Heading – this can be a vital skills to every player on the pitch. Defenders need to be very strong at heading to beat strikers to the ball and get it clear. Midfielders need to be good at heading to win possession in the centre of the pitch and create further situations. Attackers need to be strong at heading to try and beat defenders to the ball and head it into the back of the net.
John Terry is extremely strong at heading the ball. Not only is he captain for Chelsea but he is England’s skipper as well. He is good at both defending headers in his own box but he also attacks extremely well and most of his goals for Chelsea and England have come from attacking headers. Another good header of the ball is Peter Crouch. This could be argued that he is good because he is extremely tall but he still has a high success rate when it comes to heading the ball, although he is sometimes penalised because of the strength that comes with his height.
Saving – this is only key for the goalkeeper and it speaks for itself. Goalkeepers need to be able to save the ball to prevent shots that are goal bound. Keepers also need to be able to be strong when collecting the ball from crosses and corners.
A very successful goal keeper is Peter Cech. He is arguably the best goalkeeper in the world. His height helps him with some saves but his reactions and split second decisions are superior.
Tactics are vital in a game of football. They can decide who wins and who looses the game. The tactics are normally left to the manager and coach to decide a skilful coach can normally pick the correct tactics to work to their team’s strengths and the opposing teams weaknesses.
Formations – There are many formations that can be played. The most common and often the most effective is the 4-4-2 formation however this can vary from weather the team is playing attacking or defending football. If a team needs to score goals early they will go all out and play an attacking formation for example 4-3-3. However if the team needs to prevent the scoring of goals they will play defensively, perhaps a 5-4-1 formation. It is vital that the coach knows what he is doing when choosing the formations, if the team does not adapt to the formation that has been chosen then they can fall apart and it can be detrimental to the performance and final result.
Other tactics can include using wing play. If the opposing team are playing very central and leaving a lot of space on the wings then this can be taken advantage of by spreading the ball out wide and attack the open space. If a team is settled on the result or just want to settle into the game then they can choose to keep possession. This can often annoy the opposing team and the crowd as they often want to see attacking football but by keeping possession it can be very successful if completed correctly. There are some tactics which some teams choose to use which others disagree with. One tactic could include tackling the opposing team’s best player hard and injuring them so they cannot continue. This is seen unethical by many teams and they would choose not to do this, however teams will use this tactic to gain an advantage.
A big tactician was Jose Mourinho; he got a lot of criticism for some of the tactics that he used however he gave Chelsea the biggest success in their history. He liked to rotate players around in different positions and make some substitutions which other people and other managers would not have agreed with. However a manager with good tactics needs to be original other wise it would not make the special. This could be how he got the name ‘the special one’
It is important that all athletes and teams are focused psychologically very strongly. Without a strong psychological mind players can crack and it can affect their performance dramatically.
Motivation is a big part of the game, although some athletes can motivate themselves others need help from team mates and coaching staff. With strong motivation it can encourage athletes to reach the top of their potential by believing in themselves. With this new motivation gives them hope and desire to succeed both for them and their team mates. This can create strong bonds between players and make the team more effective.
Psychological aspects also include choosing the correct free kick and penalty takers. Penalties hold extreme pressure especially at the end of a game when it decides .between winning and loosing. The player taking the penalty needs to be able to have a strong physiological attitude to be able to handle the pressure and take the penalty to the best of their ability.
It is vital that players keep concentration during matches. One slip up from you or your team can cost you the game. With lapses of concentration it can slow your reaction time and cause you to not be able to read the game how you normally would. You will not see passes that you would if your anticipation was at its peak. The opposition will see your weakness and take advantage of your mistakes.
There are many times in a footballer’s career when they are on a low. Weather there team is loosing matches or the crowd or team mates are on their backs they need to be able to handle it strongly and bounce back. If this pressure is not dealt with correctly it can cause on the players performance to drop to an all time low or the player could take his frustration out him something they will later on regret.
David Beckham is a player who has taken a lot in his career. He has been in and out of the media with both positive and negative press and this must be hard to deal with. He was a failure when he got sent off in the 1998 world cup against Argentina then he was a hero when he took England through to 2002 world cup in extra time with a last minute free kick. It is how he was able to cope with this pressure that is the reason he is still playing football today.
Physical attributes can sometimes make up for poor technical ability.
Muscular Strength and endurance - Strength is very important to a footballer. They need both good upper and lower body strength to improve their game. They need powerful upper body strength to move players off the ball when they go in for a 50/50 challenge and strength is also needed when going up for headers. Lower body strength is needed for when you jump for the ball. The more strength and endurance you have in your legs, the more power you can generate when you jump. Muscular endurance is needed highly in the legs. The midfielder is constantly running up and down the pitch and if they cannot keep this up for a long time then they will tire and their performance will drop. This will also include sprinting, a midfielder needs to sprint many times during a match and he needs muscular endurance to stop him from tiring quickly.
A player with good strength is Emile Heskey. He has received some criticism for his work on the ball however his strength when holding players up and jumping for headers is one of the best in the world. It can be argued that this powerful strength has excelled him back into the England squad in the two games he has played since coming back.
Aerobic endurance - A footballers most obvious health related need is aerobic endurance. A footballer is constantly jogging up and down the football pitch. On top of this he is also making tackles, jumping for headers and sprinting with and without the ball. This is very tiring so the player needs to train efficiently to suit these tough needs.
Flexibility - Flexibility is not the most important fitness type needed when it comes to football. A lot of professionals will have fairly low fitness as they concentrate more on muscular and cardiovascular fitness. However flexibility can still be a good thing to have. For example flexibility can prevent you from getting an injury for example when you are stretching for a ball. The flexibility in your legs will enable you to reach further and prevent an injury. Injuries can ruin a player’s career so flexibility can be very important in some cases. Flexibility can also be helpful for goalkeepers as they can use it to get to awkward balls and save shots.
Speed – speed is an obvious physical ability that all footballers should have. They need speed to be able to get to the ball before others and this applies for all positions. Strikers need to be able to outrun the defenders to get to the ball first for a goal scoring opportunity. Defenders need to be able to track back when the other team is on the attack and catch up with attackers if they have broken through. Midfield is where most of the play happens and it is where the game can be won or lost. If players are getting to the ball before the opposition then this is where a lot of the possession can be won.
It takes many aspects of the game to become a good footballer. You may not need to have all of these aspects but the more you are the more successful you are likely to become. Some players are weak at some parts of the game however these are either not need or they make up for them in other areas. For example Peter Crouch is not the best technical player when the ball is at his feet; however in the air he is superior to most other players. All these areas are possible to train with and help improve so with the right training and determination a player can achieve anything.
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