gifted players of all time, and he was in many ways an inventor on the pitch. As one of the most elegant players on the pitch of his generation, Laudrup has a legacy that still affects modern soccer today.
To perform the Laudrup feint, take a wide stance. Drag the ball sideways; do not kick it. Finish by playing the ball forward with the inside of your foot.
3. FINISHING — FINISHING WITH VOLLEY
The year is 2002, and the stage for a Champions League final is set in Glasgow, Scotland. Roberto Carlos receives the ball on the flank, he hits it high, and the attack seems to have stagnated. However, in the box, a certain Frenchman named Zinedine Zidane times his volley perfectly and smashes the ball into the back of the net. To this day, that goal is one of the most iconic goals in modern soccer, and it defines one of the best midfielders of all time. Hitting the perfect volley is extremely difficult, and even for the best players in the world, hitting it like Zidane did is something that happens once in one-hundred attempts. Naturally, it takes skill, but it also requires a certain amount of luck.
To give yourself the best chance of hitting the perfect volley, your standing leg should be pointed at the goal. Keep your arms to your sides to stay balanced, and point your toes at the ground. Hit the top half of the ball to keep it down.
4. DRIBBLING — FAKE SHOT, CUT 180
Faking a shot is not what most people think of when discussing dribbling, but it is at least as efficient as dribbling, if not more so. To most people, dribbling requires strong control, pace, and technical ability, but by faking your shot, all you need is a superior mind. When faking a shot, you have to understand and anticipate the movement from the defenders. In other words, you have to understand what they expect you to do and react accordingly by doing something else. This takes some quick thinking, but if you pretend that you are about to shoot, the defender will react as if you are about to shoot. Instead of actually shooting, you fake the shot and turn the other direction to make the change even greater.
Initiate the drill by lifting your arm. Pull back your striking foot and swing it towards the ball. Stop the swing right before you hit the ball. Make your next move quickly and accelerate with the ball.
5. FIRST TOUCH — CHEST CONTROL AND FINISHING
First touches and technical ability are not all about good footwork. At some point in a game, you will receive the ball in a position where you cannot use your legs or feet to control the ball. Aerial balls are inevitable in a game of soccer, and chest control is the best way to deal with aerial balls and avoid heading the ball uncontrollably. Players like Lewandowski and Robin van Persie are extremely good at receiving the ball at chest height with their backs turned away from the goal of the opposing team. At the 2014 World Cup, James Rodriguez scored the goal of the tournament by making a directional first touch with his chest and laying the ball off to his left foot.
To do it like James, look over your shoulder before you receive the ball. To maximize ball speed, make sure it is your chest that hits the ball, and not the ball that hits your chest.
If you have any questions about the m-station or these drills, please do not hesitate to get directly in touch with our coaches at coach@muninsports.com.
